LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS - 1/6 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Feasting on Fish... You haven't sat down for dinner at any of the city's post-apocalypse restaurants. You've sampled the street vendors, but decide to splurge tonight on a real meal. You sit down at the table of a nautical-themed establishment and glance over the menu. The options are simple: Fish and more fish.

The waiter/cashier/chef approaches and asks, "How do you like your fish? Fried? Baked? Steamed? Smoked?"

"Whatever the house specialty is," you reply.

The man smiles, nods and gets to work. From the kitchen, you hear the crackle, sizzle and pop of hot oil. You see flames shoot high into the air. Smoke collects in the air and makes you choke. It goes on... There is pounding, stomping and the clanging of pots and pans.

Finally, our plate is placed on the table. A mangled, blackened, smoking lump of charred you-don't-know-what sits in the middle of it.

"This is fish?" you ask.

"Sure is," the chef grins mischievously. He then hands over the bill. It's painful. At the bottom, there is a note from DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. They got a bad case of indigestion and took the night off.

I will continue to track them.

The main course tonight was a serving of DFish. The Clippers exposed him badly from the start and pretty much whenever he was in the game. He didn't help his cause on the other end, either.

After winning nine in a row against the Clippers, the Lakers fell to the other L.A. team 102-91. It was bound to happen sooner or later. The Lakers not only looked flat out of the gates, but tired late. They clearly didn't get up for the game, and the Clippers have been playing well of late.

Baron Davis had 25 points and 10 assists, a very large portion of that was against Fisher. The other Laker PGs helped dig the Lakers out of a hole, but the team faded late in the fourth.

"They were down our throats all night," Phil said.

My finger was down my throat, as well.


Kobe -- -- There was a point in this game in the third quarter where Kobe caught fire, yet DFish's inability to provide any resistance on the defensive end made the whole thing a wash. Kobe would score, the Clips would score with ease on the other end. It went back and forth. That was a ton of expended energy by Kobe to try to get the team back in the game. Only when Fish sat, would the team finally make their run. That effort, however, would catch up to the Lakers. Kobe looked exhausted at the end of the third. Phil sat him for 6 minutes in the fourth. When he came back, he couldn't hit much of anything. The Lakers had nothing down the stretch and fizzled out. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 10-30 shooting (2-7 from three, 11-15 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals and 2 turnovers in 40 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He missed a pumping baseline jumper. He spun around his man, drew Kaman and lobbed to Bynum. He missed a lefty jumphook, but Bynum dunked it in. Back in the post, he drew FTs with good position, he made both. He missed an elbow jumper. He attacked and kicked to Ron for a three. Out of a timeout, he kicked out again to Ron for a three. He missed a fallaway short. He sank a transition three, pulling up on the wing. He had 5 points on 1-5 shooting and 4 assists in the first quarter. He sank a wing jumper with the shotclock low. He attacked, stopped on a dime, put two men into the popcorn machine, while spinning back the other way on the Dream Shake and he banked. He stripped a man in the paint. He missed a three. He missed a long baseline jumper. He bricked a drive off the glass. He attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made both. He pumped Gordon into the air, but spun the other way instead of drawing FTs and missed a leaner. Horrible kickout, throwing it right out of bounds while Ron was wide open. He missed a three next time down. He blew past Baron and drew FTs with a second left in the half, he made made one. He got back his miss and back-rimmed the jumper. He had 12 points on 3-13 shooting and 5 assists. Second Half: He drew FTs with a head and shoulder fake on a jumper, he made one. He knocked a post entry away from Kaman. He got hip checked on a drive with no call and airballed, seemed pretty obvious that was a foul. He slammed a backdoor lob from Lamar. A few seconds later, he stripped Gordon for a dunk. He stepped through a double team and drew FTs, he made both. He hit a pull-up from 18 feet out. He got a kind bounce on a wide open wing three and it fell. He sank a baseline And-1 pull-up jumper, he made the FT. He missed a three. He cut off Lamar and missed a floater (seemed like he could have slammed that, probably tired legs). He missed a short bank next time down. He missed a lefty floater and wanted the foul. He exploded through a crowd and scored a layup in transition. He missed a turnaround on the baseline. He missed a three. He attacked baseline and was forced out of bounds, turnover. He attacked around the lane and lobbed to Bynum for the dunk. He missed a tough lefty runner, not a good shot. He missed a pull-up jumper. He attacked and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a three. He attacked for more FTs, he made just one again. He scored a layup off the Bynum block.

