Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 12:22 am Post subject: SUNS -vs- LAKERS -- 10/22 -- Thoughts and :-)) ratings
The Young and the Restless... With the injury depleted lineup opening up minutes for the bench, the youngest of the Lakers youth movement were on the prowl against the Phoenix Suns. They got impact play from the two teens, as Andrew Bynum scored 16 points and Jordan Farmar helped dig the team out of a double-digit hole in the first half and led all Lakers with 6 assists.
Down the stretch, Luke Walton (a different kind of Young and Restless star) hit a key three-pointer and grabbed a critical offensive board that Bynum kept alive, and the Lakers held on to the 94-91 victory. Walton led the Lakers with 19 points.
The Suns left Nash on the bench for the fourth and played some of their backups for extended minutes. So, the level of play wasn't at its peak during that quarter. But prior to that, both teams mixed it up with their best available players.
The Lakers hit the glass well and worked the extra possessions for a number of second-chance points. While that part of their game was working, the turnover-prone ball the Lakers showed played into the Suns hands. Somehow, they still managed to beat the Suns despite 32 turnovers. Every player on the squad had at least one turnover. LO led the way with 6. Our transition D was just flat out poor at times despite the turnover issue. A number of occasions, Sasha, Farmar and Smush were beat in transition for scores as their man got past them for long outlets and quick strikes.
Odom -- -- Kind of a standard LO-type of stat-filling game, which is good to see as we near the regular season. He still had a couple of mental errors in crunch time, but he also came up with some key plays. He scored 18 points on 6-13 shooting, had 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 6 turnovers and 5 fouls in 34 minutes. He missed a short five-footer in the lane. He drew contact in the post and made both FTs. He posted, reposted and scored a short hook in the lane. He bricked a long jumper when the offense stalled. He took a cross-court, thread-the-needle bounce pass from Famar and scored an And-1. Nice hustle for an offensive board, but he missed the point-blank putback, then was called for a loose-ball foul. He posted up Marion and hit a short jumphook. Lamar had 8 points and 5 boards at the half. He dunked off a bouncepass from Smush working the two-man game. He sank a pull-up three from the wing. He was called for an offensive foul trying to overpower Diaw in the post (I still like the aggressiveness). He connected on a wing three off a kickout from Smush in the high post. He sagged too far off Jumaine and gave up a three. He then threw the ball away on the other end. He hit Jumaine on the arm to give up three free throws with 3:31 left. He tipped a rebound to himself, then saved it inbounds to a Laker. Lamar drew FTs on a loose ball foul, he made both. Great roof job on Banks in transition to block Banks under the hoop.
Bynum -- -- I don't know if Bynum will ever have a "break through" game. I think he will continue to add pieces and improve his skills game after game, month after month (as I mentioned last time). With that, the numbers will gradually improve. Tonight, he showed a more aggresssive nature in the post, calling for the ball and finishing strong. He gave the team a genuine post presence against the smaller Suns (something Kwame struggled with in the past) and he anchored D fairly well. As in the SPL, he still showed a tendency to not close out on people for jumpers, but he contested the three well at the end of the game. Bynum scored 16 points on 8-9 shooting, had 9 boards, 1 block, 1 assist, 3 turnovers and only 1 foul in 26 minutes. He snagged an offensive board off a missed FT. He then worked the post and got Diaw in the air with an up and under for a score off his first touch. He pulled down an offensive board and dunked it back. Good hustle back on the D end to grab a rebound seconds later. He got blocked on help D by Marion, it was a goaltend not called (his only miss of the game). Great snag of a post entry feed in traffic, he then turned and threw down a huge dunk, posterizing a help defender. Back in the game and he sealed his man from one side of the lane to the other, finally pushing him out the top before getting the entry feed, which he quickly dunked (that's the kind of thing Phil talked to him about after reviewing SPL footage when teams fronted Bynum). He was whistled for three seconds next time down. He leveled Marion for an offensive foul, trying to post up in the lane. He posted up, got away with a slight shuffle of his feet, but hit a baseline turnaround as an illegal D was whistled. He broke up a transition lob pass. He trailed the break, running to the front of the rim and Farmar whipped a pass between two defenders to Bynum for the dunk. Bynum had 12 points (6-7 shooting) and 6 boards at the half. He sagged off a little too much on Nash off a pick and gave up a FT jumper. He then got caught leaving his feet to contest Thomas at the FT line and we had to foul Thomas. Bynum stole a board from Thomas from behind using his length, then spun and banked it in. He posted up and drew a foul getting bumped hard as he made his move in the lane. He dunked when Smush drew his man on dribble penetration, then found Bynum under the hoop. Great job moving his feet against Banks who penetrated and Bynum swatted the layup. Key play late by Bynum using his size to tip away a rebound off a Sasha miss, Luke secured it and had to be fouled. Great, great job contesting the three-point attempt at the buzzer by the Suns. Nicely done by the ABomb tonight.
