HORNETS -at- LAKERS - 3/26 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:09 pm    Post subject: HORNETS -at- LAKERS - 3/26 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

Four Straight... The Lakers won their fourth-straight game for the second time this season. After a soft first half on the defensive end giving up 60 points, the Lakers locked down in the second half, holding the Hornets to just 34 points.

The win put some distance between the Lakers and the Hornets, who are free falling. The Lakers were uncertain about Kwame's health going into this game as he tweaked a hamstring. With Mihm out and Bynum going down in practice, the front court is hanging on the shoulders of Kwame. Once again, he delivered a huge game for the team, and he had the blood dripping from his nose and a standing O for his efforts. He finished with 17 points on 7-7 shooting and 6 boards.

Lamar also continued his strong play, going for 23 points in an aggressive night on the offensive end. Kobe was rock solid as always. The Lakers have a few days rest before playing three games in four days. They repeat that cycle in the following week, as well.


Kobe -- -- Kobe stumbled out in the first few minutes, then played a steady game the rest of the way. He jumped in the air and threw a pass out of bounds. He stumbled and lost the dribble for a turnover. He couldn't finish a layup on a drive. Then, he finally got it going by hitting a turnaround from the midpost. He then swished a long baseline jumper. He blew past Speedy and drew FTs in the lane, he made both. He intercepted a back court pass on pressure D and was fouled at the rim, he made one. He attacked the lane and hit a short floater. He busted out on the break and made a tough layup that looked like he was pushed in the back. He was left wide open for a three and sank it, of course. He found a lane in transition, attacked it and scored at the rim. He faced up and knocked down a wing jumper. He attacked off the pinch post, drew a foul and hit both FTs. At the end of the half, he drew a double, kicked it to Smush and it led to a Lamar three at the buzzer. He faced up and hit an 18-footer from the wing. He popped out at the other wing and hit a 19-footer. He flagged down a pass from Paul, then pushed it up and drew a breakaway foul for FTs. He drew a couple fouls on the first possession of the fourth and made two FTs. He attacked from the wing past two defenders then scooped a shot high off the glass around another defender, very pretty. He manufactured a couple FTs on Speedy with the swing-through move. After 40:44 of action he finished with 30 points on 10-19 shooting, 9-11 FTs, 5 boards, 2 assists, 4 turnovers and 3 steals. He was looking a little stiff at the end of the game and went straight to the locker room. It looked like a little back tightness.

Odom -- -- Very dynamic game from Lamar. He posted up quite a bit, he attacked, he hit the three, he set up others and controlled the glass on the defensive end and generally rotated well. He scored 23 points on 6-14 shooting (9-10 FTs reflecting his activity, he was 2-6 from three), 8 boards and 5 assists in 41 minutes. He went into the post early and often. He posted up and missed a hook. He posted up and found Turiaf for a jumper. He posted up, drew a double and kicked it to Cook in the lane for a dunk. He posted up again and hit a turnaround. He had his jersey tugged on the break and drew FTs, he made both. He had some good help D plays in the first quarter, contesting shots. He gave Kwame an interior feed and Kwame scored. He swished a three at the buzzer off a swing pass from Smush. The defender tried to play Lamar to his right hand, gave him too much room so Lamar attacked to his right and scored a layup. He scored another layup off a Kobe pinch post in traffic. He found Kwame with an interior feed in traffic for a score. He worked off the Kobe post again and drew FTs, making one. He posted up and hit a fade in the lane with some contact and no call. He was left alone at the top of the key and he promptly swished a three. He then attempted about a 31-footer and missed. He attacked off the dribble and drew FTs. He missed a three from the side. He knocked down a couple FTs off a perimeter foul.

Kwame -- -- The Lakers were worried about Kwame's hamstring coming into the game. He battled through that and a bloody nose throughout the game. As he left the game in the fourth to stop his nose from bleeding again, he got a standing O from Staples. Great, great game again. He finished with 17 points on 7-7 shooting (3-8 FTs), 6 boards and 2 blocks in 38:21 of action. Again, he showed more control and poise under the hoop. Kwame scored at the rim after running the pick and roll with Smush. He picked up his bloody nose shortly later. It happened on a defensive rebound, Cook smashed Kwame in the nose with an arm, blood was dripping steadily into his towel on the sideline. He returned the game five minutes later and helped keep a possession for the Lakers with some hustle on the offensive glass. He set up under the hoop coming weak to strong, got the feed, gathered himself and powered up a layup. He swished a 10-footer from the elbow. He tapped a board to Walton, who threw it back to him and he drew FTs, making both. He posted up low, sealed his man completely, got the post entry and scored with ease (great job establishing low position). He took an interior feed, made a nice low-to-the-ground dribble to get control, then went up strong for a jumphook. He posted up, drew a foul, but missed both FTs. He posted up again, tried to go to one of his hyper moves, lost the ball, got it back and hit a simple jumphook from about 8 feet away. He attacked the lane, drew a foul and missed both FTs. He had some good hands on an interior feed from Lamar and exploded quickly for the short layup at the front of the rim. He packed a jumphook in the middle of the lane, rejecting it as it was still in the shooter's hand. Kwame took another shot to the nose off a tough foul under the hoop by PJ, he wiped off more blood, made one of two FTs then had to sit to stop the bleeding again.

