BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 4/14 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

Gearing Up for the Playoffs... Kobe dropped 50, Lamar another triple-double and Kwame scored 20 on their way to the 110-99 win over the Blazers. The Laker magic number is just one.

Phil has several players hitting their stride at the right time. Now, he is looking to find a bench rotation he can trust. He experimented in the second quarter of the game tonight with the bench and the Blazers fought their way back into the game. He's been trying to sneak in minutes for various players, and we saw McKie on the court tonight for one stint.

It's also been said that Phil has moved Lamar to PF and started Luke in order to better match up with the Suns come playoff time. Note that he made the move in the game after we last played the Suns. It will be interesting whether the Suns play their full lineup or not in the next game.


Kobe -- -- That was about the easiest-looking 50 points you will see from a player. Not that it was easy, he just made it look that way. No one else can do it like that. Along the way, he surpassed Elgin for the most points scored in a season by a Laker. Just another mark in a historic season. He scored his 50 on 17-28 shooting (5-10 from three and 11-14 form the line). He also had 6 boards and 5 steals. If he doesn't get MVP, it would be clearly a mistake by people overthinking or hating on an epic season that will be remembered for years to come. Kobe started his scoring when he drained a 21-footer with the shotclock low. He stole the ball, took it up court and pulled up in the middle of the lane for jumper (he's money on those short jumpers). He crossed over Jack, then hit a floater in the lane. He swished a three in transition. He leaked out in transition and Bynum hit him for a 360 dunk. He attacked the lane and scored a layup. After missing a couple of FTs, Kobe drained a three to set the Laker single-season scoring record. He scored a layup off a jumpstep. He drained a three from the wing. Kobe poked a ball loose to Kwame, who outlet to Kobe, who then one-handed it to Luke and then Luke hit Kobe again trailing the play for another 360 dunk. He kicked the next one out to Luke, then set up behind the three, he got the return feed and buried it. He hit four straight FTs to close out the third quarter. He continued his one-man scoring spree on into the fourth, sinking back-to-back baseline jumpers and then a three off a pass from Lamar. He spun in the lane and threw up the shot getting some contact, it dropped, but he didn't get the whistle. He hit a turnaround on the baseline. He drew a foul on the perimeter and made one FT. He drained a few more FTs, then he swished a stepback jumper from the wing. Kobe on surpassing another of Elgin's records: "I steal a lot of his moves," he said in the Times. "There was a tape I used to watch over and over. I just kept studying his first step over and over. I was 6 years old."

Odom -- -- So, Lamar comes a stat short of a triple-double again and again and again, and then he drops back-to-back triple-doubles like they are habit. (Keep it up.) "He's been playing that way the last month and a half, two months," Kobe said. "Everybody knew he had this kind of potential." Lamar scored 16 points on 7-12 shooting, he pulled down 12 boards (3 offensive), and had 12 assists without a turnover. Great game with a couple of monster throwdowns. Nice look to Luke cutting along the baseline for a dunk. He drew a foul and made one FT. He got the missed FT back, attacked the lane and posterized Ratliff. He got an open three, swished it and posed as the first quarter buzzer rang. He hit a turnaround from the midpost to start the second quarter. He had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists at the half. He dunked along the baseline to start the second half. He took an interior feed from Luke and scored off the glass. He blew a layup. He found Kobe for a three. He pulled down a board and went coast to coast for a layup. He found Kobe on a skip pass for a three and with that Lamar had his triple-double. He bounced a pass to Kwame who flagged it down and scored a layup. He cut hard down the lane and posterized Ratliff again dunking off his head.