Smush -- -- Kind of a slow start for Smush, but he played stronger as the game went along. Hopefully, he will have Kobe back at his side in the next game and that will open things up a little more for him. Smush was more aggressive trying to set up some players, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. The result was 5 assists and 4 turnovers in 27 minutes. He shot 3-8 for 7 points and had 3 boards during that time. He passed the ball off in the lane and erased a dunk for Lamar when he continued into the defender and knocked him over. Poor execution, not bouncing a pass to Bynum or going high (either would have worked), and it was deflected out of bounds instead of resulting in an easy score. He had to sit with 4:23 left in the first when he picked up his second foul. Later, he missed a three. He missed a fallaway over Nash. He picked up his third foul on an And-1 reach on Marion. Ireland just gets through saying at the half that Rambis wants us to play the game at our pace, not the Suns and Smush throws away a long outlet pass trying to find Lamar on the break (the Suns came down and scored easily on an odd-number rush). Nice bounce pass to LO on the two-man sequence for a dunk. He flipped up an airball trying to score early in transition, he didn't get the whistle he wanted. He iso'd on Nash on the baseline, spun and drew contact as the help came and banked in the And-1, he made the FT. He swished an open jumper off a high back screen from Ronny. Another sloppy pass to a big and it got picked off, but Smush hustled back to deflect a breakaway pass and LO recovered it. Cheap touch foul on a Banks jumper, then Smush got tagged with a tech for reacting. He pulled up off the semi-break and hit a jumper from the wing. Sweet attack on Banks, spinning to get penetration, flipping it behind him to Bynum for a dunk after he drew the D. Uggh, then on the defensive end, Smush got screened, Banks pulled up off it and missed a jumper, but Smush had stopped hustling and the rebound came right back to Banks (had he continued to move his feet and box out that would have been Smush's ball).
Sasha -- -- Up and down game from Sasha. He got beat a number of times, but he also came up big with a couple of crunch-time baskets. What is with this 10 number? Again, Sasha got to the 10-point mark, this time shooting 4-10 (2-5 from three). He also grabbed 6 boards and had 1 assist with 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 26 minutes. He played some poor D on both Nash and Barbosa to start the game, giving up open jumpers or points at the rim. He airballed an ugly looking runner against the shotclock for a violation. He was whistled for stepping out of bounds on a baseline cut when Bynum found him. He sank a wing three. He missed a pull-up 18-footer. He sank another three working off the high pinch post with Odom. He came up short on his next three attempt. Sasha got toasted twice again on quick transition end changes by Barbosa. Sasha attacked the paint, gave a ball fake and scored the layup, although it appeared he seemed to have lost the ball on the way up. Huge offensive board off a Luke miss, banking it in and drawing a FT, which he missed. Barbosa scored a reverse off a backdoor cut behind Sasha.
