HEAT -at- LAKERS - 1/15 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

wolfpaclaker · Retired Number Joined: 29 May 2002 Posts: 58395

Some game thoughts.

Smush - It seems that this man is very capable of playing defense. It was impressive how he defended Wade in that small stretch in the 3rd.

Kobe - Big props to him. He's doing everything that I asked of him early in the season. Consistently making teammates better and not caring about the 1 on 1 battles anymore. Last night I think defined the #24 Kobe. You see #8 would have tried to get back at Wade through his own outburst. Kobe just doesn't seem to care about those anymore and I'm proud of him. Not that I care about the MVP award since it's given out by the media, but Kobe right now is fullfilling everything that was supposedly keeping him away from it in the past. Most encouraging sign was the defense in the 2nd half on Wade. For the first time in his defending of Wade, I really felt that Kobe contained Wade. Wade had a lot of trouble on doing things he likes to do.

Cook - That's why you got the extension. I've said it to all his haters, he is instant O. Very reliable and if they use him properly he can be a very valuable role player for us.

Solid games for Bynum (after FT), Walton, Radmanovic (poor start but recovered) and Sasha.

DB - How would you rate Bynum's "hops" on that lob pass he dunked? I thought he got up very high. It seems Drew may not have great quickness or power but I do think his vertical is very good for his size. This isn't the first time I've seen him get up that high, he's done it a number of times, especially on swats. I'm just hoping he can translate that stuff more consistently in rebounds and dunks.

jwbrown77 · Star Player Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Posts: 3271

Sorry for your loss Larry.

RYZ · Star Player Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 1393

Thanks, DB.

Phil did a remarkable balancing act with the bigs and the foul trouble, managing, somehow, to still have Bynum available for the entire 4th and OT with only four fouls. Again though, Ronny's hips seem to have healed remarkably, haven't they?

I'm sorry for the loss of you father, Larry. Peace be with you, and your family.

farmarboys · Sixth Man Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 90

Larry, my prayers are with you and your family.

lakersflambe · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:40 am Post subject:

my heartfelt condolences to you and your family, larry.

Sister Golden Hair · Franchise Player Joined: 01 May 2001 Posts: 15872

My condolences to Larry and his family.

SGH

Freakout · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:09 am Post subject:

My favorite play last night was the fake pass Kobe put on Payton. Gary looked like a fool.

Klone_dd · Star Player Joined: 11 Mar 2002 Posts: 7330

A couple of days ago, I mentioned in another thread that I didn't know which 24 to watch - Jack Bauer or Kobe, since both deal with heated opponents and corrupt officials. I didn't realize the extent of the corruption until last night. However, I did enjoy seeing DWade's reaction to not getting a call when he expected one.

Kobe is doing it all. Even though he didn't shoot well and got no love from the refs, he battled through it all, made his teammates better, played some tough D, and was showing some huge leadership skills.

Cookie: If you do one thing, do it well. Sweet stroke, dead eye from 3 and 10 boards to boot. Nice.

Smushie: Looking more and more confident every game. He took off way too early on a breakaway, but was money from 3-land. For 2 straight games, his anticipation on last second game plays has been magnificent.

JoFar - on the play before the bad pass, it looked like he tweaked something - an ankle or a foot. Anyone hear anything?

Finally, my condolences to the Coon family for their loss. It's sad to lose a lifelong Lakers fan, but I'm sure the team gave him lots of fond memories.

DancingBarry · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:34 am Post subject:

DancingBarry · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:54 am Post subject:

Omar Little · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:10 pm Post subject:

First, condolences to Larryand the entire Coon family. Any Laker fan should be family here, and much love out to larry at this time.

Second, thanks as always to DB. Even though I watched the game, i still couldn't wait for the re-cap.

No one, including the announcers, could dispute the incredible bias of the calls last night. It is called "inconsistent", but it is very consistantly one-sided. There is no doubt that either on a personal level or by instruction, the refs are making decisions that cannot be anything other than favoritism of one team.

