LAKERS -at- SUNS -- 4/7 -- Thoughts and :-(( ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 1:31 am    Post subject: LAKERS -at- SUNS -- 4/7 -- Thoughts and :-(( ratings

Playoff Race Tightens Up... One of the Lakers soft spots is transition D. Tonight, the Suns exposed that getting into early offense and knocking down open shots before we matched up. The Lakers fought back in the third to catch the Suns. Then, with Nash on the bench, the Suns went on an 18-4 run to start the fourth.

They took a 7-point lead while Kobe got a couple minutes rest in that stretch, then extended it after he returned. If people want to focus in on the MVP race, the Suns killing us with Nash on the bench says a lot. Kobe played a valiant game after the 42 points the night before, he dropped 51 against the Suns. Considering the team arrived at 3 a.m. after an overtime game in Denver, that's a heck of an effort. Going into this game on that kind of a back-to-back isn't exactly how how the Lakers would like to face the Suns.

Leandro Barbosa had 15 points (23 overall) on 6-7 shooting in the first half against Sasha, Kobe and Jackson, scoring easily with penetration or open jumpers. That was key in the Suns 64 points in the first half. Kwame and Lamar had quiet first halves. The Suns scored 43 points in the second half as the Lakers held them to a 16-point third quarter.


Kobe -- -- What can you say about No. 8? He carries this team. He scored 51 points on 19-33 shooting. "You should be able to ride that … and we weren't able to do that," Phil said. The rest of the team shot a combined 18-49. He picked up another bogus tech on a hideous call by the officials. Good thing his last tech was overturned. To the action: He drilled a long wing jumper on his first attempt. He squared up and knocked down a 28-foot three with the shotclock low. He hit a pull-up J off the dribble from the wing. He was stripped by Bell. He knocked down a quick catch and shoot three out of a timeout. He got called for an offensive foul, trying to create space against Bell. He went on a quick scoring burst at the end of the first: He drained a turnaround from the midpost over Marion. He hit another one on an aggressive turnaround on the other side of the floor. He stole a cross-court pass, attacked off the dribble, crossed over and finger rolled at the rim. He attacked, got Diaw in the air, stepped through and hit the little baseline floater. He finished with 18 points in the first quarter. He gave up a layup to Diaw standing flat footed. He created a little space off the dribble and knocked down a 19-footer. He was caught ball watching and Bell hit an open three. He drew FTs on an attack and made one. He gave up space to Barbosa for an easy jumper. He picked up a loose ball foul, knocking Bell down away from the ball. He ripped the net on a 30-footer with the shotclock low. Bad idea on a pull-up three in transition and it resulted in a long rebound and a Nash layup (against this team, you need to limit that kind of shot when you can help it). He took contact in the lane and hit a floater (should have been an And-1). He crossed over and created space for an open FT jumper. Uggh, Smush then got back picked by Kobe's man and Kobe watched Nash go in for a layup without contesting (he did have two fouls at that point, but that was a bad breakdown). He drew FTs attacking with his left at the end of the half, he made both. Kobe had 30 points and 1 assist at the half on 12-20 shooting, but the Lakers D was weak and we trailed big. He bailed out the offense again with a tough wing three with the shotclock low. He swished a turnaround from the high post. He hit an open three when Smush attacked in transition and kicked it out to him. Sweet pick and roll and it resulted in a two-hand flush by Kwame. Next time down, he pulled up and hit a jumper from the top of the key. (That was his 40th point and it came midway through the third). He drew FTs on a turnaround over Bell, and made one. Wow, Kobe then got totally jobbed by the officials -- he played great position D on Bell, got drilled for an obvious offensive foul as Bell plowed into him, Kobe got up off the floor quickly in disbelief and the officials gave him a tech (even Suns fans must have realized that was about as bogus as it gets). He had Thomas on him, blew past him and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. Back in the fourth after just a couple minutes rest, he missed turnaround and a three before attacking off the dribble and scooping in a layup. He missed a long wing jumper. He busted out off a Walton steal and dunked the ball on the break. He went between his legs, blew past Bell and scored a reverse around a help defender. He missed a three. He got tapped on a layup that rolled off the rim. He attacked off the dribble, drew contact to get to the line and made both FTs. Great effort by Kobe. Too bad we couldn't capitalize on it. Kobe has averaged 44.8 points in his last 4 games.