Kwame -- -- Your second scorer tonight, Kwame dropped 20 points on an extremely efficient 7-9 shooting. He also pulled down 9 boards in his 37 minutes. Again, he was the dominant bigman on the floor tonight. He had his first shot attempt blocked by Ratliff, then didn't have trouble with him again. Luke found him under the hoop and Kwame finished strongly with a left-handed dunk. He got low position, bumped Ratliff and hit a jumphook. He got good position again and hit another jumphook. He was fouled twice in a row and hit three of four FTs. He drew another foul and sank one FT. He had 10 points in the first quarter. He drew another foul, sealing Ratliff. He one-handed a short shot by Smush and jammed it in. Kwame drew consecutive offensive fouls against Ratliff to start the half and Ratliff had to sit. He ball-faked at the elbow, then attacked down the lane and dunked. He outmuscled a couple of Blazers for a wild pass, then went up strong with both hands and threw down. Nice job controlling a Lamar bounce pass and finishing with a reverse layup. He went up high to pull down an offensive board, he head faked, then was mugged for FTs, he made both. As I've mentioned a number of times that Kwame has really slowed down his game and reduced the hyper speed moves. He said as much in the Times, as well as getting into a comfort zone in the offense: "It's a total 180," he said. "Before, I was moving so fast, and thinking through the offense so much that I wasn't even catching the ball, to now catching and completing. Now my focus is not just defense, it's both ends of the floor."

Smush -- -- Kobe again was in Smush's ear all game long. One wonders if both he and Phil have now turned their attention to Smush after Kwame and Lamar seem to have hit stride. Phil threatened lowering Smush's minutes a few games back, but that appears to be more of a mind game than anything else. Smush hit his scoring average tonight with 11 points on 3-9 shooting, 1 board, 3 assists and 1 steal. Defensively, he seems to be having some difficulty lately staying on the same page as the bigmen defending the pick and roll. In this game, he was shading his man to one direction and that seemed to end some of the confusion. He missed his first three, then he swished a catch-and-shoot three from the corner. He missed a bank quick in the offense. He attacked the lane and drew FTs, making both. He attacked, changed directions with a spin move then scooped in a layup. He hit a midrange jumper out of the Tri. He drew FTs, doing a good job to throw up the shot after contact, he made both. He picked up consecutive fouls and then was whistled for a T while the play was going on. Phil quickly sent him to the bench.

Walton -- 8) -- Luke moved the ball well on the night, coming up with 7 assists to go with his 6 points on 3-8 shooting in 33 minutes. He dunked off a baseline cut and a feed from Lamar. Nice look to Kwame who popped open under the hoop for a dunk. He went behind his back to create some space then swished the baseline jumper. He fed Kobe trailing the break for the 360 dunk. He found Kobe for a three on the next trip down. He swished his stepback jumper out of the post (that shot looks like money, he should go to it a couple more times a game).

Cook -- -- He played just 3:27 and didn't score in one attempt. Nothing else to report.

George -- -- Some good energy. We need him to hit his shot with more consistency. Hopefully, he can warm up as we enter the playoffs. He shot 1-6 in this game, scoring 2 points, but he grabbed 6 boards while he was out there. He knocked down a 20-footer from the wing. Nice hustle in transition to break up an outlet pass. Good hustle to keep an offensive board alive (he had three offensive boards).

Vujacic -- -- He missed his first three attempt. He missed another from the corner. He missed a drive. He finally scratched late in the game when he hit a three from the corner. He was 1-6 in 13:34, had 1 board and 2 assists. Good effort on D, as usual.

McKie -- -- He played some decent D, missed a three and was called for a foul in his 5:40 of play. He had the worst +/- on the night with a -13. Nothing else to report.

Bynum -- -- Andrew actually had a couple moves tonight with a subtle, but important difference. While making his move, he bumped his man, then shot. That may not sound like much, but it's actually a big difference in playing bigger and not getting your shot blocked. Smaller players know how to use their body, Bynum never had reason to until this past year. Hopefully, we see that with more consistency. He played 8 minutes, scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting, had 1 board and 1 block. It was a great block on what looked like a sure layup for Outlaw, and Bynum just smacked it off the board. He posted up, made a quick move and scored a jumphook on a goaltend. He showed something he has always been good at, after pulling down a board he quickly threw a long outlet to Kobe who went in for the 360 dunk. He ran the pick and roll, rushed his shot instead of gathering himself and missed. Nice bounce pass to Kobe out of the Tri, but Kobe couldn't finish it.

Turiaf -- -- He tried to shoot over Ratliff and got swatted. Only played 1:33.

