MAVS -at- LAKERS - 1/3 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Sunday Bloody Sunday... In the center of the city, you find the Stables. As the Horsemen throw on their battle armor, you walk down the middle of this building. The horses growl and snarl. They stomp their hooves and raise up on their back legs. There is fire in their eyes tonight. They have a taste for battle.

The Horsemen mount their rides with a sense of purpose. They dip their weapons in gasoline and light them on fire. They have payback in mind.

The flames cast giant shadows off buildings and streets as they begin their ride. You give chase, but they quickly thunder through the city and out of the gates. By the time you reach the top of the city walls, the slaughter is on.

The loud-mouth billionaire with the Flowbee haircut, who had a few words with you a couple months ago, is no where to be seen. Then you spot someone whose rear end is on fire running in the distance. Perhaps, that was him. You haven't seen a rout like this since the Horsemen have begun their defense of Little Larry O'Brien.

Something, however, catches your eye. It is a lone white horse, and it returns slowly to the city. Its rider, the Spaniard, the one called Pestilence, is not atop his mount.

They open the gates and the horse trots through. You climb down the wall and grab hold of its reins. There is a leather pouch with a note. DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. They have delivered a variety of beatdowns to lesser foes. They saved their biggest beatdown for a talented opponent, who had high hopes to challenge them. While they got some payback, they may have also suffered a set back, as well. In the battle, Pestilence suffered an injury, the severity unknown.

I will continue to track them...

At one point, the Lakers held a 40-point lead over the second-best team in the West, and that gap between second and first had never seemed wider.

The Lakers knew they couldn't come out with the same lack of focus and effort that they did against the Kings in the first half of the last game. They pounced on the Mavs from the beginning with a 30-13 opening quarter and never let up on their way to the 131-96 win.

The Lakers shot a season-high 63 percent. They destroyed the Mavs interior and dropped bombs from beyond the arc all night. The Mavs lacked the services of Eric Dampier. The Lakers, who were already without Artest and Walton, promptly upped the ante by throwing Pau Gasol into the mix of wounded players.

Pau played just 6 minutes before going to the locker room with a strained hamstring (not on the same leg as before). They thought he would come back in the second half, but perhaps the 25-point Laker lead at halftime made that decision easier.

The Laker bench filled the gaps in talent tonight. They scored 66 points on 27-43 shooting. Jordan Farmar had a season-high 24 points, including 6-8 from three. They jumped all over the Mavs.

"They spent a lot of energy last night," Farmar said of the Mavs. "We came in and upped the tempo early on. Defensive intensity was really high."

Just a sensational job by all involved. Asked afterward whether he felt the Lakers would continue to play like this, Phil responded to the dumb question with, "Yes. You can expect this every night."

The Lakers won the battle Sunday, but aren't sure what the cost of victory may be.


Kobe -- -- After huge minutes against the Kings, who would have guessed Kobe could sit out the fourth quarter against the Mavs? The minutes he did play in the second half were fairly light ones, too. The Lakers were able to press advantages in multiple positions. Kobe hit a number of shots over Kidd when the two matched up. He just shot right over him, never very concerned about any challenges from Kidd. Kobe tied Patrick Ewing on the all-time scorer's list in the first half. He didn't score in the second half. Great to see the light minutes. Jason Kidd never scored in the game, going 0-6. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-12 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 8 assists, 3 boards, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +39. The Action: He sank a flat-footed jumper right over Kidd out of a timeout. He drew a moving pick on Marion on the other end. He missed a wing jumper turnaround. He gathered a lob from Pau on the break, hung and banked. He missed a three. He attacked and fed LO for a dunk in semi-transition. He traveled off the three line. He pulled up in transition and hit a 10-footer. He threaded the needle to Farmar cutting with a bounce pass to get him FTs. He probed across the lane and hit the fade in early offense. He got tapped on a frozen rope jumper, should have been FTs. He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting and 3 assists in the first quarter. He picked up a tech saying something to the ref after a foul. He dished to a trailing Shannon for the dunk. He swished an easy turnaround over Kidd. He drained a three in transition. He froze Marion with a hesitation move and nearly hit an And-1 runner with his left, he made both FTs (moving even with Patrick Ewing on the scoring list with that play). He missed a corner three. He somehow missed a layup on a nice drive. He had 15 points on 6-11 shooting, 5 assists and 4 turnovers. Second Half: He took a pass from DFish off a cut, then no-looked to LO for the jam. He missed a three in transition. He hit Farmar on the Miami Heat PG screen play for a three at the end of the third.

