TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 3/19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Not Again... In December against the TWolves, the game story started out like this: "All the news from this game will center on the index finger of Kobe Bryant."

Unfortunately for the Lakers, once again all news from a game against the TWolves is about an injury. This time, Andrew Bynum strained his Achilles. Bynum was heading down court when it happened.

"I was running back on D," he said afterward. "It was just really sharp and really quick. It was one or two seconds and then it calmed down. I didn't do anything. I was just running this time."

He was done after just a couple minutes into the second half. He walked off the court without help, but limped from Staples while wearing a walking cast. He will have an MRI tomorrow.

"We're concerned," Phil said. "He will probably miss a little while."

And just when Bynum was beginning to dominate again, scream a thousand Laker fans. Let's wait until further evaluation before hair pulling commences, please. A minor Achilles' injury may take a couple of weeks.

The game, itself, was an otherwise ho-hum 104-96 win. The Lakers (Phil Jackson included) didn't seem to take the lowly Timberwolves too seriously. They toyed with their lineups, toyed with their opponent, lost a lead and then flexed some muscle to regain control late in the third.

At the end of the night, they clinched their playoff spot. As they try to develop chemistry and get players into the flow of the game for those playoffs, they will have to overcome another hurdle. How severe an injury and how long Bynum will be out is anyone's guess, but let's hope they can dodge another bullet.

With injuries to Kobe and Bynum against the TWolves now, perhaps the Lakers ought to reconsider the April 9th game in Minnesota.


Kobe -- -- He set the table like mad in the first quarter, chalking up 7 assists early on. He was just picking his weapons of choice: kickout to Ron or Lamar, lobs to Drew, getting the ball to Pau on the move. He didn't stop looking for teammates all game. In the second half, he got caught in the air a few times and started turning the ball over. Still, he finished with a season high in assists and managed 22 points on fewer shots that Pau and Lamar. With Phil trying to get minutes and guys into a flow for the playoffs, it appears Kobe is trying to do the same. Defensively, some nice on-the-ball moments for Kobe as well. He seemed to overwhelm his man on a few occasions. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 4-11 shooting (1-5 from three, 13-14 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 13 assists, 4 steals, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed a corner jumper. He posted up, drew defenders and kicked to Ron for three. He hit Pau in the secondary break for a layup. He drew the D and hit Pau for the short floater. He lobbed to Drew for the slam. He hit Lamar behind his back for an open three. He missed a post-up in the lane. He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs, he made both. He had 7 assists in the first quarter. He posted up and drew FTs on some nice footwork, he made both. He flashed to the ball, turned and lobbed to Drew for the dunk. He drew FTs on a jumper, he made both. He threw a pass into Bynum's feet, turnover. He drained a long three with the shotclock low (his first basket of the half). He grabbed a pass from Farmar on the break and quickly went behind his back to Pau for the And-1 dunk. He picked his man in the backcourt and drew FTs, he made both. He had 11 points on 1-3 shooting and 9 assists at the half. Second Half: His pass was swiped. He attacked 1 on 4 and scored easily. He sank a pull-up 17-footer in early offense. He scored a layup off the no-look feed from Pau. He missed a baseline jumper, then didn't match up on D to give up a layup. He attacked in early offense and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a pull-up three on the break. He missed a floater. He threw a cross-court pass and it was picked off out of a timeout, points the other way. He hit Pau with a bounce pass for a dunk. He swiped a ball, pushed it up and hit Pau again for a dunk. He was caught in the air, no one cutting, turnover on the pass. He missed a three. Quick first step and he drew FTs. He kicked out to Lamar for three. He drew more FTs and made both. He attacked and kicked to LO for another three.