Bynum -- -- With Pau gone, after just one game, Drew finally got the double-double. It had been a long, dry stretch, but he finally had the minutes and effort needed to get the elusive stat. Offensively, Drew looked like he didn't have his legs tonight. It seemed like a he was short on a number of shots. He also missed a few bunnies right near the rim. Some very good sequences off the Kobe drive and lobs to Drew. Love seeing that chemistry. Bynum had a couple sloppy seals that resulted in Laker turnovers. Defensively, he had a decent effort. The D got so scrambled by Baron's penetration at times that it was difficult to hold the line. He had some better challenges on Kaman's midrange game in this one versus the last time out. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-16 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 14 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 2 blocks and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. The Action: He dunked off the Kobe spin and lob. He missed a jumphook with his left. He dunked in a Kobe miss in the post. He missed a quick jumphook in the paint. He couldn't finish a lob. He got it back in the same possession and missed a jumphook short. He missed a two-footer short. He bricked his next jumphook long. He grabbed a miss, pivoted around Kaman and dunked. Great post entry from Lamar and Drew dunked on the baseline. He had 8 points on 4-10 shooting and 5 boards in the first quarter. He missed a baseline turnaround. Second Half: He let Kaman walk around him and steal the post entry pass. He drew FTs on an offensive board, he made one. He got low position and hit a short jumphook. No clock awareness and the shotclock ran down as he stalled the play then passed. He swatted Kaman on the other end with some good hustle. To start the fourth, he hit a turnaround in the post. He missed a short jumper in the lane. He grabbed a miss and front-rimmed a short jumphook. He dunked off the Kobe drive and lob. He blocked a shot and outlet to Kobe for a layup.

Artest -- -- A more controlled game from Ron, but he still has to make some better reads. Some of his attacks into crowds were again "bonehead" plays like Phil said last night. They could have really used the impact Ron we've seen at times when Kobe sits, but he's clearly struggling at the moment to get back in the flow. His best plays were simple catch and shoot sequences. There was a brief defensive stand that either Phil put Ron on Baron, or Ron just said let me have him. Phil went to another PG a few seconds later, so I almost think that the Laker players may have decided this switch on their own. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-7 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He sank an open wing three off the Kobe kickout. He nailed a sideline three on another Kobe kickout. He tried to bully his way in a crowd and was easily rejected (it led to an And-1 the other way). No idea what he was thinking there. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting. Second Half: He swiped the ball from Baron. He missed a sideline three. He jab-stepped and swished a wing jumper. The offense stalled when he didn't want to dump it into Powell, he then attacked into a crowd and it was stolen for a score the other way.

Lamar -- -- Lamar put in a good effort on the glass again. A couple of late breakdowns, however, hurt the Lakers. When had had to get his first rest in the fourth quarter, the Lakers lost their momentum. LO had one of those games where he was steaming at the refs for a series of no calls. He stayed more composed than usual, but was clearly frustrated at times. He was a bit perimeter oriented in the game. With the Clippers own tall duo, he was pulling defenders out of the paint. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-11 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go wtih 16 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He got a kind roll on a three from the top of the arc. He missed a wing three. He pushed out a board and scored a layup. He whipped a post entry to Bynum for a dunk. Bad angle on D and he gave up a dunk. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs, he made both. He had 6 points on 2-4 shooting and 9 boards. Second Half: He swished an 18-footer from the wing. He hit Kobe on the backdoor lob for a dunk. He grabbed a rebound, pushed it out and was called for a charge (Baron was stepping sideways but got the call). He was blocked on a putback attempt at the end of the third. He was clipped on a drive with no call and missed a layup. He bricked a jumper badly over a smaller man. He missed a 17-footer. Smith scored a layup on iso around him. He missed a three.

Fisher -- -- He was a complete disaster on both ends to start the game. Baron was killing him to set up easy scores (7 assists, 4 points in the first quarter), while Fish had 3 turnovers. It continued in Fish's second and third stints. Fish was simply awful. It wasn't just lack of speed, but also just some poor decisions. In 19 minutes he was a team-worst -15. (Meanwhile, Shannon was a +6 and Farmar a +9). I didn't bother taking notes on all the defensive breakdowns. He was a step slow and was abused continually by Davis. Play after play after play. It seemed obvious from the start how badly he was playing, yet Phil didn't adjust for the longest time. I mentioned before Pau returned from injury the first time that Pau made Fisher a better defender. Because of Pau's mobility as a bigman, he erases a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, we get him back very soon. This game from Fish was awfulness mixed with heavy a dose of stink. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls. The Action: He was stripped by Baron after a careless, unprotected high dribble. He traveled trying to turn the corner on a handoff on the next possession. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked baseline and threw it away. Back in again, under pressure, he threw a long pass to Bynum from the backcourt and it was picked off. Throughout the half, Baron Davis got whatever he wanted against Fish. Fish was a -13. Second Half: He got tapped on a three off the split play. He sank a wide open wing three.

