SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 3/17 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Foul to Give... The most painful games to write about are those that the Lakers lose because of hoop IQ. When the difference between home court advantage in the Finals could be as slim as one game, it may be especially painful to think back to a single play here or there throughout the season where you could have scraped together an extra win.

With a foul to give and Andre Iguodala dribbling the ball down for the last shot, the Lakers could have just wrapped him up. Make the Sixers then run a play with a couple seconds left where they would have to force up a shot without time to create. The Lakers didn't give the foul. They didn't defend the three line. Iguodala rose up, hit the three and took the 94-93 win at the buzzer. The Lakers no longer have the best record in the NBA.

Just poor, poor decision-making with the game on the line. Trevor Ariza, who had played a great game, should have taken the foul.

"I don't know that Trevor fully understood when I said we have a foul to use," Phil said. He explained the fundamentals. You don't want to take it on a catch-and-shoot situation. You take it, for example, when the ball is being dribbled 30 feet from the hoop with 3 seconds left...which is what the Lakers had.

"We should have fouled him before he shot the three-pointer or force him to make the extra pass," Pau said. No sense dwelling on it. Hopefully, the lesson is learned.

Prior to that, we have a recurring issue that is really the source of a lot of our problems. The Lakers lost a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. The second unit isn't just bleeding, it's hemorrhaging profusely. Derek Fisher was a team-high +27 not because of how good he played, it's how bad the Lakers are playing when the entire starting unit isn't on the floor.

A lot of this problem is on the offensive end. It's not just missed shots, it's the combination of missed shots and turnovers. The lack of purpose and proper execution. That's how rallies get started, how momentum shifts. It's not milking your advantages, like having a skilled bigman in Pau going against bench bigmen. Kobe was guilty of this, too, in the fourth quarter when he ran with that unit. We switched up our attack of going after the interior via the post play, and the Lakers struggled because of it.

"The unit coming off the bench, we're just not clicking right now," Farmar said. He gets into a few more details below.


Kobe -- -- This wasn't a good game from Kobe. Yes, he hit a big shot, which should have been a game winner, but he was 0-5 in the fourth until his make. He was struggling to execute. He was not running the ball through the post. We didn't need to run the high screens every time down when Pau is killing it. Part of the problem might have been the extended minutes he sat on the bench. Kobe's first half minutes were cut a little short when he got into some foul trouble and Phil had to sit him. Five minutes into the second half, he pushed off on the perimeter and was whistled for his fourth foul and had to sit. When he came back, Phil said he wasn't running the offense well and took a long time to get going. That sums it up. The stats are among his worst of the season. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-15 shooting (1-4 from three, no FTs) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He was swatted at the rim. He dodged defenders with a between-the-legs dribble, then hit the turnaround at the top of the key. He drained a leaning three (had a defender behind him and the shotclock running down). After a great passing sequence where every Laker touched the ball, Kobe set up Pau on the final pass for the uncontested dunk. He missed a three on a two-for-one attempt. He picked up his third foul with 4 minutes left and had to sit. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting and 3 assists in 16 minutes. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper to start the half. He sank a wing pull-up in transition. He drained another pull-up on the next trip down. Five minutes in, he picked up his fourth foul on a push off on the offensive end, he sat for Luke. He missed a wing jumper, stalling the offense. He missed a wing three out of a timeout. He tripped trying to create off the dribble, layup the other way. Out of a timeout, he settled for another jumper and missed. He drew fouls twice, but passed out after the whistle on both. He threw the ball away, layup the other end. He missed a three, settling instead of attacking an open lane. He hit Pau under the hoop for FTs with 3:13 left. He missed a difficult baseline jumper with a minute left. With the clock running down, standing on the three line, he swished a jumper over Iguodala to take the 93-91 lead with 6 seconds.