Gasol -- -- Pau had to deal with tonsillitis but played through it and looked good in the process. He was running the court well and hitting the offensive glass. Some nice passing sequences that involved him, as well, tonight. Kobe was setting up his guys right and left and Pau was finishing for him. It seemed as though Pau's high post game and chemistry across Bynum was finally beginning to get in gear. The Lakers haven't had a whole lot of positives lately, but this was one of them. The story of the season for the team has been the variety of injuries they've had to play through. Chemistry, especially, is what has suffered. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-13 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 14 boards (5 offensive), 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 35:32. He was a +10. The Action: He drained a baseline turnaround. He swatted Darko's drive. He scored a layup trailing the break. He swished a floater off the Kobe dish. He missed a 14-footer. He ball-faked and then attacked to swish a short jumper. He grabbed a Sasha miss, but fell away while trying to go up and missed badly. He gave up an offensive board and putback. He attacked off the dribble and threw a pass out of bounds. He threw down an And-1 dunk off the behind-the-back pass from Kobe on the break. He missed a lefty hook. He had 11 points on 5-8 shooting. Second Half: He grabbed an offensive board and no-looked to Kobe for a layup. He missed a lefty jumphook. He fumbled a bounce pass, gathered it and dunked. Nice hustle on the offensive glass to save it back inbounds, it led to a Lamar dunk. He hit Ron cutting for a layup. He drew FTs on the offensive boards, he made both. He tapped away a post entry pass to get the stop.

Bynum -- -- Strained left Achilles tendon. You never want to hear "Achilles" in any injury report. Drew had been playing great ball lately. The kind of two-way ball the team needed from him. It seems like every time he's getting to the top of his game, it's two steps backward with an injury. No telling yet how severe this is until he is re-evaluated tomorrow. There was no replay of it since it happened off screen while he was running down court and Fox didn't seem to even search for it. He had to go into the locker room after just a couple minutes into the second half. Cross your fingers. Hopefully, it's just a short time off, a couple weeks. Phil said they are going to miss his easy baskets. The drop off from Bynum to Powell/Mbenga is also considerable. Bench needs to step up. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19:50. He was a +12. The Action: He hit a jumphook over Jefferson with good position in the lane. He threw down off the Kobe lob. Nice challenge on one end, but he traveled on the bustout dunk on the other. He grabbed a Kobe miss in traffic and powered it up and in. He was blocked, got it back and powered up for FTs, he made one. He dunked off the lob from Kobe. He was held away from the ball, he made both FTs. He was called for a charge trying to back down Darko (flop). He had 11 points on 4-5 shooting. Second Half: In transition (and off the TV screen) he suddenly started limping after just a couple minutes. Fish took a foul after Bynum was lagging behind the action.

Artest -- -- Most of Ron's offensive output took place in the first few minutes of the game. He was aggressive, but eventually became cautious again as the game went along. He did a good job of picking his spots in the paint, able to score a couple of times without running into congestion that usually causes him problems. He was his usual self defensively, poking balls loose and generally keeping his man from doing anything. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 33:45. He was a -7. The Action: He swished a foot-on-the-three-line jumper to start the game. He was stripped on a cut down the lane. He swiped a defensive board away from a big. He cut, posted up, lost defenders on a pivot and scored a layup. He swished a sideline three on the Kobe kickout. He missed a tip. He had 7 points on 3-4 shooting in the first. He stripped his man from behind. Second Half: He missed a drive. He cut off Pau, took the pass and scored a layup. He hesitated on the kickout, attacked instead and drew FTs on the drive, he made one.

Fisher -- -- He was missing everything short tonight. That's usually the sign of tired legs. Phil was planning on cutting his minutes short anyway as Fish sat out practice with a slight injury from the Kings game. Glad to see Farmar step up and allow that to happen. That's been rare lately. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-6 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 foul in 16:19. He was a +1. The Action: He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a wing three. He missed again from three next time down. He scooped up a loose ball and drew FTs on the break, he made both. Second Half: He missed another long jumper, short. He missed a long sjumper, short again. He missed a corner three, short once more.