Gasol -- -- He strained his left hammy (the other leg than before). After just 6 minutes in the first half, he was in the locker room getting treatment. Thankfully, the Lakers didn't need him. But the wear and tear after adding the international ball to a long season sure seems to be hitting him. How severe an injury is unknown. He said it felt tight before the game. Let's hope it's nowhere near the problem he had before, which seemed to drag on forever. Pau got into early foul trouble against Dirk and had to sit, but the Lakers were able to use a combination of players to make up for his absence (and Artest's). "Maybe he's going to be fine tomorrow," Phil said. "We think Andrew can handle the load and might even embellish his individual presence to be on the floor without Pau at times. Lamar is certainly very comfortable playing that power position and we think we can be OK if we can get Ron back on the floor." The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-3 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He hit a jumphook over Dirk on his first touch. He hit a face-up jumper from the right side. He picked up two fouls defending Dirk in the first 6 minutes. He hit a turnaround over Marion. He had 6 points on 3-3 shooting.

Bynum -- -- Just too big for the Mavs. Without having to go up against Dampier, who has sometimes given him problems, Drew dominated. He had Gooden on him to start, saw some Humphries and Gooden. If they can get Dampier out with fouls, the Mavs lack of size can be exposed. With no Pau out there, Drew may have had a little more room to work, but that wasn't the reason for the huge numbers. Drew just got low position and easy shots over the top of smaller defenders. He dominated them with a variety of low-post scores. When the doubles came, he kicked out to shooters. Tonight, they were hitting their shots at a high clip. That balance pretty much destroyed the Mavs. With Pau out after his first stint, Drew had a chance to go for the double-double, but he didn't get the necessary boards tonight. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-8 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +34. The Action: He posted up, drew a double and kicked out to Farmar for a three. He went to work quick next time down and hit the jumphook. Back to work again on the left block, this time going the other way for a lefty jumphook. He worked the post, stepped through a double and scored a layup over Gooden. He had 6 points on 3-3 shooting and 3 boards. Second Half: He let Gooden tip in a Dirk miss. He spun baseline and swished a turnaround. He drop-stepped Gooden and scored easily with his left. He rocked Dirk in the post as he drop-stepped baseline and scored the easy layup. Nice challenge on Gooden's drive to force a miss. He drew FTs on a spin and lob, he made both. He posted up and returned the favor to Fish, hitting him for the open three. He hit an easy jumphook over Dirk in the paint. He posted up and kicked out to Sasha for three. He drew FTs on a post entry, he made one. He drained a 10-footer in the middle of the lane.

Lamar -- -- He starts for Artest and takes over for Pau. Lamar's biggest strength is his versatility. Injuries happen and versatile players are vital to keeping the ship afloat. I like the triple-tower lineup against the Mavs. LO has dominated Marion often when the two match up. He also gives Howard fits, as well. Last time we played the Mavs, Marion just took the Lakers apart. Tonight, 6 points on 2-6 shooting. We only played one stint of that tall lineup, however, as Pau had to be pulled. They were a +9 in that stint and got the Lakers off to a good start on both ends of the floor. Lamar put together a good game from the start. He was active on both ends early instead of waiting for the third quarter. The result was a 15-15 game. When he matched up with Dirk defensively, he played him tight and even blocked one of his shots. When the Lakers have this Lamar going for them, they are tough to beat. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-12 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 15 boards (3 offensive), 6 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a +36. The Action: He back-rimmed a three-pointer on his first attempt. He cut off the post and choked a layup (great cut, weak finish). He attacked and kicked to DFish for the three. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with an easy putback. He dunked off the Kobe drive and dish in semi-transition. He missed a jumphook off a tough angle bank attempt. He had 4 points on 2-6 shooting and 9 boards. Second Half: He missed a layup, got it back and drew FTS, he missed both. He over-passed under the hoop and we missed a three. He dunked when Sasha hit him trailing the break. He jammed with both hands off the Kobe feed. He blocked a Dirk turnaround jumper. He attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a baseline jumper. He forced Howard into an airball. He sank a pull-up, 17-footer from the wing. He swished a wing three.