Odom -- -- A good second half from Lamar tonight as he seemed to turn it up from a somewhat quiet first half. He finished the game with 17 points, 11 boards, 5 assists and 2 blocks in 45 minutes. He shot 7-12 and made his only three attempt. He bricked a short bank over Marion on his first attempt. Next time down he posted up, got the entry and scored at the rim. He gave Nash too much room and gave up a three. Lamar missed a long jumper. He attacked strong off the dribble, took a quick, power dropstep and threw the ball in at the rim. He charged on a pass-off on the break. Nash drilled another jumper over Lamar, getting too much space. He got called for a tech giving Bell a retaliation shot after a play. Lamar had 4 points on 2-4 shooting, 4 rebounds and 5 assists at the half. Lamar again sagged off of Nash on a switch and gave up a three (Uggh). On the next switch, he finally crowded Nash and we got a stop. Bad backcourt outlet that was knocked away by Nash. Bad entry pass attempt to Kwame and it went straight out of bounds. Lamar went to the post, his man fronted him, and Kwame found him with a bounce pass for a score off the glass. He posted up and missed an easy jumphook. (The Suns turned it into a three the other way as Lamar and Kwame trailed the action. Kind of a typical sequence for the team.) He found Kwame with a tough-angled bounce pass and Kwame scored a layup. He crossed up Marion off the dribble, got into the lane and dunked. Sensational sequence by Lamar, he blocked a shot on the D end, brought the ball up court, attacked the baseline, and used his reach to finger roll in a reverse. Another good contest on the defensive end and he forced a miss. Lamar had 10 points and 9 rebounds after the third. To start the fourth, he airballed a three. He hit the side of the board on a jumphook. He got backdoored for a alley-oop dunk. Good offensive board off a Kobe miss and he drew FTs, making both. He took the entry pass from Smush in the middle of the lane, spun and scored a layup. He hit a late three.

Kwame -- -- In the first half, Kwame struggled to take advantage of the smaller man in the post and he got sent to the bench. He finished this game clocking just 17:11 and scoring only 4 points on 2-7 shooting while pulling down 6 boards. He missed an easy shot in the post over Diaw off a Smush entry, probably could have been a foul. He missed two point-blank layups not finishing strong and we got nothing. Nice bounce pass from the high post to Lamar who had a man on his hip and scored. He threwdown with both hands off a pick and roll with Kobe. He sealed Marion and drew FTs, missing both. He took a low entry bounce pass from Lamar and scored off the glass. Nice strip on Thomas who tried to spin on Kwame. Quiet game, overall. When we can't take advantage of a mismatch in the post, that hurts us. "Our matchups aren't good right now," Phil said in the Times. "We don't even have physical players that match up well against them."

Smush -- 8) -- Pretty decent bounce back game from Smush after the benching in the prior game. The Lakers strategy against Nash was to switch quite a bit on the pick and rolls, so that's why a chunk of Nash's scoring came off of guys like Lamar. Smush played nearly 41 minutes and scored 14 points on 5-13 shooting and had 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and just 1 turnover. He, Lamar and Kobe were the only players in double figures for the Lakers, while the Suns had 7 players in double figures. On to the action: Smush got stuck behind as pick and gave up an open three. Poor entry pass that was picked off easily. Nice entry pass to Lamar who then sealed Marion and scored at the rim. Another good entry to Kwame who had great position, but he bricked the layup. He drilled an open three off a swing pass. Good hustle off a pick to contest a House jumper and force a brick. He hit a step back jumper off the dribble, a rare attempt and make on that kind of play from him. He threw up an off-balance shot, wanting contact and he bricked badly. He drained a wing three. He was rejected under the hoop by Diaw. He gave up a J to Nash off a pick at one end, then attacked him at the other to get to the line for FTs, he made one. He got a nice bounce off an open wing three-pointer. He got backpicked by Kobe's man and Nash scored a layup (team needs to communicate on those and Kobe should have switched). Smush had 12 points on 4-8 shooting, 2 rebounds and 2 assists at the half. He missed an open three to start the half. He drew a moving pick call on Marion. Great reach on Nash on the perimeter to strip him, then Smush pushed it up and found Kobe for the open three. He faked a three, attacked the lane and got tapped on a finger roll. He got burned off the dribble by Nash, who spun in the lane as Smush reached to score a layup. He and Walton got their signals crossed and Smush lost a pass out of bounds. He missed a pull-up J. Good contest on House to force a brick. He missed a three. Great steal on a mismatch, stepping around the bigger man to snag Nash's entry pass. He found Lamar in the lane for a score. Nice step out behind a pick to get a piece of a Nash jumper, but no Laker grabbed it as it went out of bounds. Nice D on Diaw who tried to overpower Smush on an attack and he got the miss. At least Smush didn't let the bench rest he got in the last one go to waste in this one. Smush somehow managed a +3 in the minutes he was out there.

Cook -- -- Cook started both halves, but played just 12 minutes, scoring 4 points on 2-3 shooting. He did have 4 boards in that limited time, but also 3 fouls and 2 turnovers. He swished a catch-and-shoot jumper from the side. He picked up three fouls in the first half quarter of play and had to sit. Nice little move working off the dribble, spinning at the elbow and hitting a leaner.