Gasol -- -- The Laker guards need to recognize where their advantages are. Sometimes that means giving up the ball without playmaking yourself. Pau is 21-25 from the floor in his last two games. The only success the second unit had in this game was when they ran the ball through Pau, as they should. In the first half, in 5 second-unit touches, Pau scored or created 10 points. You milk that. Throughout the fourth, we decided to go strictly to the high screen-rolls with Pau instead of letting him go to work and setting the table. Just not smart ball when he's rolling against another team, and this was even with Kobe running the floor. "I'm feeling pretty confident out there," Pau said. "I have good rhythm. I have good legs. Things are falling for me. I wish I could get a couple more looks here or there and see if that percentage will go down." Yup...when the guards are hot they milk it. When their bigmen are hot, they need to milk that. Defensively, Pau had some huge challenges in the final minute. Those were clutch and should have helped the team pull this one out. After a weak rebounding first half, Pau pulled down 7 boards in the second half. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 9-12 shooting The Action: He backed his man down and hit the quick hook. He missed a baseline jumper. He attacked across the lane with speed and drew FTs, he made one. He dunked after every Laker had touched the ball on a great passing sequence. He spun quickly on the post entry and scored the And-1 layup. On three other touches, he hit cutters Brown and Sasha for layups and found Powell for the open jumper. He drew FTs on the post-up, he made one. He sealed, took the entry and dunked. He worked to his left, then swung back and hit the hook with his right. He threw a bounce pass onto the baseline for a turnover. He hit a short bank over a help defender. He had 15 points on 6-7 shooting, 3 assists, but just 1 board. Second Half: He drew a double and found Fish for the three. He flashed to the FT line, took the pass and swished the jumper. He swished an open elbow jumper. He attacked and dished to Powell for the layup. He missed a short jumphook off the offensive board. He scored a putback off the Kobe miss. He drew FTs trying to dunk off the Kobe pass, he made both with 3:13 left. He posted up Marshall and drew FTs, he made both down by 2 with 1:39 left to tie it up. Great challenge on dribble penetration on the other end to get the stop. He missed a tough layup under the hoop. He blocked another shot on his heels to get the stop.

Lamar -- -- When Kobe sat, Lamar throttled up his aggression. He went to the post a lot and made the Sixers pay with some good seals and scores. Good all-around game from him, his work on the offensive glass, especially. It didn't seem like he was getting much love from the officials. There were several of those plays that made you scratch your head. He should have had an And-1 late in the game taking all kinds of contact and scoring. That's an extra point, we could have used. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-11 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 5 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +19. The Action: He scored a layup on the lob from DFish to start the game. He rejected Iguodala off the glass badly. He posted up and had his jumphook goaltended. He got swatted next time. He drew the double in the post and kicked to Ariza for three. He grabbed an offensive board, then choked the layup. He had 4 points on 2-3 shooting, 6 boards and 3 assists. Second Half: He dunked off the high pinch-post attack. He missed a tricky layup trying to flip it in over his shoulder. He posted up and hit the jumphook. He was tripped in the post and fell to the floor with no call. He hit Luke cutting through the zone for a layup. He drew FTs, getting contact in transition, he made one. Great low position on Young, he took the entry and scored the quick And-1, he made the FT. He missed a tip of an Ariza missed layup. He had 8 points in the third. He msised a corner three. He took all kinds of contact and banked in the score, should have been an And-1.

Ariza -- -- What can you say? He was playing a great game again. He was scoring from beyond the arc and around the rim. He was rebounding, deflecting passes and causing problems all game long. Then, it comes to one stop with 6 seconds left. The moment Iggy was pounding the dribble from 30 feet out, Trevor should have been on top of him making an aggressive foul/swipe for the ball. Let the Sixers try to score off an inbounds with only a few seconds left when they don't have time to make more than one move. I don't recall Trevor being in this situation before, but he just got schooled the hard way. Damn shame after he played such an excellent game. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting (3-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 36 minutes The Action: He hit a little teardrop over Dalembert on the break. He jumped a passing lane on an inbounds pass and forced a turnover. He swished an open three on the probe and kickout from DFish. He missed an early offense wing jumper. He stripped his man on the perimeter. He swished another open three when Lamar drew the double. He threw a post entry pass out of bounds. He took contact on a baseline cut, spun, stumbled and threw the ball up and in for an And-1, he made the FT. He had 11 points on 4-5 shooting and 5 boards in the half. Second Half: He missed a 17-footer off the ballfake. He missed an open wing three. He scored a layup off the lob from Fish on the break. He couldn't finish on the break on the next trip down. He drained a huge three with under 5 mintues left.