Fisher -- -- No chucking early in this one. Fisher played his role much better and the Lakers played to their strengths out of the gate. Defensively, the Lakers handled the Mavs guards much better in this game. They kept them out of the paint and managed to not get torched by the variety of PG types that the Mavs have. Fish hit his threes in the game, like just about everyone else. It's not often we're going to go 14-24 from three. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-4 shooting (2-2 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +21. The Action: He sank a sideline three on a kickout from LO. He drew FTs on Barea on a jumper, he made both. He missed a pull-up jumper from the left wing. He missed a pull-up in the lane at the end of the half. Second Half: He deflected a pass and it led to a breakaway. He drew FTs on a layup attempt on the break, he made both. Nice read on a Bynum spin, he lobbed it to him and Drew earned FTs. He drained the open three on the Bynum kickout.

Brown -- -- He did a good job moving the ball in this game. In fact, his first impact was an extra pass on the perimeter to get it to the hot hand in Farmar. Often, that's a kind of shot he'll put up. Shannon ended up with a season-high 5 assists. He is a much better player when he's not thinking shot first, but letting the offense work through its options. The Lakers are a much better team when their guards do this. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-7 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 5 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Extra pass to Farmar for an open three. Kobe made an extra pass back to Shannon for a dunk trailing the break. He missed a falling turnaround in the lane trying to beat the shotclock. He attacked with speed off the pinch post and scored a layup. He swished a wing three next time down. He sank a wide open wing three over the zone. He pulled up at the three line and hit DJ in transition for the layup. He had 9 points on 4-5 shooting. Second Half: He was fouled on post-up attempt with no call. He swished a high-arching wing jumper with his toe on the three line.

Farmar -- -- Just a great first stint by Farmar and it kind of snowballed from there into his best game of the season. The Lakers already had the Mavs on their heels when Farmar came in, but his effectiveness helped the Lakers blow it open. There was no let up. The bench just took the baton and kept going. Farmar was in the zone from three. He only missed a long attempt against the shotclock to start and then a heat-check to end his work beyond the arc. Between those, were six straight makes from three. He did to the Mavs what Jason Terry typically does to us. And, defensively, he helped lock down. He had a great close out to block one of Terry's threes. We've got to have those kinds of close challenges and defensive effort on the perimeter to not get killed by Terry. He's been closing games lately, and now he's put together a game with big numbers. What will happen next? The Stats: He scored 24 points on 8-14 shooting (6-8 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He missed a long three with the shotclock low. Kobe hit him with a perfect bounce pass on a cut and he drew FTs, making both. He scored a layup on the break. Great close out on Terry to block his three (excellent angle, excellent hops). He swished a three on the Bynum kickout on the other end. He missed a jumper. He probed the lane, pivoted past a defender in the paint and scored a layup. He was called for a bogus charge after getting past the defender on the baseline. He swished an open sideline three on the swing pass from Shannon. He scored 12 points on 4-6 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He set the screen for Kobe, then swished the three on the return pass at the end of the third. He swished a corner three on a kickout. He swiped a pass, but missed a dunk (looked like he left a little too early...that would cost him the career high). He sank a three off the Mbenga kickout. He iso'd with the shotclock low and hit a step-back three next time down. He airballed a heat-check turnaround three on his next shot. He missed a runner.

Vujacic -- -- Excellent game from Sasha. He came in for Pau, who picked up a couple fouls and the hammy strain. We slid LO up to PF and the team didn't miss a beat. Sasha did a good job on both ends. He was scrapping for boards and loose ball defensively. He was pushing up the break to help get easy scores. And, he was sinking good looks out of the offense. Running with the first unit may have helped him. However, if you look at some of the minutes he played, we've seen some of these combinations out there before. No Artest, no Pau on the floor isn't anything the second units haven't seen. They just did a better job playing to their strengths and good things happened because of it. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +24. The Action: He drained a three straight away over the zone. He was upset for not getting a whistle on a layup when he got hit on the arm on a bustout. He hit Farmar with an outlet for a layup. Nice job getting to loose balls and boards. Great D to challenge a man after a spin move and force a miss. He missed a quick wing three off the screens. He missed a three next time down. Second Half: He missed a wide open three. He pushed out the break and hit LO trailing for the dunk. He popped out behind the screen and hit the wing jumper. He drained a wing three in early offense. Excellent double team on Dirk, he deflected the pass and the Lakers were off running. He sank the open wing three on the Bynum kickout.

