SUNS -at- LAKERS - 2/26 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Ain't No Sunshine... Someone slipped a card under your door this morning. It was for a club downtown. On the back it read "11 p.m." and was signed by someone named "Angel."

You decide to show up a little early...but that doesn't help you catch the Horsemen. This one was already over.

"Ain't No Sunshine" plays over the sound system as you push open the front entrance. The club is almost empty... Almost. In the middle of the floor lies a familiar solitary fat man. His maracas are at his side. The ruffles on his orange-colored tuxedo shirt are covered in hoof prints.

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone, only darkness everyday. Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. And this house just ain't no home anytime she goes away.

You lean down and feel his neck. He's still very warm. There is no pulse. You look at his sweaty upper lip. A thought flashes through your mind: No one would know if you didn't administer CPR. You opt for slamming your fist on his massive chest. Nothing. You do it again. He jolts. A moment later, he opens his eyes.

He whispers something but you can't make it out until the song ends. You lean closer. He whispers it again, "Save me ... Save ... me ..."

"I just did," you say to the bearded fat man. "No," he says, lifting up a fist and handing you a crumpled ball of purple and gold paper. "Save me ... from this..." You open the paper up.

"DancingBarry?"

"No... Read..." So, you do:

Three of the Four Horsemen were here. They did not break a sweat in dismantling their opponent. The Horsemen were efficient in their work. The Death Riders followed and were just as lethal. Their foe fell with ease -- the Fat Man gave them little resistance. He is but a shadow of his former self, and this is no longer his home.

I will continue to track them...

The Phoenix Suns have a problem. Several, really, but they have a serious issue with their ability to contend. They have impact players...but one-way impact players. None of them can defend. You remove a couple of them from the equation -- tonight there was no Amare or Nash -- and this team has no chance against the Lakers. They were routed badly, 132-106.

The Lakers took care of business, and did it early. Kobe and Lamar were efficient, but all 12 Lakers who suited up would score. This is the kind of performance you like to see against a lesser opponent on the first night of the back-to-back. Well done.

"We want to get better," Kobe said. "We want to continue to improve so that when June comes around we are playing for a championship."


Kobe -- -- He made that look easy. Maybe it was. Kobe could get anything he wanted out there. Post up score? Simple. Jumper? Done. Set up teammates? Check. Check. Check. This is how you like to start the first game of a back-to-back situation. Kobe got to rest during the entire fourth and ice up. That's how you take care of business. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 10-13 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. He was a +26. The Action: He swished a turnaround in the post on the first possession. Next possession, he drew FTs on the same sequence, he made one. He drained a wing jumper on the next trip. He drew a double and hit Pau for a dunk. Soft perimeter pass, easily picked off, dunk the other way. He sank a 21-footer. He hit a 6-footer when Lamar kept an offensive board alive. He gave up a layup on the other end. He swiped a pass. He sank a short fade over JRich. He scored a layup after Ariza stole a ball in the backcourt. He found Farmar for a lob and later a three. Back in after a long rest, he hit LO cutting for a layup. He attacked and set up Powell for FTs. He hit the rim trying to beat the shotclock on an inbounds pass, Morrison was able to dunk off it. Second Half: He missed an open three in transition. He bricked a layup with his left. He swiped a bounce pass, pushed it out and no-looked to LO for the layup. He posted up and went glass from the left side. He threw down the one-handed lob off the high-low from Pau when Kobe was fronted in the post. He snatched the ball out of JRich's hands and pushed out the break. He hit a difficult wing turnaround from about 19 feet out. He posted up and hit LO for the dunk. He sank an open corner three. He hit Lamar with a long outlet for a layup. He sat with a minute left in the third and a 25-point lead.

Gasol -- -- He got the Shaq assignment, which these days consists of trying to keep Shaq out of the paint as best as possible and keeping your hands up on the shot. Thankfully, he didn't have to play Shaq too much, keeping the wear and tear low. With all the garbage time and the second unit's ability to outplay the Suns, Pau got one of those nice rests we've been looking for. A few more of those would be nice. Real nice. He put up some good numbers in his limited time. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +23. The Action: He dunked when Kobe drew the double and hit him. He sank an open 19-footer over Shaq. He lost Shaq, but missed the turnaround. He iso'd on Shaq and drew FTs in the lane, he made one. He hit LO under the hoop for a layup. He missed a bank, got it back and scored the layup. He was fouled on a lob attempt in early offense, he made both FTs. Second Half: He dunked a lob on the first possession of the half. He missed an open elbow jumper. He dunked off the drive and dish from LO. He drew FTs off the interior feed from Luke, he made one. Excellent Tri read, flashing to the FT line when Kobe was fronted in the post, he took the pass and lobbed to Kobe for the dunk. He missed a layup trailing the break and wanted the foul. He back-rimmed a two-footer. He powered in a layup in a crowd.