Fisher -- -- As mentioned, he led the team in the +/- department. He's steady and doesn't make the kinds of mistakes you see in the second unit from the PG spot. Really, you can see the impact of not having Bynum even in the toll it may be taking on DFish. Our second unit is worse off. They can't hold the line. Phil has to bring back in the starters sooner and run them longer. It effects everyone and you worry a little about the older legs on the team. A lot more driving from Fish than you like to see, but he managed to finish a couple. He has also really doing a good job of swinging the ball with speed lately. A minor thing, but some of our better passing sequences had Fish in there whipping the ball around. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +27. The Action: He teamed up with Lamar for the lob on the first play of the game. He got tapped on an open corner three. He scored a layup on the break when LO swatted a shot. He tied up Young to stop a break, and he won the tip. He probed in early offense then kicked out to Ariza for the open three. He missed a runner in transition. He whipped a post entry pass into Pau for the dunk. He drew FTs on a jumper, he made both. He missed a wing three. He choked a layup. He attacked off the three line on the kickout and this time finished the layup. He watched a defensive rebound expecting someone else to get it, the Sixers eventually turned it into FTs. He quickly swung the ball to Sasha for a three. He had 6 points and 4 assists in the half. Second Half: He drained a corner three off the kickout from Pau. Great help D strip to save a sure basket under the hoop. He missed a forced pull-up from 17 feet out. He pushed out a rebound and lobbed to Ariza for the layup. Great defensive board tip out against a bigger man and it led to a Luke dunk. He missed a high arching three with the shotclock low.

Luke -- -- He picked up where he left off in the last game. Just a very poor first stint. He and Farmar teamed up for one play that was just typical. Luke with the bad pass, Farmar with the bad foul and the other team with 3 points. He put together some better second-half minutes. The team actually pushed out the lead when Kobe had to sit with four fouls and Luke came in early in the third. Very good stint there. The second unit was playing horribly before Luke went there. They are still playing horrid ball, but at least Ariza seems to have snapped out of his funk with the starters. Maybe we should start Sasha next. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 13 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He didn't hit rim on a bank shot over Miller in the post. He bricked a turnaround in the lane. His kickout pass to Farmar was stolen for an And-1 the other way. Second Half: Nice weakside dive cut, he took the pass and quickly scored the reverse layup before coming down. He missed a basleine jumper. He dunked on the bustout.

Farmar -- -- Farmar was a -20 in 12 minutes. That's how bad the second unit ran their game. I will let him sum it up because he really does hit on their (his, especially) issues. "I think it's the little things," Farmar said. "Just a step here and there, helping each other defensively, making the extra pass, playing with a purpose on the offensive end. It's just not there right now." That pretty much hits on it. The second unit has been stumbling for quite some time now. They need to execute at a much higher level. Offensively, when they ran the ball through Pau, they did click. When they didn't, they stunk. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 assist, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 12 minutes. The Action: He entered the game and immediately gave up a layup to Miller (without use of a screen), just blew past him. He gave up a soft And-1 foul in transition. He picked up three fouls and had to sit. Second Half: He sank a good look at the corner three to start the fourth. Weak return pass to Powell off the two-man game, dunk the other way (basic point guard skill there). He missed a wing three. He missed a three with the shotclock low.

Vujacic -- -- Someone should tell Sasha it's okay to repost. You don't have to shoot every time the bigman gives it up. Go back to him. Milk that post if the other team is getting bled. If Farmar is not going to do it, Sasha needs to so that we don't have a couple perimeter gunners not running our offense through our biggest advantage. If the shotclock is low or you are wide open shoot it. If it's early and you have to stepback to get some space or try to attack, just pull it out and repost. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He scored an uncontested layup off the Pau handoff. He was tied up in the backcourt trying to bring the ball up. He missed a step-back jumper. He missed a corner three. He drained a deep three on the swing pass from Fish to tie the game up at the end of the half. Second Half: No D on Ivey, layup.

Powell -- -- Until late in the game, he was playing some pretty soft D. You combine that with yet another of those passes that break rules of the Triangle and you see why this team can't seem to keep a lead. He was giving some soft And-1 fouls in the first half. I'd like Powell to be the kind of guy on this team that gets his money's worth on fouls. Pau is not that guy. LO isn't that guy. If a guard his attacking, don't challenge it softly, please. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 13 minutes. The Action: He drained the elbow jumper off the pass from Pau. He gave up a couple And-1s with soft challenges. Second Half: Bad angle pass trying to force it to Kobe, layup the other way (he's still breaking Tri 101). He powered in a layup off the drive and dish from Pau. He missed a one-hander, got it back and traveled. He swatted Ivey and controlled it.