Powell -- -- When Powell's hitting on post moves and grabbing boards, you know things are going well. Much better minutes for Powell in this one than he's had for a while. He was active on both ends, but wasn't forcing jumpers that weren't there early on (later, he had a couple shots that weren't wise). After so many minutes of non-rebounding games, he finally got after it tonight. Prior to this game, he had 2 rebounds in his last 25 minutes of play. Tonight, he had 7 boards in 19 minutes. Perhaps, the smaller Mavs lineups helped. He just didn't play small like he often does. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting to go with 7 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He fouled Dirk on a jumper. Nice follow jam on a missed Sasha three. Second Half: He let his man fly by, moved in a step closer and swished the baseline jumper. He kicked out to Farmar for the three. He drained a turnaround in the lane. He curled down the lane, took the pass and hung for a layup. He missed a quick pull-up jumper from the wing badly. He missed a FT jumper.

Mbenga -- -- For some of you with memories, you may recall some very effective minutes by Mbenga against Dirk when we first signed DJ. In fact, he defended Nowitzki better than just about anyone we had ever thrown at Dirk in that game way back when. Phil brought Mbenga in to guard Dirk again tonight when our rotations were reworked with Pau having to leave the game. Mbenga gave the Lakers some very nice D and effort against Dallas's leading man. He had a couple sloppy fouls, but he played strong minutes. His combination of length, agility and quick ups make for a good match up against Dirk's size and shooting touch. It also helps that DJ probably defended him quite a bit in practice when he was with the Mavs. Offensively, the team didn't give him the ball in the post and swung it weakside to attack instead for the most part. In garbage time, DJ hit a couple of jumpers. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He fouled Terry trying to body him up before recovering to Dirk. He got tapped on a baseline jumper. He rejected Marion at the rim to prevent a throwdown. Excellent challenge on Dirk to force a miss. He scored a layup in transition off the Brown jump pass. Second Half: Nice challenge to force a brick on guard penetration. He was called for a moving pick. He blocked Humphries, but fouled him on the follow block attempt. He swished a face-up jumper in the post. He swished an elbow jumper next time down. He posted up and kicked out to Farmar for the three.

Morrison -- -- Adam was the last man off the bench tonight. He ran the fourth quarter and looked pretty good on both ends. He was aggressive when he got the ball and good things seemed to happen. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-3 shooting to go with 1 board, 2 assists and 1 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He hit a runner in the lane with the shotclock low. He sank a jumper on the high pinch post, turning and hitting over his man. Nice challenge on a corner jumper to get a piece of it or force the airball. He sank a wing jumper off the catch.