Walton -- -- Luke hit the key shot in the final minute and snagged an important offensive board to force the Suns to foul him. It was another strong preseason effort from Luke as he led all Laker scorers with 19 points on 7-13 shooting (2-2 from three). He also had 7 boards and 1 assist. Gone is the Luke that hesitated on taking jumpers or overpassed when he should have shot. He's playing some much-improved ball. He missed a jumper at the top of the key and a layup on one possession. He got blocked under the hoop. He drew contact in the lane and hit an And-1 jumper, he missed the FT. He got caught ball watching and Marion slashed to the hoop, got a pass and drew a foul on Smush. He sank an open three from the sideline when Farmar found him. He sank his fallaway off the weave at the end of the first quarter. He attacked, spun and hit his fallaway. He bobbled a ball on the break, but still finished the layup. He outworked Barbosa under the hoop for an offensive board and putback. He missed a transition jumper from the wing. He drew FTs on a loose ball, he made both. Huge three by Luke in the last minute when Lamar attacked and kicked it out to him at the top of the key. Great hustle, to secure an offensive board that Bynum kept alive with 10 seconds left, he could have iced the game if he sank both FTs, but he missed one.
Turiaf -- -- What can you say about the way Ronny plays Amare? Yeah, Amare doesn't look quite like himself, but he still shows the occasional big swat or massive oop dunk. So, you know his game is lurking. Turiaf's hustle and size on both ends seem to cause Amare problems. The stats don't tell the story. Ronny scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting, grabbed 5 boards (3 offensive), had 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls. Nice hustle keeping several offensive boards alive. Great swat on Amare who attacked the baseline to get rejected. Farmar hit him with another deep pass and Turiaf kicked out to Cook for a three (second time this season that sequence has taken place). Another offensive board, this time he fed Evans who scored down the lane. He took the post feed, let the cutters clear out, then faced up and knocked down the 10-footer. Nice D shutting down Barbosa one-on-one yet again this preseason. He picked up his third and fourth fouls on Amare about 10 seconds after entering the third quarter, trying to reach in the back court and trying to body him up on a cut. He stepped around Amare to steal an entry pass and throw it back to a Laker before he stepped out of bounds. Great high back screen on Nash to free up Smush out of the Tri for an open jumper. Green drew his man with penetration, but Ronny stayed on the perimeter instead of cutting and he settled for missing the long jumper. He posted up and drew a foul making a post move on Amare. Nice hustle off a Farmar miss to draw a foul on Amare as Ronny crashed the glass. He drew another foul on Amare controlling a defensive board. More hustle to keep a missed FT alive for another possession.
Evans -- -- Mo didn't find the same comfort zone as he had in the last game and struggled to find places to attack at times. He played 22 minutes and shot 2-9 for 5 points to go along with 4 boards. He missed wing jumper, Turiaf got it back, Evans cut and Turiaf found him for a layup. He was whistled for a charge, but Banks was still moving into him. He sank a 17-footer from the wing working off the weakside triangle. Nice, hard foul on Raja Bell sending him into the Laker bench, not a smart foul...but it's Raja, and it's preseason. He created off the dribble, changed directions and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a wing three.
Cook -- 8) -- As I mentioned, this Cook seems to be a bit of a microwave for us. He needs to bring that three kinds of heat like that new GE oven, though. His only heat is scoring. Man D and shot blocking would be the missing heats. Okay, I'm off topic on an obscure 30 Rock reference. This was pretty much your prototypical Cook game. Hitting some shots, hustling, and not quite being effective enough defensively. He forced up a bad baseline turnaround jumper and missed. Nice reverse layup off a Green feed. He sank a three on a kickout from Turiaf. He got rejected badly under the hoop. He worked the screen-roll with Farmar and scored a layup. He choked a layup on the break with Farmar. Great dive on the floor to control a loose ball. Cook had 7 points at the half. Nice contest on Barbosa to force a brick layup (there's that heat). Slow-footed against a Diaw attack, he fouled him (uh oh, heat gone). He drew FTs on an interior feed from Farmar. Very nice look to green who cut down the middle of the lane for FTs. Cook finished with 9 points on 3-7 shooting and 5 boards in just 15 minutes.