Loved the game from Bynum. Some of the fouls were quite bogus, but he played through and delivered in crunch time. Quite a difficult matchup with Zo, who appears to be the new Karl Malone. He is extremely rough and physical, hacking grabbing and pushing. I would play that way if they let me, so no knock on Zo, but it seems at least half of his boards and blocks are accompanied by viscious, obvious hacks and shoves. Bynum's best attributes are his length, and his patient fundamentals. His game resembles Duncan more and more, especially in how he holds the ball high, surveys the floor, and is not goaded into the quick, out of control move. As the announcers said, he is extremely long. I did notice that while he is a decent leaper, he is a bit slow off his feet, a fact displayed by the explosive Zo on jump balls. Nonetheless, this guy is already an elite level shot blocker with budding post dominance. With some more physical development and experience, it is easy to predict that he will be a load very soon. Great draft pick and development by the Lakers.

Good to see Sasha seems to have slowed down his jumper to the point where it is starting resemble his practice shot, resulting in it going in. As another poster indicated, he is 45% on threes in the last few weeks. If he can nail open threes consistently, he becomes a longer Steve Kerr off the bench for us, one who also helps with pressure D situations, and that is never a bad thing to have.

Cookie was almost, dare i say it, dominant at times tonight. He and Vlad on the floor simultaneously made for miserable minutes for Zo. I really like the chemistry both with Kobe and Farmar. They look for him on offense. When he's got it going, he is great for making teams pay for doubling Kobe. The boards and blocks were nice, although he seems more suited to slower teams like Miami. It is the very active, athletic bigs that ruin him. Much like Sasha, a greatsituational weapon to have, as long as you have some other options when he's not bringing it.

Smush is so nice when he's confident and active. At his best he is a spot up 3 machine who can use his length, quickness and activity to affect the other end of the court as well. I'm not bothered by the 2pt shooting, as this is not his primary role. If he hist 3's, is active on D, and maintains that cheerful cockiness, he's a great piece. Perhaps there is an upgrade to be made there this off-season, but as of now he is doing his job better than I would expect of all but a hanful of replacements (none of which are available or would know the tri).

Kobe continues to amaze me. Despite the horrible calls and the numbers Wade was putting up, Kobe refused to make this a one-on-one situation. Even the technical was for aguing on behalf of a team-mate. He only took over when it seemed necessary. Fantastic leadership. Along with the Suns playoff series and the earlier portions of the season, this cements that Kobe is indeed a mutured and effective leader. I think when LO gets back Kobe will move a bit more to the attck role, but for now he is taking personal responsibility to move the play of the entire team forward. Given this, along with the Lakers' record, which would have surprised a lot of people at full strength, and factoring in the injuries, it is clear that this is an MVP-worthy season, indeed moreso than last year.

Last but not least, Note to Barkley: Athletic is a 3-syllable word!
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

koolruningz · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 2:39 pm Post subject:

Thanks DB, great recap.

Condolences to Larry, i heard them talking about Jack on the radio feed last night - nice tribute by Spero and Mychal.

Here's an interesting quote from Kobe's site about his changed play this season and how he has matured. It was taken after the Heat game and i havent seen it anywhere else:

LakersSpirit · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 3:15 pm Post subject:

Our team looked rested, and ready... Both teams jumped out, fiercely, from the shute... I think the key was that we were rested. Andrew, and Kobe, especially, looked like they had benefitted, from some good rest.

I feel that Andrew has a way to go, before he can play big minutes, as a starter. Andrew was very effective, however, in the minutes he was given... He has to learn how to move his body, without getting into foul trouble.

Kobe played an all-around game. Kobe started being a facilitator, and his offensive output kind of sputtered. Kobe was a very good facilitator, early. Later, "The Mamba" came to life, to insure the win.

Smush and Kobe were in sync., as they both helped to work one, or the other open. I was, somewhat, disappointed in Farmar. I don't know if Farmar is being forced to play a different style, but his decisions, and instincts seemed to be awkward. There were plenty of positives, as well as negatives, for everyone.