Phil -- -- The Lakers trailed early before going on a 14-0 run. They eventually doubled up the Blazers 36-18 after the first quarter... Phil seemed to be toying with the Blazers in the second and trying to get some feel for his bench, which he said had yet to build an identity. He went to a Bynum, Cook, George, McKie, Sasha lineup at one point in the second quarter. He essentially let the Blazers back in the game running some deep bench lineups and leaving Kwame on the bench. The Blazers went on a 22-6 run at the end of the second quarter... The Lakers had just 7 turnovers on the night to go with 28 assists. Nice job controlling the ball. We were actually out shot by the Blazers who shot .514 on the night to our .482, but we had 9 more shots and 4 more FTs... Kwame has average 2 more points and 2 more boards per game than Mihm since he took over the starting job. Phil will have Mihm coming off the bench. "When he comes back, he'll be in the backup center role as a reliever for Kwame," Phil said in the Times...

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP (thanks DB) MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP MVP
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[jeremysnow]

here's my take on kobe's mvp season.

ten years from now, kobe will be recognized in the HOF and this particular landmark year, will be noted as kobe's finest year and the year he DID NOT win the MVP.

although steve nash's year seems very bright in the present perspective, in ten years, people going to wonder:

[DancingBarry]

js... I fully agree.

[ocho]

[kups]

"Along the way, he surpassed Elgin for the most points scored in a season by a Laker."

Just another normal game for Kobe, ho-hum.

Thanks for the recap DB!
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#2 Lonzo
#28 Derrick White, Jordan Bell, Deonte Burton

[eniq 0x00]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[lakersfreak]

thx DB
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[targetman]

We look so much better out there with Walton in the line up rather than Cook. Phil said he did it partly for mobility and it really helps because Cook is so stiff and unathletic. In the second unit I would like to see Turiaf play with Bynum because they could help each other with their misses

Phil called Sasha back up out of the NBDL before their own playoffs (where they lost to Tierre Brown's team I think). Why do you suppose he called him back at this time? Surely he's not going to get playing time.
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[targetman]

One of my favorite plays of the game is when Kwame swatted the missed free throw out to Lamar for the dunk. Great athleticism, anticipation, and chemistry shown on that one.
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[jeremysnow]

targetman is really referring to von wafer & not sasha

[Exick]

[- Sean -]

With Kwame in the lineup as opposed to Mihm, the Lakers are actually able to create some continuity to their game because Brown can stay in ballgames. With Mihm, you never know how much floor time he's going to get...and it's hard to develop a cohesivness as a unit when you have guys you heavily rely on for success playing such unpredictable minutes.

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB. If Smush could just work on sealing off the paint to the guards the Lakers would be primed for at least a second round series.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[un1bomber]

just incredible game.... kobe leaves me in awe every game... and now that kwame and lamar pulled their sh*t together, were back to one happy family

[wolfpaclaker]

Bryant, Odom, Kwame, Bynum and Walton continue to impress me. If I had to choose the 5 players that I would like to see come back next season - it would be them. They have improved as the season wore on - and in Kobe's case just been amazing all season.

If we can trade Mihm for some sort of forward (small or power) that can block shots and play from mid-range along with aquisition of a true starting PG - the Lakers will be a contender next season IMO.

[JM]

[In the paint]

I was impressed with the agression of the entire team going to the rim and dunking the ball. Lamar, Luke, Kobe Kwame all had big dunks that were great to see.

[wolfpaclaker]

[orido86]

Thx DB

[Klone_dd]

After the GSW game, I said whenever LO gets a 3x2 and Kwame gets a 2x2, the Lakers win easily. Well, okay, Kwame missed a 2x2 by 1 rebound. Either way, it's all good. Once again, NKPOGs = LO and Kwame.

Kobe is simply on another level. Most players start to relax towards the end of the 82-game season due to fatigue, preparing for the playoffs - but not Kobe. The man's is just amazing and worthy of the MVP.

The thing I expected out of a Phil Jackson coached team is steady improvement throughout the year as players become more familiar with what he expects out of them. Usually that happens right after the allstar break, but it took this young team a month longer. Right now, LO, Kwame, Luke seem to fully understand. When you add Kobe (who exceeds what's expected), you've got 4 of 5 starters playing their best ball as we rumble into the playoffs.

[targetman]

[tw-lakbfan]

Wolf, didn't Mihm also improve and become a consistent player for the Lakers? I can understand the need for a hustling PF, but to trade Mihm for that?

In the paint, didn't we miss 2 easy dunks?

[twoface723]

Good win. The starters played great.