Lamar -- -- Lamar had the jumper working, the layups falling and dunks throughout ... just about everything. The result was an uber-efficient 23 points on 12 attempts. He did, however, go 1-2 from the line. At 61.7 percent, Lamar is one of two Lakers who shoots worse than Shaq's 62.4 percent from the line. I'd put my money on Lamar winning this battle. He's shot a slightly better 69 percent in the last six games. There's a 12 percent gap between his road FT shooting and home shooting. He shoots just 56 percent at home. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 11-12 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +23. The Action: He telegraphed a pass, dunk the other way. He blocked JRich. He scored a layup after sealing his man under the hoop. He hit Pau with a perfect 30-foot lob for FTs. He went right to the post out of a timeout, took the entry and scored the And-1 layup at the front of the rim, he missed the FT. He sank an elbow jumper. He cut down the lane and scored the layup off the Kobe feed. He dunked off the touch pass from Morrison in transition. Second Half: He posted up and hit Luke for the layup. He attacked, drew Shaq and hit Pau for the dunk. He scored a layup in early offense. He swished a step-back sideline jumper. He lost the handle trying to create, dunk the other way, timeout. Out of the timeout, he threw the ball away on a swing pass. He dunked, cutting off the post. Too tall, too long, he took the entry pass, kept the ball high and scored the And-1 off the glass, he made the FT. He leaked out after a challenge, took the outlet and scored the layup.

Luke -- -- He's stringing together some good games. He's been consistently hitting his perimeter jumper. Heading into tonight, he has shot .538 from three in his last 10 games. Defensively, he's doing a good job shading and funneling his men into the schemes. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 block and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: Nice challenge on Hill's drive forcing an airball. He swished a 20-foot catch and shoot. He swished an 8-footer on the baseline. He missed a short jumper. Second Half: He snuck baseline and took the pass from Lamar for the layup. He posted up his man, drew Shaq, wrapped a pass around him to Gasol for FTs. He missed a three.

Fisher -- -- I wasn't sure early on if Barbosa was going to go off on DFish for a huge game, but the Lakers tightened it up. Offensively, he hit a couple shots, essentially did his thing...although he did have a couple forays into the paint. Fish is another of the key guys to get some rest tonight. Playing just 20 minutes should help pay off tomorrow. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-3 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He drained a pull-up at the FT line working off the high screen. He attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked and missed a layup. Second Half: He swished an open wing three in transition. Nice help D, stripping a baseline cutter.

Ariza -- -- Some active minutes from Ariza. He even got to run at the PF for a bit. The pace the Suns play allows Trevor to cause some problems, but he was doing a good job in general of reaching on help, deflecting passes and causing problems. Offensively, he showed the three ball again. Here is his three shooting by the month: Nov. (.200), Dec. (.276), Jan. (.349) and Feb. (.375). That is what you like to see. Anything close to 40 percent is going to cause a lot of problems for opponents. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-9 shooting (2-5 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 5 baords, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He deflected a pass in the backcourt, it led to a Kobe layup. He forced up a wing jumper after trying to create space and missed. He got taken down dangerously by Barnes on a breakaway dunk, he made both FTs. He jab-stepped and hit the three from the top of the key. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a sideline three. Second Half: He came in for Luke and quickly caused a Sun turnover. He missed a sideline three. He deflected a pass that Sasha recovered. He drained a wing three over his man. He cut off the post, took the pass and swished the tricky And-1 fade in the lane, he missed the FT. He missed a flip up reverse, (didn't even look like he was trying). He missed a wing three.

Farmar -- -- At 59.3 percent, Jordan Farmar is shooting worse from the line than Shaq. Jordan Farmar, you're better than that. He didn't get a chance to improve on that tonight, although he kept looking for whistles that never came. Offensively, he had some poor decisions on the break. The coaches need to continue to work with him on this. Farmar can learn how to draw charges or hit shots from DFish, but running the break...he doesn't have a true PG mentor there. The second unit did a great job, however, of not only keeping the Lakers ahead, but extending the lead. That's what you want to see. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting (2-2 from three) to go with 6 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He scored a layup off the lob from Kobe. He got blocked by Shaq after a quick attack. He then swished a three when Kobe hit him after the inbounds. He missed a layup. He bricked an easy layup with his left. He forced a bad pass to Powell on the break. He stole it back on the other end, gave up the outlet, got it back and scored the layup. He missed another layup on the break, Powell cleaned it up. Second Half: He attacked and hit Kobe for three. He swished a baseline jumper. He missed a wing jumper. He fumbled the ball away on an attack off the screen. He swished a wing three.

