LAKERS -at- BOBCATS - 3/31 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Like Death and Taxes... If the Lakers could somehow win 80 games in a season, their two losses would likely come from the Bobcats. No matter how good the Lakers are or how bad the Bobcats are, some teams just have your number. Once again, that held true as the Cats took their sixth win in the last seven against the Purple and Gold.

For their second straight game, the Laker offense struggled to put points on the board. Aside from Derek Fisher, the team has no perimeter shooting right now. That hurts when you don't feed the post like the last game. Tonight, however, there were a variety of issues that the Lakers faced.

Kobe's shot remains MIA. Despite putting in extra work, he was still firing blanks. Combine that with the bench problems, Lamar foul issues, and a lack of FTs and you find yourself on the wrong end of a 94-84 score.

After two FTs to start the game, the Lakers only drew one more trip off of fouls during the rest of the game. Asked why, Phil replied, "Road game."

The Lakers shot 39 percent from the floor and just 4-6 from the line. When asked what the problems with the team are, Kobe said, "Just not shooting the ball well. We're getting good looks, just not making them." That was certainly the case for him tonight as he shot just 4-14 in the first half.

If the guaranteed home court advantage wasn't lost in the last game, it was pretty much nailed shut here. The Lakers fell three games behind the Cavs. Since they don't have the tiebreaker against Orlando, they are only one game up on them. They are three up in the loss column to the Celtics.

Their goal of getting 60 wins on the road trip won't happen, but they need to bounce back in their final game to save the 7-game roadie from mediocrity.


Kobe -- -- He arrived 3 hours before the game to shoot. It didn't help. To start the game he went 3-10 in the first quarter. His first make of the game looked like money, then he caught the Machine's disease and the lid was on the basket. He was killing the Lakers in the first half on the perimeter. Several of these misses were good, open looks. He even clanked from the freethrow line, too. The shooting woes continue. He did shoot better in the second half, but the end results was a very inefficient offensive night once again. In the second half, they ran some split plays for him and they also tried to get him in the post a little more. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 11-28 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He swished a smoothing looking wing jumper, pulling up in transition. He missed a forced turnaround on the baseline. He swiped the ball back from Bell on the other end, set up Fish for a jumper, then missed a tech FT a few seconds later. He missed a bank from a few feet out. He bricked trying to draw contact on a jumper and not getting any. He missed a wing jumper, not squared up like the first one he took. He got a couple bounces on a fading wing jumper and it went in. He missed a baseline turnaround. He sank a good look on the baseline out of a timeout. He missed a wing jumper. He missed another wing jumper in transition. Back in and he missed another wing jumper. He didn't inbound a ball and got a 5-second violation (Pau was right there asking for it). He split a double team and missed an open 12-footer. He missed a pull-up three. He posted up finally and hit a short turnaround. He was 4-14 in the first half for 8 points to go with 2 assists. Second Half: He missed a wide open wing jumper, short. He missed a bank on a drive next time down. He swished a pull-up over Felton from the top of the key. He drained a three with the shotclock low (looked dialed in on that one). He buried another three next time down when they ran the split play off Pau at the left wing. Too difficult an attempt next time down on the same play, he had to hang and shoot with a man on (shouldn't have forced it). He swiped a pass, pushed it out and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a hanging bank as he went to the floor with no call. Immediately off the bench and he drained a wing jumper. He posted up Felton and swished the easy turnaround. He swiped a ball, pushed it out and missed a layup, looking for the foul. He slowed down at the three line in transition, stepped on the gas to attack and scored the layup. He missed a wing three when we couldn't get the ball to him in the post. He missed another three. He swished a step-back wing jumper.

Gasol -- -- Pau had near triple double numbers. His jumper was a bit off at times, but his passing set the table for others. He should have gotten to the line a few times, but didn't make a single trip there. Phil mentioned this after the game. He had a couple late-game turnovers that helped seal our fate. Prior to this game, Pau played 2.4 minutes less per game in March than February, but about 1.5 more minutes per game than in January. He shot .624 from the floor in March. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 8-17 shooting to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 45 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He bricked after a great handoff fake to a cutter to leave himself wide open on the wing. He missed an open FT jumper. He airballed a jumphook. He made a jumphook from a couple feet out. He dunked off the Luke lob. He hit Lamar cutting for a dunk. Great job running the floor again and he was rewarded with a layup. He missed a 21-footer with the shotclock low (his longest attempt in weeks). He missed a turnaround. He sank an open elbow jumper. He had 8 points, 7 boards and 5 assists. Second Half: He hit LO cutting for a dunk. He missed a layup off a nice spin move, Trevor kept it alive and Pau dunked it back in. He swished a baseline jumper. He missed a turnaround taking contact and no call. He missed a hook with his left. He crammed the ball over a man after working the screen-roll with Lamar. He dunked off the drive and dish from Luke. He swatted dribble penetration at the other end. He missed a face up jumper. He couldn't handle a hot pass from Kobe on the two-man game, should have had it. He was picked in the post.