Smush -- -- Defensively, he was getting no help from the Laker bigmen in the first half. Anytime there was a screen, Smush was out on an island. In the second half, we buckled down. Smush had a quiet game with his scoring, but he still led the team with 8 assists with just 1 turnover. He scored 5 poins on 2-5 shooting and pulled down 5 boards in 33:22 of action. He ran the two-man game with Kwame and set him up for a layup. He pushed up the dribble in some traffic, no one stopped the ball so he scored a layup. He tapped a defensive rebound away from a bigman, then took up the other end and drew FTs attacking the lane. He scored a reverse layup out on the break. He tried to create off the dribble and created a turnover on one poor offensive sequence. Nice hustle to save a blocked shot by Kwame in the corner. He was icing something down on the bench late in the game.

Cook -- -- What Cook was scoring on the offensive end was being answered by West on the defensive end. Cook finished with 12 points on 4-8 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-4 FTs) and 5 boards. He was fouled in transition, taking his man off the dribble for FTs. He dunked when Lamar drew a post double team and found him. He dunked off another handoff in the post. He swished a wing three. After sitting on the bench for half a quarter, he was left open and nailed another wing three. He missed his next attempt. He drew FTs trying to dunk on the baseline off a simple Tri cut, he missed both. To start the second half, he fought on the floor for a loose ball, tied up Brown and won the jumpball. He drew a charge on Snyder who attacked the lane.

George -- -- He seems to be coming around bit by bit. Tonight, he finished with 7 points on 2-5 shooting and 1 board in 18 minutes. He had a few active sequences in the fourth on the defensive end. He was hit attacking the rim, drew the foul and made both FTs. He knocked down an 18-footer early in the fourth. Nice high defensive board in a crowd. Smothering D on the sideline and he helped force a double dribble call. He scored a high layup over the defender after a nice Tri cut and pass from the post. Solid fourth quarter from Dev.

Walton -- -- Luke scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting, grabbed 3 rebounds, and dished 4 assists in his 22 minutes. He gave up an And-1 to West in the lane as soon as he came in. He found Kwame under the hoop for an easy layup. He found Kwame again sealing his man in the post and Kwame scored easily. He lulled the defender asleep then attacked the baseline and scored a reverse layup. He posted up late as we recycled the offense, Devean cut down the lane and Luke hit him over the top of the defender for a layup.

Vujacic -- -- At the end of the game, he didn't run out the clock and took foul and shove as he was trying to score a layup past Speedy, who was ejected. Just run out the clock and take the W. Sasha played 11 minutes and scored 3 points on 3-4 FTs. He had 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 fouls in that short time. He slapped away the ball from Speedy who was attacking the lane and it resulted in a breakaway score for Kobe. He drew a moving pick foul on PJ fighting around a pick.

Turiaf -- 8) -- In for Kwame with under two minutes to start the game. He sank a baseline jumper off a kickout from Lamar. He missed a couple putback attempts of a Kobe missed layup. He hit a couple of late FTs. Ronny played 9:39 and scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting and 2-4 from the line, grabbed 4 boards and had a couple of fouls. Decent minutes from the rook.

Phil -- -- Lakers did a poor job supporting the Laker guards on the picks. They were befuddled by a high staggered double screen that Chris Paul was coming off of. They also sagged off the pick and rolls instead of showing high. Concerned by some of the penetration, we also gave up too much space to the Hornet bigmen who can hit from the perimeter... Phil said he told the Lakers at halftime that they looked like "elves and fairies" in their white uniforms, saying they were playing soft D and weak on the pick and roll... I guess that worked because they locked down in the second half, holding the Hornets to 15 and 19 points in the third and fourth quarters respectively. After giving up 60 in the first half, that was a complete turnaround... The Lakers cut their three-points attempts in half, shooting just 5-15 in this one...
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:15 pm    Post subject:

Like surfers, who are willing to fight through the heavy surf, and find that one wave... I think we may have learned how to withstand the pressure, stay together, and pull away, and outscore the opponent, as a team.