Vujacic -- -- Machine make fastbreak dunk. Machine knew he could do the throwdown... We saw a rare dunk by Sasha tonight. That was probably his highlight of the month. Sasha got up a lot of shots tonight. Not sure if that will help him, but he finally hit a couple of threes after missing for most of the game. Maybe the Machine got dialed in. Memo to Sasha: Don't yell at Mbenga. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-14 shooting (2-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He drew FTs on a quick attack after a Suns make (well, as quick as Sasha can move, anyway) he made both FTs. He missed a three set up for him out of a timeout. He missed a wide open three on the next possession. He drained a baseline jumper on the break with Farmar (he gave it right back on the other end, giving up a layup.). Wow...he swatted his man on one end, busted out and dunked on the other. Second Half: He got tapped on a baseline jumper. He missed an open wing three. He got swatted or stripped on a baseline drive. Uggh, horrible lob pass on the break, easily picked off (glad he didn't settle for the three, though). He missed a layup off a nice looking drive. He missed a wing jumper. He let his man fly by and then hit the 17-footer. He banged down a wing three. He missed a corner three. He traveled on an attack off the three line. He swished a corner three on a kickout.

Powell -- -- We saw the rare Mbenga/Powell bigman lineup out there. They actually handled themselves decently. All that practice time together must have helped. Powell generally did his thing, but Mbenga seemed to steal the show with the blocks, dunks and jumpers. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from the line to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls. He was a -1. The Action: He swished a 16-footer off the Mbenga kickout. Good hustle to follow Farmar on the break and clean up his missed layup. He drew FTs on the drive and dish from Kobe, he made both FTs. Silly loose ball foul with 0.9 left in the half, giving up FTs on the other end of the floor. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Brown -- -- He came in for Kobe late in the first half, then got some extended garbage time run. I thought we should have brought him in sooner, but he was able to crack a few minutes. He showed some good energy and activity on the defensive end. That could be very useful if we can get him integrated into our schemes on both ends. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and no fouls in 5 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: The shotclock expired as he was attacking the lane and throwing down. He scooped up a loose ball and scored an And-1 layup on the break, he made the FT.

Morrison -- -- Good to see Morrison get some run. Phil brought him in late in the second quarter to run at Luke's spot with some of the starters, then later in garbage time. He probably could have brought him in earlier in the fourth. He did a decent job and hit the boards well in his limited time. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He scooped up a loose ball under the hoop and dunked. He missed an open three straight away. Nice touch pass to LO for the dunk on the break. Second Half: He had a pass picked off in transition. He rattled down a corner three off the post kickout. He missed a step-back wing jumper.

Mbenga -- -- Got to love some of the activity from Mbenga in this game. He got the crowd going with some excellent blockage at the rim and he followed that up with a decently well-rounded offensive game. He came in to cover Shaq at the start of the second. He later came in for Pau with 10 minutes left in the fourth. So, some of his minutes were while the battle was still on. Perhaps, he earned himself some more PT. He certainly put together a better game than Mihm had given all year. He had a few sloppy fouls early in the fourth that you wouldn't want to see in a closer game. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting, grabbed 1 board, dished 3 assists, had 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Sasha yelled at him for not rolling faster to the hoop, Mbenga gave him a shove. He then hit an elbow jumper on an inbounds pass. He got it back in the post and went glass with a jumper. He swatted Shaq at the front of the rim. He swatted Barnes at the rim. He hit Powell for the jumper. Second Half: He picked up some offensive fouls early in the fourth (moving screen, charge). He scooped up a loose ball and hammered down a huge dunk. He airballed a face-up jumper on the next possession. He iso'd and hit the baseline jumper (kind bounce).

Phil -- -- Both teams came out of the gates quickly. The Lakers gave up too many layups. They warmed up defensively and closed the first quarter on a 22-6 run to lead 39-26... The Lakers looked a little lax in transition D and Phil called a timeout. Sasha missed a three set up for him out of the timeout... We ran a Mbenga, Powell, Ariza, Sasha, Farmar lineup. Phil gave them long minutes (the first 8 of the second) as they were extending the lead... The Lakers led 70-55 at the half. The Lakers shot 62 percent in the half. They were out-rebounded 13-5 on the offensive glass. Phil didn't want them to run with the Suns to start the half and wanted better rebounding... The first five minutes of the third could determine this game as Gentry was willing to rest the starters early if it got out of hand... The Suns got a couple scores to chip the lead down, but the Lakers quickly pushed out to a 20-point lead forcing a timeout... Phil called a timeout after the starters got sloppy late in the third quarter. They still had a 19-point lead. He brought Farmar in for Fish... The Lakers led 102-81 heading into the fourth... Total garbage time during the fourth. Not sure why Phil waited until the 5 minute mark before bringing in Morrison and Brown, but they eventually got some run.. Ha, ha. Brown was getting ready to jack up a late three and Phil whistled him from the other end of the court not to do it. We see the Suns soon... The Lakers shot 57 percent for the game and scored 30 points off 19 Suns turnovers... Phil called several timeouts before the Suns could string any runs together...