Lamar -- -- The story of this game might be found in Lamar's +/- of -1. When he was in the game, including with that second unit, the Lakers were in the game, too. When he went to the bench with some foul issues late in the third, the wheels fell off. He was the floor general of that second unit. When you hand the ball over to Farmar and company, it's trouble. Lamar was hitting his jumper, crashing the glass, attacking and pushing the tempo when he rebounded. His foul trouble really derails the team right now. Again, when Bynum gets back, we can absorb Lamar's foul issues. Until then, the balance of games seems to weigh on Lamar's minutes. Lamar was also another of the Lakers who should have had a couple trips to the line. How he gets 17 shot attempts with the level of aggression he played with and not a single FT is puzzling. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 9-17 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 9 boards (5 offensive), 3 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 6 fouls in 37 minutes. The Action: He attacked to his left with a couple big strides and scored a layup softly off the glass. He missed a layup with his right after pushing out a rebound. He swished a wing three off the high pinch post. He missed a jumphook. He pulled down a long offensive board and it led to points for Pau. He drained a long three with the shotclock low. He tipped in a miss by Luke in transition. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He scored a layup when Pau worked the screen-roll and then found him cutting. He tipped in another miss by Luke, crashing the glass. He missed a corner three. he had 14 points on 6-11 shooting. Second Half: He dunked when Diaw gambled and Pau fed LO cutting for the dunk. He missed a layup on the break, too hard off the glass. Late post entry to Kobe and it was picked off for a layup the other way. He attacked from the top of the key with two big steps and scored the layup. He picked up a foul trying to set a screen on a split play and had to sit with 3:29 left in the third. He sank an elbow jumper. He hit Pau on the screen-roll for a dunk. He missed a wing three.

Ariza -- -- Trevor Ariza started the game with a couple of FTs off a foul at the rim. The Lakers would only get one more trip to the line off of a foul the rest of the game. Trevor should have been there at least a couple more times. While he did a good job crashing the glass and hustling in this game, it may have cost the Lakers a little in transition D. Teammates need to be more aware of when he's killing it on the offensive glass and help out by getting back a little quicker. Trevor got stuck a little in no man's land on some sequences. Still, some great effort by Trevor in that regard. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards (6 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was -7. The Action: He drew FTs on a cut off Pau along the baseline, he made both. He tried to create off the dribble in early offense, travel. He missed a leaning three. He got shoved with no call on another cut off Pau, but still made the layup. He gambled for a steal and lost, giving up a layup. Lousy inbounds pass to no one, turnover. He got drilled in transition, blocking foul (weak call). He was bumped to the floor on a handoff, no call and he missed the chuck. He tipped in a Gasol miss with a nice crash of the boards. He gave up a layup on the other end. Second Half: He crashed the glass, missed the putback, but Pau dunked it back in. He barely grazed the rim on an 18-footer.

Fisher -- -- Look for Fish to crank out double digit shot attempts in the next game. After a loss in which he went 3-4, he will likely come out a little more aggressive. Right now, he is the Lakers only perimeter threat. Kobe is struggling. Sasha and Farmar aren't a threat. Vlad was on the other team. Without a consistent perimeter game, that will make it very difficult on the Laker offensive execution. The Stats: He scorred 6 points on 3-4 shooting, had 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He swished a baseline jumper in transition. He curled down the lane with speed and missed a layup (but a foul away from the ball erased his attempt). He sank the DFish Special, toe-on-the-three-line, pull-up jumper while in transition. Second Half: He swished a tough step-back jumper from the wing with the shotlcock low. He didn't draw iron on a 17-footer straight away. He stripped a couple bigmen in the paint.

Luke -- -- Luke is the only bench player who is balling. He's had two bad games off the bench, the rest have been strong. He wasn't efficient on his shot, but we scored a couple times off his misses because of his dribble penetration. He nearly led the team in assists, some nice passes (especially to Pau). He may be our bench right now. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-9 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 5 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a layup on the break, but LO tipped it in. He sank a baseline turnaround over Wallace. He lobbed to Pau off a quick read. He drew a charge on Vlad's drive. He got a kind bounce on a baseline jumper. He attacked and missed a runner, but Lamar tipped it in. Second Half: He was rejected in the paint. He attacked and went glass for a score. He attacked from the wing, drew the D and fed Pau for the dunk. He was stripped and hurt his hand. He missed a corner three.