Lamar -- -- We mentioned trying to get more impact minutes on the court by sliding LO into the SF briefly. Loved the rotation tonight with Lamar coming in as backup SF for Artest for just a couple minutes in the first quarter. That's how you slip in more minutes. Of course, Phil than sat Lamar shortly later for some early deep bench ball. So much for that, Lamar would play just 7 minutes in the first half. Now with Drew down, they will have to throttle up Lamar's minutes. And there goes the bench. Lamar looked great tonight on the catch-and-shoot threes. If he's hitting that at a high rate, good night. That opens up the floor so much for others and kills teams. The short minutes in the first half might have been Phil trying to steal some minutes for Lamar to rest an injured shoulder. That luxury is now gone for a while. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-15 shooting (4-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 26:16. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He drained a wing three on the Kobe kickout. He was held on the breakaway and the ball was called out on him (obvious foul not called). He missed a drive to his left at the end of the quarter. He missed a fallaway 10-footer. He blew a layup on a cut. He missed a pull-up 15-footer. He pushed out the board and scored while attacking to his right. Second Half: He missed a pull-up baseline jumper. He missed a corner jumper. He dunked when Shannon found him off the loose ball scramble. He over-passed in the paint instead of taking the layup. He missed another pull-up off the dribble. He attacked past Love and missed an easy And-1 layup, he made both. He sank a catch-and-shoot three straight away. He got tapped on a wing three. He swished a corner three on a catch and shoot. He drained another catch-and-shoot three from the other corner.

Brown -- -- Shannon has really got to watch the long chucks. Explore the Triangle more before you settle for those. There were a couple of times in each half where he had poor possessions like that. Pulling up in transition for the 15-footers is fine. Pulling up from 20+ feet in early offense aren't the best shots. Keep working the offense. Bench is going to have to step up with Bynum gone. Shannon will need to keep bringing that energy, but play smart. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-9 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 23:22. He was a +5. The Action: He missed a three. He missed a 20-footer off the pinch post. He drained a 17-footer flashing to the ball. He sank a pull-up elbow jumper in transition. He couldn't finish at the front of the rim on the break. Second Half: He missed a reverse. He sank a pull-up wing jumper. He missed a three, pulling up off the dribble, poor execution. He drew FTs on the break, he made both. Bad chuck on the break from 19 feet out, he missed.

Farmar -- -- Farmar played under control and sank a couple of shots early on. Phil brought him back with the starters to close the first half to get him some quality minutes. Good to see Farmar playing well enough that Fish can get that rest. Defensively, it seemed like it was feast or famine. He'd come up with steals and nice pressure D or his attention/decision making would fade and he'd give up layups. Overall, however, a good game. Maybe the TWolves will be his slump buster. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting (1-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He worked the two-man game, was left open on the wing, stopped, squared up well and hit the 16-footer. He sank an open 19-footer. He hit Sasha leaking out for a layup. Horrible pass on the break, nearly picked off, but Kobe made the pretty play to Pau for the dunk. He missed a half-courter at the buzzer. Second Half: He jumped the outlet pass in the backcourt, swiped it and reversed. He swiped the ball at midcourt and drew a clear-path foul pushing it out, he made both FTs. He pushed out, stepped on the gas and drew FTs, he made one. He lost track of his man and gave up a putback. He missed a three on the other end. Layup for his man on soft D. He swished a sideline three. Lost on D again and he gave up another layup. He hit the side of the board on a corner three, didn't take his time.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha got in with Phil's oddball second-quarter lineups. Phil is trying to get everyone minutes where he can. He missed both of his attempts from beyond the arc, but scored a breakaway layup. Defensively, he had a few moments and gave a good effort. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist, The Action: He reached and gave up an And-1 drive. He leaked out an scored a layup off the Farmar outlet. He missed a three with the shotclock low. He missed an open corner three. Great pressure D on Brewer to force him into a turnover along the sideline. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Powell -- -- Phil mentioned wanting to get Powell some action. He came in early in the second quarter and got some lengthy run. Not sure it was quality minutes as it was with multiple bench players. Later, he got the quality minutes when Phil had to go to him with the shortened rotation. With Bynum down for the time being, Powell will be getting some run. Tonight, he struggled a bit with his shot, his one make was a long wing jumper. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He sank a wing jumper. He fumbled away a Kobe kickout. He missed a wing jumper. Second Half: He missed a top-of-the-key-jumper. He drew FTs on an offensive board and missed both. He got tapped on a turnaround in the post.

Mbenga -- -- Looks like Mbenga is going to be dusted off to run at the C spot with Bynum down. He'll need to play to his strengths and try to chuck every open shot he's given. He swatted a shot in his brief action tonight and missed a jumper badly. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 block and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He did not play in the half. Second Half: He rejected Sessions to ignite a break. He missed a wing jumper, short.