There were times, when I really had the feeling, that everyone is getting to know one another. The ball was moved around, and most Lakers got the ball, in their favorite spot, and at the right moment[not always, but enough times].

Heat hasn't fared very well, in these parts, lately... :roll:
_________________
"Teamwork is a nebulous thing. It is as ephemeral as love, disappearing at the latest insult.".... Phil Jackson

Aloha · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 5:02 pm Post subject:

TheProdigy · Star Player Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 1847

Bynum was stationary on that alley-oop. IMO, the reason he can't do that more often is that he doesn't have full control of his arms, since they're so long(some might call it uncoordination.) If you try to visualize it, it's hard for him to try to guide the ball through the hoop with those long arms.

However, this should change as those arms get bigger, as the extra weight would "anchor" them to his body. Unfortunately, it's possible that they might get stiffer as well, affecting his touch in the process.

BigE32 · Star Player Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 8518

Thanks, DB, as always. My condolences to the Coon family. I thougt a W was imperative because of our next two road games, which will be extremely difficult. I wasn't crazy about the fact that KB only had three foul shots in the game. He drove the lane, drew contact and there were no calls. Oh well. We got the W and I'm happy we avenged our earlier loss to them which, as you know DB, I attended and heard many of the Heat fans ridicule our Lakers in the fourth quarter. I'm glad we were able to beat them.

Omar Little · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:00 pm Post subject:

TheProdigy · Star Player Joined: 11 Nov 2006 Posts: 1847

magic_bryant · Franchise Player Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 18179

Bynum wasn't stationary. He was taking a step, then got up. Wasn't really that high, the arms being so long make it seem as if he's much higher than he actually is.

Nonetheless, I was proud of Bynum's game last night. Showed a lot of toughness and stayed after it despite the calls.
_________________
Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass."

Omar Little · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:25 pm Post subject:

magic_bryant · Franchise Player Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 18179

Omar Little · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:56 pm Post subject:

magic_bryant · Franchise Player Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 18179

Bynum athletically reminds me of Haywood. Have always said that. And defensively, he's going to be limited due to that "mechanical"-ness to his game.

Offensively, though, he's solid already. Would like to see him punish more players, but he doesn't have to do that just yet. He's still 19. So, obviously, with more maturity and confidence, he'll just get better and more willing to "punish" players inside.

A bit too uncoordinated for the Duncan comparisons, because Duncan is a bit smaller and more mobile, as evidenced by the way he comes across the lane with his right hook.
_________________
Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass."

Omar Little · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:15 pm Post subject:

LakersSpirit · Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:20 pm Post subject:

I see, that this has sort of become a Bynum thread... I have been noticing that mechanicalness to Bynum's game. The timing is not quite there. The big problem, as can be predicted, is Andrew's lack of college experience. I think that lack of college is going to haunt Andrew, throughout his career. I mean, you can't just go back, and get what you missed... Once in the NBA, how are you going to keep them in college??

It's going to be a very interesting thing to watch. Can this high school bigman develop some NBA moves, from scratch?? I see two possibilities:
1.) Andrew will surprise everyone, and pick up everything that Kareem has to show him.

2.) Andrew will just continue to have some weaknesses, and bad habits, throughout his career, but just get by.

I was thinking about my comments, about Bynum, and I felt the need to clarify some of my thoughts... Yes, Bynum has some raw talent, that we've seen, from time-to-time. In high school, Andrew would be a phenom., right now. Even, in the NBA, Andrew has astounded us, with his good hands, and some of his quick moves, to the basket. What we're seeing now, however, is Andrew trying to sustain a high level of performance, as the main bigman, for long periods. The weaknesses just naturally start showing.

I believe that Andrew has to develop the body, coordination, and the veteran techniques/knowledge, to become a starting center, in the NBA. The key words are: experience, technique, knowledge, and physical development.
_________________
"Teamwork is a nebulous thing. It is as ephemeral as love, disappearing at the latest insult.".... Phil Jackson