Mbenga -- -- Brief stint for Mbenga. We went 44 minutes with Pau. A couple minutes with Powell at center, a couple for DJ. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot or tally a stat that showed he was out there for 2 minutes. He was -6. The Action: Bad goaltend, blocking a shot that was on its way down...he knew it, too. Second Half: Did not play.

Brown -- -- Ask and you shall receive. We mentioned the need to get more minutes for Brown because he gives the Lakers that bigger defensive guard that could become very important come playoff time. Prior to the game, Phil mentioned this exact thing and said he plans to try to work Brown into the rotation more. He kind of had his hand forced tonight when Farmar picked up three quick fouls, but good to see us try to work Brown in a little. All of these minutes are critical. He didn't do much and the second unit continued to struggle, but hopefully we will start to see him more and more in certain situations. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting, had 1 turnover and 1 foul in 3 minuets. He was a -8. The Action: He cut off Pau and scored the layup down the middle of the lane. He fumbled a kickout pass out of bounds. He was blocked at the rim trying to lay it in over defenders. Second Half: He did not play.

Phil -- -- Phil said they had a hard practice yesterday working against zone D and the zone press. They needed it... The Lakers got out to an 11-2 start. Some very good activity on the defensive end... They had a 10-point lead when Phil went to a Mbenga, Lamar, Luke, Kobe, Farmar lineup late in the first. Farmar and Walton = two bricks and no D on a drive. The Lakers led 24-20 after the first. The Lakers had 6 turnovers in the quarter... Five sequences where the Lakers ran the ball through Pau in the second unit, they got 10 points. They didn't score when they didn't run it through him... Phil ran a Brown, Kobe, Ariza, Powell, Gasol lineup. I'd like to see that sometime with Lamar out there instead of Powell, just to see what kind of D they could play... The Lakers trailed by 4 when the starters all returned to the floor. The bench lineups were a -14 in that first stint... Kobe had to sit with 3 fouls with 4 minutes left in the half, down by 2. Sasha and the starters held down the fort and went to the half tied 50-50... The Lakers shot 58.8 percent to the Sixers 39.6 percent. The Lakers had 11 turnovers, the Sixers 4. The Sixers had a 10-3 advantage on the offensive glass... Shaw mentioned the turnovers, offensive rebounds and poor second-unit play. The Lakers would do better on the glass, but not the other two area... Up by 1, Kobe picked up his fourth foul and Phil brought in Luke with 7 minutes left in the third... Great finish of the third with a 10-0 run. The Lakers out-scored the Sixers 23-12 in the fourth quarter. Excellent D, focing a lot of shots late in the clock and securing the boards... Now, would the second unit hold? With a 73-62 lead, Phil went with a Pau, Powell, Kobe, Sasha, Farmar lineup to start the fourth. After getting a quick 14-point lead, that unit trailed by 1 at the 6:38 mark and Phil took a timeout... He brought in Lamar and Ariza and sat Pau and Sasha... Down 3 points, he brought back in the full starting unit. They managed to out-score them by 5 until that final defensive play... Memo to Laker fans: Don't wear that St. Patty's gear with green clovers and green hats into to Staples. It's bad for the karma...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Huge fourth quarter run by the Sixers. Kobe was 1-6 (making the one that should have been the game winner). Again, the obvious change, however, occurs when Farmar and Powell sits and our full starters are back in.

[Vishnu]

1st

[PrestoDone]

2nd
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"There is no such thing as a former Lakers fan. You either are, or you never were."

Xbox360 Gamer Tag: PrestoDone

[Judge Dredd]

The bench has become completely useless. I can't think of a second unit in the NBA that is playing worse bball.

I'd give Ammo and Brown all of Walton's and Farmar's minutes.

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB.

Missed the game again and I just saw the replay. Trevor played not to lose rather than for the win. That's unfortunate because normally in the clutch he is one of our better defenders. I am confident that he will bounce back from his mistake on an otherwise very good game by him. He will learn from this and he will be better for it. Book it!

[Tony Almeida]

Thanks, DB.

re: Final play. I don't see that as being Phil's fault. Apparently he told Ariza what to do, so in this particular situation, you either make the right play, or you don't. Ariza did not make play the right play.

The good thing is, and this is often forgotten, prior to playing with the Lakers, Ariza was never relied upon to close games, so, he's still learning some things in that regard (e.g. toning down the gambling when game situation dictates more straight up D).