Farmar -- -- Not a high-scoring game, but he certainly sparked the team off the bench after we dug a large hole early on. With the Nash and Banks combo, this is really one of the harder matchups for Farmar. Nash is an MVP candidate on offense, while Banks can cause problems on defense. The big stat for Farmar was the +10 in the first half. He finished the game with 3 points on a poor 1-7 shooting (1-4 from three), but had 6 assists, 6 boards, and 2 steals in 22 minutes. Right off the bench, he drained a catch-and-shoot three (his only bucket of the night). Wow, crazy cross-court bounce pass between defenders to LO who scored an And-1. He attacked, then kicked it across court to an open Walton for a three. Great D, closing out on his man, switching out to contest on help D and shutting down two potential attempts on one stand to help get a stop. Nice recognition of the clock, he took the ball from LO and set up the weave for the Lakers final possession of the quarter (Luke scored on the handoff from Farmar). That first stint described above closed out the first quarter and the Lakers went from trailing 23-12 to trailing 25-23 (we had the lead two minutes into the second quarter). He got caught too far in front of Banks and was beat on a long outlet for a score. He beat Banks off the dribble, but couldn't connect on the reverse layup. He got picked in the back court by Banks and gave up a layup. He worked the screen-roll with Cook and set him up for a layup. Wow, phantom call when he got Barbosa to miss a layup on the break. He switched on Marion, fronted him and surprised Nash with his hops, deflecting the entry pass for a turnover. Then, off the breakaway he took a pass in the corner, kept his head up and whipped a pass from between two defenders to Bynum for a dunk trailing the play. Heh, he iso'd on Nash on the last play of the half and Nash blocked his shot. He came back in the third as Smush just got whistled for three FTs with a foul and tech (the Lakers trailed 72-70 after those, he went out later at the 6 minute mark as we trailed by 1). Farmar gave up a couple FTs to Bell, getting caught on his hip and trying to contest a short jumper. He tried to run a pick and pop with Cook at the end of the quarter and had to force up a three, which got blocked by Diaw. Nice pressure D on Banks on a breakaway and he drew a travel call as Banks shuffled his feet trying to spin away. He got tapped on a wing three attempt. He attacked off the dribble, got in a little trouble and was blocked, but got the ball back and fed Cook who drew FTs. He traveled on an attack. He missed an open three.
Green -- -- Decent game from Green in the battle for the roster spot. He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting, had an assist and steal, and also managed to have 3 turnovers in 15 mintues. He missed a one-hander in the lane. He hit an open pull-up jumper from about 15 feet in transition. Banks picked off Green's inbounds pass for a score. Great job attacking from the right wing, getting across the lane on the dribble and finishing on the other side of the rim with his right. He got whistled for a foul trying to clear out his man while posting up. He made a nice dive to the hoop, Cook found him and Green drew FTs, making one.
Rambis -- -- Sounds like the Rambis Preseason Era has come to an end as Phil will likely be back next game... Kurt did a pretty good job mixing up the lineups and noticing when a change was needed... He opened with Sasha and Luke in the starting lineup. They fell behind quickly 10-0, playing poorly on both ends... The first sub off the bench was Farmar at the 4:23 mark for Smush who was in foul trouble. The Lakers trailed 23-12. By the time the quarter was over the Lakers trailed 25-23... The two teens had a heck of a first half against the Suns. Bynum had 12 points and 6 boards. And Farmar with the impact (+10 in the first half), making teammates better and bringing the Lakers out of the early hole... The Lakers had 16 turnovers in the first half to just 6 for the Suns. The Suns scored 18 points off those mistakes. The Lakers however killed them on the boards with a 32-19 advantage and 11-2 on second chance points. The trailed by 2 at the half... Sasha, Smush and Farmar were all getting beat down court in transition as the Suns changed ends faster than them for some quick strikes... Kurt went to a Turiaf, Odom, Walton, Sasha, Smush lineup at the 6 minute mark of the fourth trailing by one. A couple minutes later they added Bynum back in the mix for Turiaf... Luke picked up a foul trying to post up, and then LO got T'd up trying to say something. Cheap, cheap tech at 3:45 left in the game. It will be interesting to see how Phil handles those. Because he will no doubt want to get a few words in... The Lakers led by 3 points with 9 seconds left. We contested the three well and got the stop. No Tim Thomas to kill us... Tex in the L.A. Times on Bynum: "I just hope that Bynum can get the job done for us. I think as the season goes, he's going to improve. He's shown some signs now that I didn't see previously. He's getting up and down the floor better, for one thing. It seems to me there had been times where he was stuck in mud."... Tex on LO: "I'm in hopes that Odom can break loose and be the kind of double-figure scorer and double-figure rebounder and defensive player that I think he's capable of being. I think he's capable of being one of the very best in the league."...