So far, Kwame has proved that his improvement is no fluke. All should be well, if Cook and Kwame can find their spacing, and they don't whack themselves to death... :roll:
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:15 pm    Post subject:

thanks DB

i still miss Caron, but.....
KWAME is becoming a beast in the paint

its nice to see Kobe getting the help he deserves out there. im kinda peeved at Javy and crew for not giving Kobe the and-1 on that breakaway layup were PJ rode him outta bounds. Great win though, hopefully we can keep up the momentum.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:22 pm    Post subject:

- He was looking a little stiff at the end of the game and went straight to the locker room. It looked like a little back tightness.

I hope it's not anything major. As always, thanks for the recap DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:33 pm    Post subject:

props to LO whose improvement has been overshadowed by kwames huge games.big ups to both of them
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:47 am    Post subject:

DB - Great Job

Re: Kwame (http://www.nba.com/games/20060326/NOKLAL/boxscore.html?nav=scoreboardhome)
In addition to not having look over his shoulder whenever he commits a mistake and getting more PT, how much of an effect do you think that Kareem's coaching regarding footwaork has had on his recent growth as a bonafide NBA player?

Re: Kobe's PT
With him logging in 40:44 of PT, how much do you think his PT should be (35 MPG)?
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:39 am    Post subject:

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:19 am    Post subject:

how great is it to see all these happy emoticons thanks DB
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:54 am    Post subject:

Great job as always, DB. Kwame played another excellent game and Odom was aggressive in the third quarter. He is really comfortable in the offense. He knows where he can score within the offense. The difference was the defense in the second half. After a dreadful showing in the first half, they really did an excellent job in the second half, allowing only 34 points.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:19 am    Post subject:

thanks DB
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:32 am    Post subject:

great win for us.. and now we have a 4 day break b4 facing the spurs.. enought time to heal those tricky injury.. go lakers..
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angel
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:00 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

People have been greeting Kareem's comments that Kwame was improving with skepticism, or ignoring the statements altogether. Kwame moving to starter at center has worked out great. Winning four straight after Mihm's injury is unexpected. Kwame has been a key to victory lately.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:19 am    Post subject:

The Black Mamba is the MVP
Kwamba is playing like a beast
La Mamba is playing like an all-star
And The White Mamba sux
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:23 am    Post subject:

KOK link in full force.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:21 am    Post subject:

San Antonio, here we come!
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:51 am    Post subject:

Kwame with 3 straight NKPOG's? LA on a 4-game win streak? The correlation is too obvious.

Actually, everyone is stepping up. LO posting near 3x2's as if it were easy and normal. Smushie's been solid, heady support from Luke, DG getting healthy. I guess having Sasha put in some good minutes is asking too much. Yesterday, we even had a Cookie sighting!

LO and Kwame are starting to turn their question marks into exclamation points. The real tests are around the corner with SA and Phx coming up.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:21 pm    Post subject:

It's incredible to see the improvement of Kwame Brown. It seems as if it's happening before our very eyes.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:15 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
Its also great to see the fans at Staples showing their appreciation for Kwame's effort, he seems to be the type of player that needs to feel good about himself to play well.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:18 pm    Post subject:

It is a strong emergence....I love it!!
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:05 pm    Post subject:

Another very good game from Lamar. I particularly liked his play in the post which helped to generate easy buckets from the FT line.

He's making me eat my words and I hope he keeps it up.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:43 pm    Post subject:

And 1 wrote:
Another very good game from Lamar. I particularly liked his play in the post which helped to generate easy buckets from the FT line.

He was quite relentless early in going to the post. Very nice to see. Keep it up LO!
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:47 pm    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:


Re: Kwame (http://www.nba.com/games/20060326/NOKLAL/boxscore.html?nav=scoreboardhome)
In addition to not having look over his shoulder whenever he commits a mistake and getting more PT, how much of an effect do you think that Kareem's coaching regarding footwaork has had on his recent growth as a bonafide NBA player?


All I can say is he has simplified what he is doing and it seems to be making a difference.

Quote:

Re: Kobe's PT
With him logging in 40:44 of PT, how much do you think his PT should be (35 MPG)?


In a game like this, whatever it takes. I'd like him not to crack the 40 mark if we can help it... which is usually not the case.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:48 pm    Post subject:

Awesome Recap. We really helped ourselves with this win.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:01 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB, great read.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:13 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Re: Kwame (http://www.nba.com/games/20060326/NOKLAL/boxscore.html?nav=scoreboardhome)
In addition to not having look over his shoulder whenever he commits a mistake and getting more PT, how much of an effect do you think that Kareem's coaching regarding footwaork has had on his recent growth as a bonafide NBA player?
All I can say is he has simplified what he is doing and it seems to be making a difference.
Quote:
Re: Kobe's PT
With him logging in 40:44 of PT, how much do you think his PT should be (35 MPG)?
In a game like this, whatever it takes. I'd like him not to crack the 40 mark if we can help it... which is usually not the case.
What is Kobe is MPG at the current time?
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