SUNS -vs- LAKERS -- 10/15 -- Thoughts and :-(( ratings

[DancingBarry]

Reunion with the Suns... With Kobe, Kwame, Mihm and Vujacic out, this allowed the Lakers to give some of their youth quality minutes against top-notch competition. Bynum got the start and swapped out with Turiaf at the center spot, and Farmar and Shammond got to clock some time against the Suns top guards. The result, a 99-91 loss, but the coaches got to learn a little that may come to play when the regular season starts.

Both the bigmen gave quality minutes and anchored the defense well, especially considering their relative NBA experience. Shammond started to look more like the Shammond that use to play in the NBA and knocked down a few shots. And, Jordan Farmar put in a feisty game going head-to-head with Steve Nash for some minutes.

There's been a lot of talk this offseason about Banks vs. Radmanovic. Neither has found their game yet with their new teams. The two combined for 3 points on 1-12 shooting. Vlad Rad's shooting, of course, is still trying to overcome his hand injury.


Odom -- -- Lamar, again, seemed pretty passive on his first stint of the night. Later, he turned up a little and started to attack the paint and challenge the D. He finished with 9 points on a poor 3-10 shooting. He also had 4 boards, 2 assists and 4 turnovers. He clanked a couple of step-back jumpers. He fumbled a ball away in transition. He banked in a runner on the next possession. LO plowed over Jones for an offensive foul. He threw away a pass trying to find Farmar under the hoop (not even close). Lamar found Farmar on a post kickout for a three. LO then hit a three when Farmar ran a two-man game with him. He missed another pull-up jumper. Midway through the third Lamar finally posted up and tried to attack, but he missed on a short hook that rolled off the rim. He got aggressive off the dribble again and drew a foul. He posted up Bell shortly later and drew FTs. He attacked off a pass with speed and finger rolled around Barbosa for a score. Amare rejected Lamar on help D on a post up. He iso'd on Diaw off the dribble and drew FTs on the attack, he made both. I'd like to see him play with a little more aggressiveness out of the gates, particularly with Kobe not in the game right now.

Bynum -- -- Last year, Phil was worried that Bynum would be too slow to play against the Suns lineup. His speed getting up and down the floor this summer looked greatly improved and he handled himself well tonight in that regard. Defensively, he anchored the D well at times with some good rotations, shot contests and blocks. He finished with 8 points on 4-6 shooting in 22 minutes. He also grabbed 5 boards, tallied 2 assists and had 3 fouls during that time. He took an offensive board away from Kurt Thomas, showed his improved strength banging bodies and put in a reverse using his long reach. Good close out to force a travel. He tapped out an offensive board to get us another possession. He snagged a low bounce pass from Smush in the lane and scored a layup. He got called for a travel in the post. Amare was whistled for a travel against Bynum in the post on the next possession. He had a Farmar three erased when he got called for a Sacramento King-style moving pick. He should have had an And-1 against Amare when he finished strong after taking contact (a year ago that probably would have been too much contact for Bynum to finish on.) He made a sweet bounce pass out of the Tri to Smush on the baseline for a layup. Nice block on Diaw that won't go for a stat because Smush fouled, but it did save an And-1 opportunity. He just missed with his lefthand on a nice little up-and-under move on Amare. He found Radmanovic on a Tri cut from the weakside for a short jumphook. He rejected Barbosa on a drive attempt. He took a quick entry feed from Radmanovic as Amare tried to get around him for a steal and Bynum dunked easily. Nice, steady minutes. Even though he has a size advantage against the Suns, it's not an easy match up defensively and he held his own.

Smush -- -- Smush found the shot he had lost against the Suns at the end of last season and knocked down several threes. Unfortunatley, his defense picked up about where it left off. He finished with 18 points on 6-8 shooting, draining a blistering 5-6 from beyond the arc. He also had 4 assists, but with 4 turnovers in a Laker-high 26 minutes. He swished a three straight away on the first shot of the game. Nash blew past him without help from a pick and scored a layup. Smush attacked baseline and hit Bynum with a bouncepass for a layup. He got a crazy soft bounce on a long three and it dropped in. Nice steal and he gave it up to Farmar who scored when the defensive stayed with Smush on the break. He got called for a clear out on a pinch post play and then got a T for questioning the call. He scored a reverse layup on a nice set up from Bynum along the baseline. He reached on Nash twice going for steals and it resulted in scores when he came up empty. He gave up an And-1 to Nash on a pinch post play. He knocked down a long three on the next possession to get it back. He sank another three from the exact same spot on the next trip down. Smush and Vlad Rad didn't communicate on a switch and Smush basically gave up on trying to contest a Marion jumper and gave up a three (Grrrr!). He drained another catch and shoot three from the corner. He drew FTs off a pinch-post attack, he made one. Out of a timeout, he threw a horrible, low lob pass to Farmar that was easily picked off by Amare (would have been interesting had he thrown a good pass). He threw away a wild no-looker to Radmanovic who wasn't ready nor anywhere near where Smush put the ball. He scooped up a ball on the perimeter and fed it to Farmar who was busting out for the easy layup.