Brown -- -- Phil should have gone to Shannon way sooner in this game. Had Fish not played this one, he probably would have and the team probably takes the W. Shannon has the strength and speed to deal with Baron. Fish was getting toasted badly. When Shannon did finally come in during the third quarter, the Lakers immediately went on a run and dug themselves out of a hole. Good energy by Shannon and he helped spark some life into the sluggish team. Someone needs to remind him, however, to get the ball to the middle of the floor on the break. There were a couple ugly fastbreaks with the ball in his hands, but he still managed to hit a three and a pull-up jumper...so it's all good, I guess. Shannon took a couple fouls late with the game out of reach, so that stat is a little deceptive. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 form the line) to go with 1 rebound, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He missed a drive left, but Drew cleaned it up. He swiped the ball from Gordon when he tried to split a double team. He missed a three from the top of the arc. He attacked baseline, somehow maintained control of the dribble and scored a layup. He attacked from the corner and swished a fade in the paint. He was hit on an 18-footer, he made both FTs. He stalled the offense and then got blocked trying to create off the dribble. Second Half: Poor running of the break, not getting the ball to the middle and we blew a chance at a layup. He made up for it by hitting a wing three. Nice help challenge on Butler to get a miss in the paint. He sank a pull-up jumper in semi-transition after using a screen. He was called for stepping on the baseline. He picked his man, pushed it up and hit the elbow jumper. He missed a three. He attacked and banked.

Farmar -- -- Farmar led the team with a +9 in just 13 minutes. Just another stat that pinpointed the major difference when Fish was in vs. out. Farmar gave the team some much-needed floor speed. He had a couple ill-advised shots, but his ability to attack with the ball helped not only sustain those second units, but actually allow them to thrive. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul. The Action: He clanked a rushed three on a kickout. He swished a fading wing jumper at the end of the quarter. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He missed a pull-up in transition. He attacked in transition again, this time hooking off the glass. He attacked with speed off the Artest screen and drew FTs, he made both.

Vujacic -- -- He came in for Farmar with 5 minutes left in the half, leaving Shannon in. He had another short stint later. Minor action for Sasha. He gave the team little. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting from three and had 1 foul in 3 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He missed a three, short.

Powell -- -- In the fourth when we had to get LO some rest, Phil went to Powell. The Clippers started to get their separation at this point. Wasn't so much anything that Powell did wrong, but the team lost offensive flow and its purpose. Bad time for that to happen. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting and had 1 board in 5 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a sideline jumper on the pick and pop. He couldn't secure a board and it led to a three. Second Half: He bricked a pull-up jumper off the two-man game. He got to an offensive board.

Mbenga -- -- Mbenga gave some nice energy in the short action he had. That allowed Bynum to get the little rest he had in this game without hurting the cause. DJ hit a jumper out of the offense and blocked a shot out of bounds. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 block and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He batted out a lob pass, looked like he could have grabbed it. He recovered on Telfair and swatted his drive out of bounds. He flashed to the ball and swished a FT jumper. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- Phil hung with DFish way too long in this game. It was apparent from the get-go that he was a massive liability that Baron was feasting on... Fisher was getting torched badly on defense. On offense, he was a disaster with 3 turnovers in the first few minutes. Phil subbed in Shannon with 3 minutes left, down 5. Should have benched Fish quicker... When Baron sat, Phil went with a Bynum, LO, Artest, Brown, Farmar unit... The Lakers led 26-25 after the first quarter... Phil started a Mbenga, LO, Kobe, Brown, Farmar unit... Phil subbed out LO for Powell... I thought he might stay with Shannon to close, but Phil brought back in Fish with 4 minutes left, trailing 41-40... The Lakers were out-scored 6-2 in the next minute and Phil called a timeout. They were outscored 11-3 to close the half after Fisher entered the game... They trailed 52-43 at the half, shooting 34 percent (15-44). The Clippers shot 47 percent (22-47). The Clippers had a 17-5 advantage on the break. They had 17 assists to the Lakers 8. Lack of focus by several Lakers, especially DFish. Not enough effort against the Clippers pushing the tempo... The coaches didn't like the Lakers energy level... Kobe started heating up. However, Baron continued to disect the Lakers D with ease against DFish... Phil switched Artest on Baron for a possession. Then he subbed in Shannon with under 5 minutes left... Moments later the Lakers cut the lead to 2... The Lakers trailed 79-73 going into the fourth... Phil started a Bynum, LO, Artest, Brown, Farmar lineup. They tied it up on a 6-0 run to start the quarter... Phil brought in Powell for Lamar with 7 minutes left and the score tied. Moments later the Clippers had a 4-point lead and Phil called a timeout... Phil brought back in Kobe after a 6-minute rest and sat Farmar. Sasha came in for Ron. The Clippers continued to extend their run and cruise to the win in the final couple of minutes... The Lakers shot 38 percent. They had just 8 turnovers, yet gave up 26 points on the break...