Though, I think you have to give credit to Iggy. Game after game, season after season, we watch Kobe hit those types of shots, tonight we were on the other side of it. That shot was a flat out dagger. Iggy said after the timeout he was going for three (despite being a 30% 3PT shooter, and being 0-6 for the night). Cold-blooded.

[DancingBarry]

[Ðenaßøy]

i can't believe they lost....

[ecksor]

[DancingBarry]

[Tony Almeida]

I agree, and I was waiting for Ariza to reach in and foul him. I thought it was a great situation, and believed that to be case even moreso while the play was going on.

The first couple seconds Iggy wasted dribbling around far behind the three-point line. Many times, the player on offense in anticipation of the team using their foul, will make a quick move to the basket and get it out of the way. Surprisingly, that didn't happen. And that should have been to the Laker advantage as there was little chance of Iggy pulling up for a 30 foot triple, and drawing free throws on a foul attempt. Give the foul at that point, little to no risk of free throws on a shot attempt, make them inbound and try to fling up a low probability shot.

Instead, Iggy sized up the shot, and nailed it. Luck, good shot, or a combination of the two, I don't know, but it indeed was a bitter pill.

[PopcornMachine]

Just to highlight some things that puzzled me from tonight's game.

Kobe's 4th quarter:

10:33 assist
9:15 miss
8:15 miss
6:45 TO
6:16 miss
4:07 TO
3:46 miss
3:20 dreb
2:53 dreb
2:39 assist
1:04 miss
0:06 two point basket

He was trying to make a three as he finally hit one, but stepped inside the line. They didn't need a three, but more importantly he shot too quick.

As soon as Stu got through saying they need to take as much time as possible, the ball left Kobe's hands. I said to myself, well now they have 6 seconds to tie or win it.

One guy doesn't lose games, but I didn't understand what he was doing most of the period. Seems like he had more than two turnovers.
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I'm with COCO!

[DancingBarry]

[PopcornMachine]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB.

What a frustrating loss. The last second failure to foul. The fact that Iggy just HAD to make THAT shot when he's not exactly a 3-pt deadeye. But most of all, the fact that the Lakers beat this team soundly, TWICE tonight, only to let that squad of defectors called the second unit lose each lead more quickly than the starting squad gained it.

Ironically, I remember early this season looking forward to seeing the bench mob creating leads instead of blowing them. Back in the days when Bynum started and Trev, LO and Farmar were teaming up nicely, and Pau and Bynum could spell rest for eachother.

[Shaber]

I did not see the game and had only a look at some highlights and stats. The latter seems pretty indicative - every bench player of 76rs was positive on +/- while none of the Lakers bench managed that. And it is not as much an offensive issue - those stats are OK for the bench, but it seems like it's more like a defensive problems. Reading the comments, it seems they are both an issue.

Todays games are also indicative why Kobe is not an MVP this year. PopcornMachine gave one side of it in a post above showing how and why Kobe did not manage to win this game for the Lakers. At the same time LBJ does (again) manage to win the game for Cavs.

I just hope that return of Drew will diminish the problems we have.

Then again, Phil could try to sub Farmar (or why not Brown) in earlier to run him with starters (where Farmar has not been so bad lately!) and then to have Fish and Pau out there with second unit to bring some brains on the court....
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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

[Sister Golden Hair]

[Shaber]

[prisma8slg]

[dna.]

I always say that in these type of circumstances you cannot put the blame for the loss on the one play at the end. You never should have put yourself in the position to win or lose depending on one play in the first place. In this game, point to the ridiculous amount of moronic turnovers as a much larger problem than not fouling on the final shot.

I smelled a loss somewhere in the first half, then we actually looked like we gave a damn about winning again in the third, only to fail miserably in the fourth.

I can't wait for the playoffs to begin already. Due to our (fill in the negative adjective here) play of late, I'm almost to the point where I'm looking at the rest of the regular season as just more opportunities to (bleep) up and give away games. Let's see if the playoffs finally rid us of the idiot-ball mentality SGH summed up in his post above.

[KingKobe]

Jordan FUBAR strikes again.

-20? Ugh....
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*Warning: The preceding post may have contained sarcasm and/or irony.

"We're all surrounded by idiots." - Kobe Bryant

[limchrc]

Hope we learn from this. Let's get the W in the next game.

[Sage_10]

I think Ariza needs to be put back on the bench squad; they really miss him.
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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

[lakerboy]

6-4 in last 10 games

[markjay]