Radmanovic -- -- The dude can shoot, that's not going to change. In the playoffs, he lit the Suns up. So, those of you out there hand wringing about his clank-fest in the preseason...just relax. He'll start knocking them down fine. What you should be more focussed on is his defensive activity, how he's moving his feet, deflecting passes, boarding and rotating. His hand injury may have some affect on the offensive end, but it doesn't affect the effort and activity on the defensive end. Right now, that's the only glimpse of his real game that you can see, and he's had both good and bad moments on that end. Right now, the good seem to outweigh the bad. Vlad finished with 2 points on 1-5 shooting, missing all three attempts beyond the arc. He had 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He missed a catch and shoot jumper from 17 feet on his first attempt. Nice job moving his feet on a switch on Bell to cut off a drive and get a turnover. He had to force up a quick three to beat the clock and missed. He deflected an interior pass for a turnover. He missed a jab step three. He missed a wide open three. Nice help D rotation to deflect a pass off a pick and roll. He deflected another pass at midcourt that Pinnock snagged and it led to a three. He hit a short jumphook on a solid Tri cut from the weakside for Bynum to feed him (he has this jumphook in his skill set). He zipped an interior feed to Bynum that caught Amare missing a steal attempt and Bynum dunked easily. "I don't really worry about my shot right now," said Radmanovic in the Times. "It's stayed pretty bad so I'm not able to take the shot the way I want it. Nothing I can do about it. It's starting to heal, and hopefully it's going to be soon." Rambis said he was happy with some of the defensive effort, but acknowledged the hand is an issue. "...I know he's going to get better. His hand is obviously a problem. I had that injury when I was a player," Rambis said. "It's extremely painful. It's something he's going to have to deal with because they're slow-healing injuries."

Walton -- -- Luke shot a game-high 13 shots, hitting 6. He did it in just 24 minutes, if that doesn't say something about his confidence and aggressiveness at the point in the preseason, nothing will. He came off the bench to score 12 points, grab 5 boards and dish 7 assists. He seems to be the offensive glue for any of our bench units. When you combine him with Farmar, we've got an offense that can create without needing to rely on Kobe or Lamar to get good looks. Luke missed a few shots early on. He airballed a layup over the rim on a baseline attack. He missed a wing three. He fed Cook trailing the break for a layup. Barbosa blew past Luke for a layup. Luke countered with a layup on a breakaway right after. He threw away a post pass. He hooked up with Farmar on backdoor cut on Nash for a reverse layup by Farmar. Luke scored a layup in transition the next time down. He worked Marion badly in the post, using his body to get him out of position and then score a layup. He faded in the midpost and then whipped a pass under the hoop to Bynum for a layup. After called for a charge on Bell in the post, Walton attacked again the next time down and scored a layup over Raja. He then had a nice close out on a couple of jumpers, one forced and airball. Luke bricked a short one hander and then a jumper at the quarter buzzer. He sank a baseline fade on an iso to start the fourth. He missed a baseline jumper and a three. He sank a baseline jumper. He yanked down a miss by Farmar, then flipped a behind-the-back pass to Ronny who was all alone under the hoop for a two-hand dunk.

Evans -- -- He couldn't knock down a shot in this one, going 0-6 in 15 minutes for 2 points on a couple of FTs. He missed a wing jumper on a broken sequence. He left Raja too open on the perimeter and gave up a three. He crashed the offensive boards to grab an airball and drew FTs, he made both. He bricked a three attempt straight away. He bricked an easy bank shot after a nice spin move and then fouled. Decent energy and effort on the D end. Although, Smush played a little SG, the McKie, Evans, Pinnock combination combined for 4 points on 1-8 shooting in 40 minutes of play. Get well soon, Kobe.