[Klone_dd]

first?

[City_Dawg]

Flush this game down the toilet...

Thanks DB
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*sighs*

!...

[Klone_dd]

Ok, I still don't get the 'first' thing.

Stinky Fish tonight, but more than that the whole team looked tired and weary. Really, I thought it was a miracle they had tied the game in the 4th. Execution and spacing were horrible all night.

3rd game in 4 nights and the Clips were well prepared to run the ball down the Lakers throats. The Lakers simply ran out of gas. The strange thing about that was that there was no travel in the 4 nights. All 3 games were at Staples. You wouldn't expect them to be so listless, but it happened. Unfortunately, there are 3 more sets of 3 games in 4 nights in January alone.

[Sister Golden Hair]

Fisher's play, if it continues, is going to cause problems in the locker-room. Guys understand there's a pecking order, and that vets get some leeway, but Fish playing a deplortable level game after game is going to start rubbing people the wrong way, and that includes not only the guys playing behind him, but also the guys playing with him. I think it's become evident that Fish is no longer a starter in this league. Everyone -- Fish, the team, the coach -- has to face facts: he's hurtinmg the team a LOT more than helping the team. His minutes need to be cut and PJ has to use him more selectively. But letting him get roasted out there and putting the team in a hole on the back end of a back to back is just ... not smart (dare I say STUBBORN?).

I doubt anything changes regarding Fish, but would be ecstatic if they did.

SGH

[JUST-MING]

It just seemed like the Clippers controlled the tempo all night.

[LSULaker]

Shannon played hard, Lamar played hard on the defensive end, Kobe tried to do too much in the early portions of the 4th, and Bynum had a solid game. Not a whole lot of bright spots to this dud, though. Let's chalk it up to fatigue, though I imagine complacency had just as much to do with it.

[Shaber]

Fisher and Powell seem to be the largest weak spots and hurt the team pretty bad. And constantly so. It could be easy for Phil to fix both issues. Too bad he is too stubborn to do so.
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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

[KingKobe20]

Clipper Nation is talking mad trash right now.

Got like 6 different text messages from my Family who are Clipper heads all day.

They acting like they just won game 7 of the NBA finals.

The Curse is Over, Good for CLN.

I hope they make it to the playoffs this year.
It would be sick to have the battle of L.A in a 7 game series.

I got big money on it that Baron will not pull any miracles against us like how he did against the Mavs in 06'.

We get to start another winning streak on them next week on the 15th.
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"Tryin' to get that Kobe number, One Over Jordan"
-Kanye

aka ILLWiLL20

R.I.P PHIL

[tw-lakbfan]

It always bothers me that our bigs are so slow and ground bounded.

[mhan00]

Fisher is really showing his age and lack of speed now, especially on back to backs. At least he kept the idiotic shots to a minimum, but that might have just been him turning the ball over before he could jack it up. Fish is looking terrible so far this year.

[jsi106]

I look to DB thoughts/rating for reason why we lost the game. I can understand everyone will make some mistake in offense/defense as game goes. But somehow, our offense stopped after the game was tied in the 4th quarter.
Under Powell, DB said offense lost flow when he was in the game. Was it simply a bad substitution of bring out Odom? The unit that was on the court which tied the game, will that group able to handle the final run of the clippers line which eventually won the game for them?

Also this smith guy that came in the middle of 4th, he stole the energy from us, and outplayed us for rebound.

[Keyser Soze]

This loss is on Phil.

[AceFresh]

[limchrc]

Thanks, hope we get back to the win column.

[smoothazsilk]

[Arizona]

Lamar was clearly out of gas. All his shots were short which usually equals no legs. 16 more boards is awesome, though. Way too much one on one play for my taste. We were all just out of energy and rhythm. Flush it and rest up for Portland. We're gonna need it.
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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

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

I wanted to stick my finger down my throat too...
_________________
"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."

[Freakout]

The highlight of the night was Fisher fouling Baron with his back.

[gk3465]

It was pretty funny to see Phil put Artest on Davis, anything to keep his lover in the game I guess. Too bad, we might have had a chance if he had taken Selfisher out just even a couple of possessions sooner.

[Burgundy]

[Discoflux]

The Clippers are tough to beat on the road.

[Vishnu]

Thanks for the recap DB.

I kinda felt the loss coming unless someone stepped up and put a bunch of points on the board. That didn't happen.