Farmar -- -- It was painful on some sequences watching him organize the offense. Just painful. Then you combine that with not completing the kind of plays that a point guard should complete and you shake your head at the train wreck. The bench got drilled in the second half and that's where the game was lost...once again. I liked the move Phil made by bringing Brown in as the first guard off the bench in the first half. As I said after the last game, trying to prop up Farmar's confidence at this point has dragged on too long without results...give Brown some of those minutes. Phil seems to have said the same thing with Brown's insertion ahead of Farmar on the rotation tonight. If the carrot isn't working, then go to the whip. I'd try that in the next game, as well. It may be good for both Farmar and Brown. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting to go wtih 1 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: Nice challenge on a jumper to get a miss. He missed an open pull-up jumper. Second Half: Sad pass trying to hit Pau in the lane, wasn't even close, right out of bounds for a turnover. Another bad pass on the two-man game and bigman picked it off easily (again basic point guard skills no matter what system you are in), layup the other way.

Vujacic -- -- The Tour de Brick continues for Sasha. He is now 4-24 in his last 5 road games. I do think the shot looked a little better tonight. He wasn't hurling the fastballs at the rim like he has been, but the results were still the same. Sasha is shooting .314 from the floor and .299 from three on the road. Lamar shoots .317 from three on the road. Morrison shoots .345 from three on the road. Shannon Brown shoots .353 from three on the road. Luke shoots .409 from three on the road. These are among the many options whom you should prefer statistically to take a three on the road instead of Sasha. Last year, Sasha had the Machine mojo going. This year, ouch. At least he was able to get under the skin of an opponent and work that into a tech FT. That was more like the 07-08 Machine. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: Bad overplay on the perimeter and he got backdoored for a layup (there is no reason to defend that way against this team). He missed a corner three (much softer looking shot than usual). Second Half: Sasha under Felton's skin and he drew a tech on him, then hit it on the other end. He missed a wing three at the third quarter buzzer. He bricked a difficult chuck from the corner out of a timeout. He missed a wing three. He scored a layup late.

Powell -- -- Ugly. Unless he's out there with the starters, we don't have the IQ to make him an effective part of the attack. He's been looking about as savvy as Kwame around the rim lately. Tonight, he was packed a couple of times on plays that LO or Bynum would have finished. When Bynum is back, it will be either LO or Drew taking Powell's minutes. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-3 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 steal and 1 foul in 10 minutes. He was -12. The Action: He was rejected badly trying to power up off a great feed from Pau. Second Half: He was swatted badly again in the paint trying to power up off an offensive board (just put the ball right in front of Okafor). He missed an open wing jumper.

Mbenga -- -- Not much to Mbenga's game. He played just a couple minutes and managed to miss a couple shots during that time. Hard to say much about his game other than that the ball seems to be finding him quite a bit and is being quickly rerouted to the rim lately. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 block and no fouls in 2 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He bricked a jumphook badly. He missed a layup in transition. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Brown -- -- He came in with a couple minutes left in the first quarter at lead guard against his former team. The Cats put the pressure on and caused him a little trouble, but he settled in. With other ball handlers on that unit, this shouldn't be a problem. With LO in foul trouble in the second half, we couldn't go to the same lineup. Lamar can set up the offense against the Bobcat pressure better. So, Phil brought in Farmar instead of Brown and the wheels came off the second unit once again. Those mixed rotations Phil played should be given some more opportunity. Even if Brown stumbles and fails, the more minutes he gets, the less that will happen. He's just got to get the PT. It's clear the Pau, Powell, Luke, Sasha, Farmar unit is a formula for failure. Shannon led the team with a +5. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 6 minutes. The Action: He turned the ball over bringing it up court. Second Half: In for the final minute and he scored a layup on a drive.