George -- -- Devean provided little on the offensive end, going 0-5 for 2 points. He did have 7 boards and 3 steals in his 24 minutes. He hustled in the back court for a loose ball, then hustled on the boards and drew FTs, making both FTs. Nice D to strip Diaw for a turnover. Good D on Barbosa to block his shot. He fought for an offensive board, but then he threw away the entry pass. He missed an open three.

Walton -- -- Luke didn't have quite the aggressive game he put together in the previous night, but he was the only bench player who shot well, hitting 2-3 got 4 points. He hit a 10-foot fallaway out of the post. Nice seal on the smaller defender as we ran the corner sequence and Luke scored a layup early in the fourth. Excellent step around on Diaw in the post to steal the entry pass, then he fed Kobe for a breakaway dunk.

Sasha -- -- Sasha was scoreless on 4 attempts, he did grab 5 boards in his 23 minutes (Phil went small to match up). Crap game from Sasha. As soon as he entered the game, he got beat badly off the dribble by Barbosa for a layup. He clanked a long three. He missed a runner on the baseline. He hit the rim at the third quarter buzzer with a long heave.

Jackson -- -- HE played 8:41 of action and didn't score on two attempts. He missed an open baseline jumper. Nice idea on the pinch post feed to Kobe, but poor execution and it was picked off. He was beat easily off the dribble by Barbosa for an And-1. He missed an open three.

Phil -- -- He sat Kwame for Sasha as we matched up small because Kwame couldn't take advantage of Diaw... Lakers played soft in their transition D matchups and the Suns capitalized on the open floor spacing with open looks... The Lakers trailed 64 to 52 at the half. Their transition D was too soft... The Lakers jumped out of the second half with a 10-0 run early in the third to cut the Suns lead to three... Phil again brought Sasha in midway through the third, this time for Cook to match up small with the Suns... Great third quarter overall by the Lakers. After having given up 31 and 33 points in the first two quarters, they held the Suns to just 16 points and trailed just 80-79 at the end of the third... Key stretch to start the fourth, Phil has to get Kobe some rest as we trail by one. When he returned after a couple minutes rest, the Lakers trailed by 7. The Suns continued to stretch their lead after Kobe got back into the game. Nash sat during this whole 18-4 stretch of the first half of the fourth... Our bench was outscored 35-6 as we shot a combined 2-14. Yuck... Phil was asked about what playoff match up he would like. "I'd just as soon not fly to San Antonio," he said. "It's pretty simple, isn't it?"...


Last edited by DancingBarry on Sat Apr 08, 2006 1:33 am; edited 2 times in total
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 1:31 am    Post subject:

Sorry for the delays. That was not an easy couple games to cover trying to fit in an Angel game tonight and the Improv the night before.
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Hades
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 4:36 am    Post subject:

Great work
too bad we couldn't keep the game close with Kobe on the bench
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:48 am    Post subject:

Kobe is doing all he can. LO must step up..... Kwame dunk the ball!
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 7:03 am    Post subject:

IMO this was Kobe's third best game he played this season. It didn't look as if he forced the issue even though he took 33 shots. I blame the loss soley on Phil. He should have had Kobe to begin the 4th quater. That was a very,very stupid move IMO.

Last edited by twoface723 on Sat Apr 08, 2006 7:03 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 7:03 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB. I thought maybe the Improv was last night's transition 'D'.

The thing is, as much as I hate to see the Lakers try to go small and beat the Suns at their own game, without a consistent back-to-the-basket presence down low to punish the Phoenix for their lack of size, they really have no choice. They're a team Kwame positively has to play well against. Those two misses from zero feet might've been the worst sequence of shots I've ever seen from someone at the NBA level: two practically uncontested layups from point blank, foiled only by Kwame's own anxiety.

Sad to say, in the last two years the closest this team has come to beating the Suns were the first two meetings of last year, one of which the Lakers lead by 15 with 6 min. to play built almost solely on the strength of one of those Rudy T gems: Chucky, Cook, Kobe, et al. bombing away from distance. I hope Phil has some stuff up his sleeve on reserve for the playoffs, because this is a bad, bad matchup for his team.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:23 am    Post subject:

thanks DB

kobe- i'm sorry the team is wasting your prime years

phil- call a damn timeout once in awhile(don't wait til we are down by 20)
(is it just me or is his humor getting old?)