Cook -- -- The chemistry that he and Farmar seemed to have develop in the prior game wasn't there in this one. But look for it to pick up against a team with a more traditional lineup. Cook had 6 points on 3-5 shooting, 2 boards and 1 block in just 10 minutes. He scored a layup off a great pass from Turiaf. He attacked off the dribble, spun once, twice, then powered in a layup. He missed a tough fall away on an iso. He missed an open three. He got stripped on a layup attempt set up by Farmar.

Farmar -- -- He came in the game with 9 minutes left in the first half, going head-to-head with Nash -- a player Farmar has tried to pattern some of his game after. Surely, he was a little nervous, but the kid played above and beyond his 19 years and rookie status. He held his own going against the MVP. Farmar had 9 points on 4-8 shooting, 2 assists and 1 steal in just 16 minutes. He also seemed to apply the best defense on Nash among the Laker guards. Overall, a very nice two-way game from the rook. After entering the game, he got dribble penetration to set up both Turiaf and Cook, who missed a couple of easy shots. Jordan missed his first jumper, from about 20 feet on the wing. Nash broke down the offense for an easy score as Farmar trailed over the top of the pick. Farmar missed an open wing three. He came up with a nice snag of a quick pass attempt by Nash for a steal. He swished a three straight away off a kickout from Lamar. Farmar had a three erased when Bynum was called for a moving pick. Good job fighting over a pick and recovering, but Lamar stayed with Nash probably not expecting a guard to recover and it led to a dunk when the Lakers were late recovering for LO. Farmar set up LO for a three on the next possession. Good transition D against Marion to force him into a miss on a one-on-one situation. Farmar backdoored Nash along the baseline with some good eye communication with Luke to get a reverse layup. Nash countered on the other end with a layup against Farmar. Farmar caused Nash to fumble a ball and then later charge into Farmar on the next possession. Jordan got called for an And-1 reach in on Marion in the lane. He attacked Nash with some explosion and drew a foul, but he passed instead of shooting and didn't get FTs. He busted out with Smush on a breakaway and scored a layup. Farmar should have gotten a turnover call on Nash, forcing him into a travel with a nice reach, but the refs didn't see it and Rambis picked up a T. Nash tried to create contact with Farmar at the end of the half, but Farmar kept his hands up as he ran down the court on Nash's hip (Nash griped to the refs). Farmar had 7 points in the first half on that stint (could have had another 5 with that three and the two FTs if he had just shot the ball on that foul). Banks crossed Farmar over and got penetration, missed but Amare dunked it back easily when the D had to collapse. He hesitated making a post entry pass to Bynum and Amare stepped around Drew to pick it off (Vlad threw one later without hesitating and Amare missed it and Drew dunked). Great 40-foot bounce pass to Green busting out for a breakaway dunk. Smush came up with a loose ball and Farmar busted down court for a breakaway layup of his own. He missed a token three attempt at the end of the game. Very solid effort against top-level competition.

Shammond -- 8) -- Shammond looked a little more comfortable and a little more decisive in this game over the last. Obviously, going 5-5 from the floor for 12 points will always look good, but he seemed more decisive overall...which is what you want to see as the preseason continues. Hopefully, he continues to find that comfort zone and hit from the perimeter with consistency. We may want to find someone new to take the tech's, though. He bricked two tech FTs in this game. He sank a pull-up jumper off the pinch post about 20 feet away. Poor sequence running the offense, just giving it to Cook for an iso instead of working the two-man game (but again, this is a matter of getting to know your teammates). Nice push out off a Turiaf blocked shot to ignite the break. He swished a three off a high pinch post with Cook. On the next possession down, he pulled up and swished a wing three. Shammond had 8 points on 3-3 shooting in the first half. He swished another wing jumper on an iso situation, his feet just inside the three line. With the offense stalled, Shammond attacked off the dribble to create and flipped in a hanging layup. Good double down on the post and it forced a bad pass. Much better performance tonight.