Phil -- -- Phil seemed to set the loose tone of the night by going into deep bench lineups early on. Although it's hard to get yourself going for the TWolves, those garbage-time minutes in the second quarter helped feed into the lack of sense of urgency... The Lakers pushed out to an early 13-7 lead, forcing Rambis to call timeout... Phil's first sub was Lamar for Artest. The big lineup, up by 8... After pushing their lead a little further, Phil brought back Artest for Pau and slid Lamar up to the PF. (That's the kind of rotation the team needs to see more often)... Phil had Shannon/Farmar in the backcourt late in the quarter... The Lakers led 31-20 after the first quarter... Phil started the Pau, Lamar, Sasha, Shannon, Farmar unit to start the quarter... Making it worse, Phil sat Lamar for Powell after a couple minutes. Uggh. So much for the impact ball rotations... Up by 9, he brought back in Bynum and Kobe for Farmar and Pau... He brought in Ron for Sasha... Phil went with the starters and Farmar to close the half (getting Farmar some quality minutes)... The Lakers led 59-49 at the half. The Lakers shot 50 percent (21-42, 3-10 from three, 14-15 from the line). The TWolves shot 44.7 percent (21-47). The Lakers were beat on the offensive glass 9-6... Bynum down, Phil brings in Lamar early... The Lakers played without a sense of urgency and gave up their lead, getting tied up 66-66... He sat Fisher for Farmar with 4:45 left and Artest for Shannon... A 12-0 run for the Lakers to close the quarter. Good energy from the bench. The team as a whole seemed to finally step it up... They led 78-68 heading into the fourth... Phil started a Mbenga, Lamar, Artest, Shannon, Farmar unit... The team seemed to go through the motions, but play with enough energy to keep the lead... The Lakers made 29-35 from the line and shot 41.5 percent from the floor... They out rebounded the Wolves on the offensive glass 7-5 in the second half. Slightly better effort there...

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks for the recap DB!

Hope Bynum gets well soon.
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"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[City_Dawg]

*sighs*

Another year where Drew will have to hit the ground running for the playoffs, dammit....

Thanks DB
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*sighs*

!...

[night89]

I knew something was wrong when Drew said that he wanted to take the brace off because he hated to compensate with the left knee, which I believe has inflammation right now. It seems that his entire left leg is very weak. I mean, let's list all the injuries he had on that leg: knee surgery in high school, subluxation on a fall that really should have been just an ankle sprain, swelling after a small bump, knee inflammation, and now this.

I think Drew should have just went against the doctor and took off the brace(hey, he said he wanted to do that also.) His right knee is not the problem. I mean, it took a 240-lb guy to fall on him to get injured(and there was no cartilage damage, so I don't know why he'd wanted to compensate for it.) He was protecting the wrong knee and was actually causing more injuries to himself by forcing the weak left knee to compensate.

At least this wasn't season-ending. Unless he wants to protect everything on his left knee and wear a brace on the right, I think Drew is going to have to live with the fact that he's just not made to go through the rigors of the regular season.

Let all the injuries heal up. Get as strong as he can(yes, I know that this latest injury may be weight-related, but at this point, he's not going to have to play any more regular season games. Put up AT LEAST the numbers he did against the Kings in the postseason, and he can still redeem himself.) Otherwise, we don't have a chance, because I didn't like the fact that his explosion was "off" again today(it may have been caused by the inflammation, but since we can't really guarantee that it won't happen again sometimes in the Finals, what we need is for him to get explosive to the point where "weak-explosion Drew" is at least like it was against the Kings.)

[Shaber]

Good points, Night. As the injury to Bynum happened just while running, it seems largely like a fatigue-driven injury.

Glad to see Farmar getting his game back again. Perhaps the fact that Sasha took his minutes served as a motivation? He has been better when he has had to compete for playing time.

Then again, I wanted this to be a blowout. Did not happen.
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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

[limchrc]

Glad we won. Get well Drew.

[All_Star_Laker]

Thanks DB.

btw, who needs healthcare when there are so many doctors on the internet?

Get well soon AB.
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[Rick12322]

[ericp6387]

[DancingBarry]

[ericp6387]

[RVCdesigns]

Thank you DB, great recap.