Phil -- -- "We don't want revenge, but we do want to win the game," Jim Cleamons said prior to the game. This game sure looked like a big can of payback for the 94-80 loss the Lakers suffered in the second game of the season... After three turnovers in the first three minutes, the Lakers trailed 4-2 and Phil called a timeout... The Lakers led 13-5 when Terry and Howard came in for Barea and Gooden. This moved Marion onto one of Pau/Bynum... Pau picked up his second foul. The Lakers led 19-10 when he sat... Phil brought in Sasha for him. Then Phil went with a Mbenga, Lamar, Kobe, Sasha, Fisher lineup... Farmar for Fish a few seconds later... Dominating first quarter by the Lakers. They led 30-13, holding the Mavs to 16 percent shooting (4-25)... Phil started a Bynum, Powell, Sasha, Brown, Farmar unit... Phil swapped Kobe for Sasha after a few minutes. The Lakers led 46-24 after forcing another Mavs timeout... The Lakers continued to throttle the Mavs, forcing another timeout after extending to a 57-31 lead with 3:36 left in the half... Phil called a timeout with a 62-37 lead (didn't like getting out-scored by a point during that stretch). Lakers turned it over out of the timeout... The Lakers led 64-39 in the half despite having Pau for just 6 minutes. The Mavs shot 28 percent (12-43), but made 14-17 from the line. The Lakers shot 59 percent (26-44, 6-13 from three, just 6-6 from the line). The Lakers had 15 assists in the half... Phil started Sasha for Pau to start the second half... The Lakers stretched their lead to 79-49 with just over 4 minutes into the half... The Lakers led 103-63 after three quarters... Phil started a Powell, Lamar, Morrison, Brown, Farmar unit to open the fourth. Lots of garbage time in this one, except for maybe a few seconds of "We want tacos" intensity in the final minute... The Lakers scored 18 points off 10 Mav turnovers. They shot 63.4 percent for the game, including 58 percent from three. The Mavs shot 38 percent... The Lakers ended up with 33 assists on the night... While Pau's status is unknown, Ron and Luke have been cleared to practice...

[Vishnu]

1st

YEAH! First 1st this season!!!

Thanks DB

[JTS1]

[agent 86]missed it by that much[/agent 86]
_________________
'How many kids can say growing up that they'll turn pro and play for their favorite team in the world and spend your entire career there? IT'S BEEN A DREAM!'-Kobe Bryant 11.29.15

[Vishnu]

[smiles]

Shannon always defers his shot attempts when he is in game. He's one of the most consistent players who works within the triangle and feeds the bigs.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recaps DB!

Total domination by the Lakers tonight. Maybe it was focus, Pau going out early or Jack Nicholson back in his familiar

seat, but this is the energy the team needs to bring every night.

Hope Pau gets better and the injury does not linger.
_________________
"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]

Thanks DB, sucks Pau got injured. We need him for the big roadie run coming up. Good to see the guys step up. Then again, these guys tend to step up when needed it seems.
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[dmlakerfan01]

Nice, nice blowout game. Kobe gets to rest, and watch the bench kick ass .

[JTS1]

what's so frustrating about pau going down is that both luke and ronron are starting to practice.

we have yet to play w/the whole team intact all season.

all i hope that pau's hammy gets better real soon, but not to rush back.
_________________
'How many kids can say growing up that they'll turn pro and play for their favorite team in the world and spend your entire career there? IT'S BEEN A DREAM!'-Kobe Bryant 11.29.15

[BLP711]

Thanks DB

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! Great recap as always! Nice to see a blowout with the bench participating and good to see Farmar and Brown put together quality games.

Hope Pau, Ron and Luke all get healthy soon.

[DancingBarry]

LS said that this time last year we had lost 0 games to our top 6 due to injury. We've lost 18 games so far this season. Team is still getting the W's.

We have the same record at this point last year and we were 12-4 against playoff teams last year. Right now, we are 10-4. Also only 2 more home games this season.

[City_Dawg]

Lakeshow doin work!
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[limchrc]

Thanks, nice win.

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB!

I just hope the Lakers avenge all of their losses the way they did tonight. They blew out the Jazz, Dallas, and from the looks of the Spurs losing to Toronto (2nd game on back to back for Toronto) - I expect us to blow them away too.

The Bynum-LO frontline looked good tonight. Shades of pre Gasol year before last. Also, great to see back to back strong performances from LO.

I hope that Pau is ok. He could use the rest anyway from all of the basketball he has played these last couple of years.

In all, a great win for the Champs.

[Dr. Laker]

Good job, as usual.

Citation from the Grammar Police:

[markjay]

Great write up, as usual.

Though Farmar will got all the attention, deservedly so, today, I also like the good minutes we're getting from Sasha lately. He's hitting the 3s, playing solid D, giving nice hustle play on the boards and transitions, and making few mistakes. He's helped a lot with Artest being out.

[prisma8slg]

[Klone_dd]

What's going on? Sasha productive? JoFar playing impact ball and matching his career high? Ammo looking comfortable? DJ battling Dirk? Maybe we do have a bench.

[City_Dawg]

[VujacicFan]

The sick jumpers of death are raining down once more upon the helpless NBA.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]