Turiaf -- -- Another great test for Turiaf as he had to go up against a player like Amare. Although Amare came off the bench and still didn't look quite himself, his combination of explosive power, speed and perimeter shooting still seemed to show itself at times. Turiaf more than held his own, playing some smart D, rotating well and knocking down a few points on the other end. He finished with 7 points on 2-6 shooting, a game-high 10 boards and a game-high 3 blocks in just 23 minutes. He also added 3 assists for good measure. His energy was apparent as soon as he came in, tapping a board twice to keep it alive for another possession. Amare dunked on Turiaf underneath the hoop with some nice footwork. Turiaf was all over Amare in the lane on a play shortly later, getting his hands on a jumper as Amare shot it. Strong finish attempt when Amare tried to steal and recover for a block, he drew FTs and made one. He got whistled for a foul fighting for ball with Amare and then trying to block his shot under the hoop. Sweet read catching a screen-roll pass and throwing it to Cook while Ronny was still in the air and Cook scored easily. Good help D contesting two shots on one sequence. He ate up Barbosa on another play, rejecting him under the hoop and sending him to the floor (it ignited a breakaway score, as well). He forced Amare to miss a couple of perimeter jumpers, laying off him, then contesting as he went up. Nice find, hitting Luke trailing the break for a layup in the lane. Some more good D with Shammond to force Burke into a travel. Ronny missed an open jumper off a Farmar drive and kick. Back in midway through the third, he posted up Amare and drew FTs on his first touch, he made one FT. On the D end, he stole a pass from Nash on the pick and roll, stretching down to flag the bounce pass. He knocked down an open 18-footer out of the Tri when the D didn't commit to him. He missed two short shots at the rim in a battle under the hoop. He missed another chippie under the hoop shortly later. He was called for a charge when Walton decided not to try to finish strong against Amare and made an extra pass to Ronny on a semi break. He was whistled for another foul trying to poke away a ball from Amare at the three line (easily Ronny's poorest decision of the night). He stopped Barbosa again driving down the lane. He posted up Amare and drew FTs, he made one. Great box out on Amare to easiliy secure a board (he had several good box outs throughout the game). Luke then rewarded Turiaf on the other end, grabbing an offensive board and flipping it behind his back to Ronny for the two-hand jam. Phil is going to have his hands full trying to mix up the lineups if all of our bigmen are healthy.

McKie -- -- Better game from McKie, but nothing to write home about. He had good and bad moments on D and continues to remain quiet on the offensive end, going 1-1 for 2 points in 15 minutes. He was whistled for a handcheck foul trying to slow Barbosa down. Bad D as he watched his man blow past him on the baseline for a layup. Great D on Barbosa on an iso sequence to force a brick and then a foul on Barbosa. For his only score, he popped out from behind a screen and hit a long wing jumper.

Green -- -- Devin had a bit of a shadow hanging over his game. He came up with a steal early on, then took his eyes off the breakaway dunk attempt and choked it. Not the kind thing you want to do when battling for a roster spot. In the fourth, he came up with another breakaway steal, this time he carefully flushed it down. He dunked on another breakaway when Farmer hit him in stride with a long bounce pass. Green turned his back on his man with a minute left and gave up an offensive board. He finished with 4 points on 2-4 shooting and 2 steals in 13 minutes.

Pinnock -- -- Quiet game from Pinnock, showing flashes here and there of his serviceable defense. He started the second half as the Laker SG. He tracked down a loose ball off a Radmanovic deflected pass and found Smush for a three. He stalled the offense late in the clock and it resulted in a shotclock violation. He had 2 assists and no points on 0-1 shooting in 10 minutes.

Rambis -- -- I'm glad Kurt mixed up the guards and gave both Farmar and Shammond a chance to go up against the Suns starters. Because of Smush's well-documented trouble against the Suns, the Lakers need to earn a little bit of insight into how our new guards might match up when we get to the regular season Suns game. That's much more valuable now than any "W"... He subbed out Bynum for Turiaf midway through the first and third quarters to match up with Amare... Rambis went to a Smush/Farmar backcourt in the second quarter with Farmar on Nash... Kurt picked up a T when Farmar looked like he disrupted Nash into carrying and traveling in the lane and the refs didn't make the call... The Lakers had 12 assists in the first half (25 overall), but the coaches felt the team was settling for too many outside shots against the Suns... To start the fourth, Rambis called a post up iso for Walton on a similar sequence they might run for Kobe and Walton knocked down the fade... With 7 minutes left in the fourth, Rambis went back to the Smush/Farmar back court trailing by 7 points. The Suns kept control of the lead. Look to see if Rambis goes with any more of this small ball against a different team. If so, that might point to Farmar getting into the regular rotation by sliding Smush over to the SG for a few more minutes a game. Or, those Smush SG minutes could just get eaten up by Sasha as Kobe sees some time at the SF... The Lakers had 22 turnovers, which is not something you want to do against an elite running team like the Suns. They also shot 21 threes, making 9. Again, shooting a lot of threes was something the team tried to avoid in the playoffs so that the Suns didn't run on them...