Phil -- -- Phil went to Brown as the first guard off the bench tonight. More please... The Lakers fell behind in the first, but a 7-0 run to close out the first quarter allowed them to pull back to a point behind, 25-24. The Lakers shot 10-27 and gave up a lot of dunks and layups... Phil started the second with a Pau, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Brown lineup... He then brought in Farmar for Brown at the 9:40 mark... He then went to a Mbenga, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup... The next subs went Pau, Powell, Ariza, Kobe, Fisher... A lot more mixing it up in that sequence of bench rotations and the team had a couple of runs... Phil picked up a tech when Pau was taken out of a play on the defensive end with no call... The Lakers led 44-43 at the half. The second unit with Lamar getting more run and the other changes in the lineups held strong. The Lakers shot 20-51, 39 percent to the Bobcats 18-38, 47 percent. The Cats got 26 points in the paint. The Lakers won the offensive glass 9-1... The coaches wanted the Lakers to cut down on those easy points in the paint... The Lakers forced two shotclock violations in the first 2:30 of the second half... Phil went to Powell and Farmar with 2:36 left in the third. Then added in Sasha for Kobe... The Lakers were outscored 25-20 in the third and trailed 68-64. Phil went back to his usual Pau, Powell, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup and they sucked it up badly. He called a timeout when they trailed by 8... Down 75-66 with 8:50 left, Phil went with the starters and Luke. They had a run to pull about even, but then fell right back down... The Bobcats won the points in the paint, 52-38. So, the Lakers gave up 26 in each half. No improvement... Phil on Bynum: "He thinks he's going to play a regular-season game. That shows me some confidence," Phil said in the Times. "The last time I talked to him before we left on this road trip, Andrew said he was 'hopeful.' Now he sounded confident."...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The second unit between the third and fourth quarters just got killed. The starters had an 8-0 rally to get them back in, but that was followed by an 11-0 Bobcat run that seized control of the game for good.

[MedRomLaker]

Wow thanks DB, hard losses to take.
_________________
11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[A Mad Chinaman]

It appears that PJ let the second unit a little longer with the hope that they will "find their groove." However, Stella just didn't want them to have it tonight (reference to the movie).

What do you think is the reason why the Lakers got killed in the paint (52-38)? Do you think that it is attributed to what Big Games James stated - lack of consistent effort?

With Sasha and Kobe, they are taking (mostly) clean and open shots. Farmar, on the other hand, is just "Lost in Space." Could it be that the scouting reports on Farmar is causing him to have numerous "brain cramps" that is highlighted more by his failure to adapt to how he is being played?

[DancingBarry]

[Arizona]

wow, no mention of Trevor's piss poor defense and getting pwned reapeatedly by Wallace? That was embarassing.
_________________
“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

[MedRomLaker]

I have been thinking about it for some time now, and I don't think the 2nd unit has the IQ to run the tri. They seemed like they were most successful when they played a run and gun game. In fact it played to their strength's as they didn't have to think much just run and gun.

Since Farmar and the rest of the bench can't really make consistent post entry passes and they don't take advantage of Pau, what really is the point of having Pau in there and tiring him out? I wish Phil would just play LO with the 2nd unit and have Powell or DJ at the center, and allow them to just run and throw up shots. Why not?

They already do that anyways just at a slower pace, that seems to take away from their strengths, youth and speed. Plus they already give up leads like its nothing, might as well have them do it D'antoni style, at least they might be able to have some scoring parity, lord knows it won't happen on the defensive end.
_________________
11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[fsc401]

He missed a wing jumper. He missed another wing jumper in transition. Back in and he missed another wing jumper.

[hellsling]

The biggest face palm situation was Farmar throwing that bounce pass to Gasol...

[mhan00]

[BT]

Phil deserves a whole set of 's.

Burning the starters (45' Pau, WTF!!!) when we all know how much we'll need them for the playoffs and losing. Epic fail, seriously.

[A Mad Chinaman]

[prisma8slg]

_________________
"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[Sage_10]

Everyone needs to be humbled at some point. Thanks DB
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[billstein]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

at least we dont have to stress about HCA or MVP anynore.
_________________
"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[limchrc]

Hope we win the next one.

[noJINX]

Dear Mr. Farmar: We (front Lakers office) have had alot of confidence in your game for a couple of years. But, NOW --WTF- are you intentionally trying to throw these games for us? Please get an enema to clean yourself out so you can Boost your (and our) confidence level.

Warm regards,
Lakers front office

[LakersDa1]

Bad loss indeed.. Fish should of taken more shots.. but i also

agree with what Kobe said its better to have these losses now, come

playoff time theyll be ready. i have no doubt the lakers will go the

Finals... I believe in most games in the playoffs theyll be going to 7

games..

[LaMesaLakerLover]

No team has ever gone 7 - 0 on a 7 game road trip. We have serious problems when we go up against Eastern Conference teams, and more specifically, the average/below average EC teams. Just something we have to live with I guess...

[LuciusAllen]

This loss is doubly painful because we own Charlotte's 2nd rounder this year. We have done nothing within our power this year to ensure that pick is as high as possible.

[Nnamdi21]

when the 2nd unit provides nothing out team looks like trash. Farmar and sasha leading the way. I hope the lakers dont extend Farmar, he's a trainwreck right now. Imagine him with a 3 year deal. luke walton all over again.

[DancingBarry]

[Alpha]

Thanks DB... I really hope to read the continuation of your story the next time around.