smush-start fighting through the screen, everytime you go around the pick, your man knocks down a wide open 3. Nash will kill us if this continues

lamar-stay aggressive and play some D. sticking your arms straight up in the air does not constitute playing D

luke-keep hustling, may the force be with u (i couldnt resist)

kwame-take your time, don't rush and DUNK THE DAMN BALL

devean-stop shooting and sulking. just play hard D

sasha-stop settling for the 3 everytime, drive to the hole or develop a mid range game

cook-you have no business starting but i like you lighting it up off the bench

turiaf,mckie,jackson,bynum,green- stay focused and be prepared and hopefully phillip will call your # someday

LOL! <---when did this guy get added?
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:51 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. It was a sad but expected loss. I expected the Lakers to lose to Phoenix even if they had won last night.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:28 am    Post subject:

seemed like we tried to play their game instead of play ours. can't do that against the suns. they run a really strong offense and are difficult to guard.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:49 am    Post subject:

do u guys think Kobe's T will be rescinded again?
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:51 am    Post subject:

thanks DB. kobe played great...as usual, but unfortunately -- we beat ourselves
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 1:52 pm    Post subject:

da ocho wrote:
seemed like we tried to play their game instead of play ours. can't do that against the suns. they run a really strong offense and are difficult to guard.

That's why I was so puzzled/incensed that Phil kept going small against them. We cannot run with the Suns, no one can. So why not take advatage of our strengths against them? I was really annoyed when Phil sat Kobe AND Kwame to start the 4th quarter. I thought that Kwame and Odom stepping up their games in the 3rd is what helped us to draw within on point. I would have liked to see Kwame and Odom taking it to the Suns with their two man game as Kobe took a breather to start the 4th. Instead, we had a lineup of Odom, Walton, George, Smush, and Vujacic.

And they had their lead back up to double digits within about two minutes.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 4:39 pm    Post subject:

The Lakers are just pathetic on defense. So little effort by the team... and that's from everyone, including Kobe. Kobe has gotten into some bad habits this season, roaming around going for steals instead of staying with his man. Worse was the way Steve Nash got through the double team and Kobe didn't even bother to rotate over to cover him and Nash got a lay-up. Smush is terrible staying in front of his man. In fact, there is no one on this team that has been a solid defender from start to finish this year. Mitch needs to get off his lazy butt and make some moves, because this team is grossly deficient in talent.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:54 pm    Post subject:

Missed the game, thanks for the summary DB. Its not a suprise the lakers lost to the suns when kwame was a non-factor. Our bigs needed to step up in this game. Mihm playing would've helped...and perhaps Bynum. Trying to match with the suns with their style of play is asking for trouble, so the loss is not surpising, wonder what PJ was thinking.....

this hurts, wasn't expecting the lakers to win both road games (denver and phoenix), but they needed to win one of the two.

as far as the lakers making 7th, 8th, or even qualifying - its wide open now, nothing is certain......

we need mihm back and kwame to wake up, and like a poster said earlier, sasha needs to start going to the hole and shoot short jumpers - forget the three, Sasha needs to go to the hole and take a beating if he has to, that's the only way he'll improve...
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tw-lakbfan
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 8:03 pm    Post subject:

LAkers 4 Life wrote:
Smush is terrible staying in front of his man.

It's disgusting watching opponents get by Smush like he's not even there.
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ComputerBlue
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 8:38 pm    Post subject:

Awesome breakdown.

(unfortunately this is what D'Antoni was saying to Nash after the game also)
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:18 pm    Post subject:

It must be some kind of "Freudian", or psychological syndrome, where the brain is suddenly switched off... There's no other way I can account for our style of play, in the last two games...
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 12:21 am    Post subject:

Phil should have a shorter leach with the unit that starts the 4th quarter. once it was apparent that the lakers had no offensive rhythm with their first 3 possessionsin the 4th, Phil should have called a timeout and bought kobe back into the game.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 1:44 am    Post subject:

DB:

Hmm the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Improve OR the Lakers game - decisions decisions decisions - btw: who were the comics at the Improv?!?!

Question
How come the Lakers didn't try to slow down the Suns transition offense by having somebody always in front of Nash's face as soon as he gets the ball? When Smush was in the game, he was already on his end of the court waiting leaving Nash to get a full head of steam to jump-start the offense. This should cut the legs of Nash/Marion/Diow in the 4th quarter, instead of the other way around.

Why didn't the Lakers call more pick & roll that involved Nash and Diow or Nash and Marion to make them work on defense while limiting their opportunities to "leak-out" on offense? When Mihm is back in the line-up, they can presently post-up Diow and pound him inside to cut his legs during the 4th quarter.

Why were the Lakers getting beaten on the boards during the 4th quarter - could it be that they didn't have the legs to properly block out?
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:14 am    Post subject:

Kwame's recent play makes me wonder if he wasn't part of some cloning experiment, in which Jermaine Oneal, and Elden Campbell were mixed together... Which side of Kwame will show up next, or will they show up together, and interfere with one another??
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