[wolfpaclaker]

Thanks, DB.

Most encouraging is the play of the Laker draft picks from 2003-2006 in this preseason.

2003: Cook, Walton
2004: Vujacic
2005: Bynum, Turiaf
2006: Farmar

I would really like to see Bynum and Turiaf get some consistent PT this season.

On Drew - What would you say about his passing ability right now? I think that has suprised some people. Also how about my comparison of Bynum now to a rookie Eddy Curry? You think that comparison is valid?

[Osama YoMama]

Kobe will be shooting the Technical FT's once the season starts, don't worry about it.

[Omar Little]

Thanks DB. I like the idea of farmar, luke, and turiaf together off the bench. Good chemistry among them. Throw in a shooter and that unit will make some hay against other benches. Wouldn't be surprised to see any or all of them on the floor in crunch time either. There's a lot of energy and hoop IQ there, something the tri has been lacking.
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“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[wolfpaclaker]

[DancingBarry]

Wolf - Bynum has shown passing ability since his first SPL, which is good because I think that is one of the hardest things to teach (unless you can consistently play with a lot of great passers). He's very poised and you've seen him from time to time give players a little nod to tell them to cut down the lane so he can look for them.

As far as the Curry comparison...ughhh. Bad work ethic. Poor rebounder. Poor student of the game. Not as good a passer. Not as willing a defender. Bynum also torched Curry in a quarter of play last year when they went head to head. Curry was much more ready to make the transition to the NBA, but he's pretty much flatlined his development, IMO. Bynum will probably catch up on the offensive end in another year.

[DancingBarry]

[robado]

Thanks, DB. I've been saving my first post to say that. Your contributions are definitely the highlight of this forum. Keep up the good work.

[robado]

OH by the way, Farmar is the man. Go Bruins!

[wolfpaclaker]

[Mation]

Thanks DancingBarry, the review on Radmanovic does show some promise in that he is playing through his injury and at the same time can learn and practice on the defensive aspects of his game.

I wonder if he's ever had a hand injury similar to this one? If so, how long did it take him to recover and to re-locate that thirty-one-million dollar stroke.

[DancingBarry]

[Sage_10]

Thanks for the recap DB. Good stuff.
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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

[targetman]

DB, great recap but check the points on Lamar. It just seemed like 0.
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[LongtimeLakerLover]

Stellar as usual, DB.

Like you said, Farmar had to be nervous against Nash, but wow! He's playing so well right now, and if this is "normal" play for him, then it would look as though we really do have our point guard for the future. His poise, his ability to create - it's something we've been missing in Smush. I hope we see him in the regular rotation. I'm officially a Jordan Farmar fan now.

GO LAKERS!!!!
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I love LA........WE LOVE IT!

[LongtimeLakerLover]

...One more thought.

In terms of L.O., I'm wondering if some of the passivity we see out there is him just dealing with life right now. When the camera was on him last night it seemed to me he looked so bone tired. I think Lamar will have to find a way to deal with the death of Jayden and still play. Last night it almost seemed like it took every ounce of strength to just be out there. Mentally there will be times like this for him as he deals with the grief of losing his boy. I can't even imagine what it has been like for him. I hope Laker fans realize this and remember to give him a little bit of grace. Poor Lamar.
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[TACH]

Thanks from the East Coast on the summary!!!!

[karlmalonefan]

Excellent, as usual DB, thanks for all the hard work. Just one thing: I'm not sure how LO can have 0 points on 3 for 10 shooting...
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[Rick12322]

[prisma8slg]

Thanks DB. Farmar is going to be ready a lot quicker than anticipated. He's showing a lot of promise early on and his work ethic is admirable. and on Bynum's progress

and I think Radman needs to earn his starting spot too.


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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[Flight#24]

One thing that I have noticed is that Bynum can't really do anything (other than pass the ball) or back down his man once he gets the ball in the post. That should improve with time (hopefully), because in high school the centers he played with were probably 6'5" and now he is playing with men his size.

But his defense improved a lot, so he is still worthy of a good 10-15 minutes this season.

[Rick12322]

Thanks DB

[JM]

[re4ee]

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