Game Flow -- LINK -- So many Laker runs in this game.

[Freddie Buckets]

Great game. They showed great teamwork tonight, and played very hard the entire game even though it was a blowout for a while.

[Qsmiff]

This was such a complete beat down I almost..I repeat--almost, felt sorry for the once hated Suns. I'm close to putting them into the irrelevant column with the Kings.....once again nice work DB

[10scott10]

I'm glad sasha got a lot garbage time shots. I'm completely serious, he need to get shots in game and have them start to go in for him to start to regain his rhythm and confidence. these kind of games should really help him let loose and hopefully refind his shot.


in general, this was a great game. We played an injured, but still potent suns team and we chrushed them.

Also Ammo looked pretty good out there tonight

[abciximab]

everybody scored!

thanks for the recap DB!

[sia_kb8]

Nice recap DB, love the overtour you have in the begining.
I wish the suns were still strong so that we could beat them down. I take no pleasure now. All their key players are gone or out: Diaw, Bell, Nash, Amare.
Anyway, everyone got to be ready for the game tommorow. Guys are well rested.
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[AceFresh]

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB!

The Lakers could have beaten a Shaq-lead team by 50 if PJ wanted to run the score up. It was great to see icebags on their starters knees in the 4th quarter. I bet Shaq wishes he were still a Laker!

48-10

[waterman40]

I liked that in the box score every[b] Laker had an assist.[/b]
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LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[Dr. Laker]

[Shaber]

[Shaber]

The box score is this time just a sweat wonder!

Every Laker scored, every Laker had an assist. Every Laker had a positive +/-!
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.

Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[LAmarODom420]

Mbenga was a revelation. Did you see that bank shot? and all the midrange shots?

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Great recap!! Thanks DB!

Now I've got that song stuck in my head..

and IknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIKNOW... Mbenga > Mihm.

There, like my singing?

Mbanga gave the fat man some problems down low. I was impressed.

Glad to see both Ammo and Shannon get some meaningful playing time. I hope they both can stick around for a while. Considering how deep they're stuck on the bench, I like what I see from both of them!

Good game from every Laker tonight, I thought.

Still grinning at this latest chapter in your recap!!

[chino]

SASHA DUNKS!!! xD

It was a great game for sure!!!
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Excuse me for my bad english.
Portuguese Lakers Fan!

[A Mad Chinaman]

it is good that the Lakers didn't play down to the level of play exhibited by the Suns!!

Great work DB!

[Sage_10]

Thanks 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

[targetman]

I was really surprised at how bad the Suns are without Nash at the point.

Gasol gets fouled without a whistle constantly. He and Sasha must have used up their goodwill with the refs. It was so nice to have a big body like Mbenga come in and apply some muscle in the paint. Speaking of Mbenga--who knew the guy had some skills? Maybe we can start making use of him between now and April.

Morrison made a tap pass to Lamar that showed some good court awareness. He is looking a little less uncomfortable out there.

Shannon Brown is very athletic but he looks small out there. I'd love to see more of what he can do but I don't know the best place and time to use him. I hope it's not just in 25+ point blowouts.

When Sasha snapped at Mbenga, LO backed up Mbenga. Sasha should not be yipping at the big dogs.

I enjoyed watching Ariza play. He looked very fluid and more like a natural shooter. Looks like he has been observing or working with Kobe.

What kind of difference would Amare have made in this game?
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[Laker7]

I loved DJ's stint against Shaq especially on the defensive end. I hope, hope, hope PJ and staff give DJ more playing time against the bigger C's in the league so Pau does not get worn down before the playoffs.
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[southgate]

DJ!!!!
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Death is Certain Life is Not

[limchrc]

Nice win.

[Rick12322]

I hope the Lakers save some of this for Denver.

[Arizona]

Only one word for that game: effortless. I'm going to the Sunday game and I'll be wearing the Laker colors. Can't wait.
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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

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

very entertaining. hopefully we can blow them out again on sunday
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Rigged4fun]

Nice write DB. I definitely think Phil is using these games against smaller lineups to experiment with combinations that he wouldn't ordinarily use. Mbenga looked very active but still tries to block every shot rather than getting into position for rebounds. I still think Powell is a steal. He's got a good all around game. I don't think Phil can go wrong with DJ and Josh in the lineup on the second team. I'm not sure about Morrison. He doesn't look like he's got his legs under him yet. As Shannon Brown gets more comfortable with the flow of the game I think he's going to give Jordan and Sasha a run for their minutes. This is all good for the health of the team.