Last edited by DancingBarry on Mon Oct 23, 2006 1:19 am; edited 2 times in total
to beat the suns at full strength with 7 players injured (3 starters and the best player in the game) feels good.
real good.
yeah, i'm wondering if the damage was less material -- the actual loss -- than psychological. the suns should have won that game, preseason or not, and done so easily at that. i'm just hoping that the laker youth movement has planted a few seeds of doubt in the minds of that phoenix team...
Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 14226 Location: city of angels
Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:12 am Post subject:
Thanks DB! Super as always!
You have to wonder how good Andrew Bynum can be when he gets into NBA condition. Players who run into Andrew already seem to feel it. If they play Andrew and Kwame together at some point, you would think the oppostition would be very tired by the fourth quarter. The Spurs used to wear down their opponents to where they were often helpless in the fourth when they had David Robinson to go with Tim Duncan. Andrew and Kwame would not only provide a load of pounding, but they are also quick for their size. They can take advantage of easy shots by getting inside position. Jordan Farmar seems to be connecting well with Andrew for a lot of layups and dunks. Farmar also helps Cook and Turiaf. They position under the basket and Farmar gets it to them. When Walton and LO are on the floor at the same time as Farmar, the passing is very dynamic. I can't wait to see how things go with Kobe on the floor. I expect the offense to be extremely efficient. _________________ "Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~
Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 3732 Location: The other side
Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:54 am Post subject:
Thanks a lot for this review (and others)!
Strange game though. Good hustle, great rebounding, nice shooting. Especially good to see some youngsters having a good game against a symbolic opponent
But then - 29 fouls, 30 turnovers , and allowing the Suns get 15 steals... Scary!
I was real pleased to see Raja Bell be knocked into the seats (he did not get hurt). Does that make me a bad person? _________________ Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 29999 Location: Likely nowhere near you
Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:43 am Post subject:
I am glad to see this time the Lakers got the rebound!
Also good to see Luke taking clutch shots, unlike some times in the past. I love Kobe and can't wait to have him back in the line up, but his absence is making the whole team better and more confident. _________________ Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'
My boy Bynum had it going. It's kinda frustrating to see him show this sort of ability but not do it consistently. However that comes with the territory of being a young big - and Bynum's the youngest big ever in the NBA. I hope he watches the game tape and realizes that is how he always needs to play. Call for the ball, be active on the offensive glass and do not stop working for good post positioning. He does that consistently well on a NBA level and he's going to average 14-16 ppg through his size/strength advantage on most of the NBA.
LO is coasting but playing solid. He hasn't turned it on yet, but I suspect he will once the season starts. I am a little worried abot the TO's. I know it's a team thing and guys can be out of sync in preseason but LO needs to make sure this is not an issue once the season starts. Keep that focus level real high, my man.
Walton MUST start. He is the best facilitator we have on the team and will make sure the Tri is run when Bryant comes back.
As Ocho said - I was saying in the game thread. Yeah, I know it's preseason but damn this team looks so much better in depth than it did last season WITH Kobe. If Bryant can get back in and blend in - watch out.
For now what I see in Luke is a player that doesn't stand around and become a jumpshooter when Kobe is out there. He is active in setting up the offense or creating oppurtunities for himself.
Walton's game is great for the team. Not so much for firepower - but IMO when Kobe comes back it is extremely important that the team balance remains.
Walton should play a big factor in getting that goal accomplished.
I doubt the Sun really get that worked up over a preseason game.
real good.[/quote]
yeah, i'm wondering if the damage was less material -- the actual loss -- than psychological. the suns should have won that game, preseason or not, and done so easily at that. i'm just hoping that the laker youth movement has planted a few seeds of doubt in the minds of that phoenix team...[/quote]
This was an great game for the young Lakers. The Suns where running their regular season rotation and this team of youngsters held the to 91pts WOW Great job guys, Great Job!!!
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