LAKERS -at- SUNS - 4/24 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

[DancingBarry]

Embarrassed... The Suns were scoring so fast and with such ease this game, it looked like Steve Nash was assisting to some guy name Rajandro Amarion.

What little defense the Lakers played, was picked apart in the half court or quickly in transition after makes and misses. The battle of tempo was completely one-sided in the 126-98 loss.

The Suns scored 39 points on the break. We added injury to insult when Kobe had minor ankle twist after he was put back in for some garbage-time minutes.

"We came out and didn't match their energy to start," Luke said. "We were more focused on our offense than our defense and they got a lead, and it's tough to play that team when you're playing from behind. When you try to start running with them, it's their game."

The Lakers didn't steal a game on the road, although they had the chance in the first one. Defend the home court or go home.


Kobe -- -- "We have to play a smarter game. We have to play hard and we have to win the hustle points," Kobe said afterward. The Suns are pretty much swarming him when he's dribbling the ball. We still haven't seen him work in the low post. We also didn't do a good job ball reversing to him on the wing. We might see Kobe work a little more of the two-man game, pulling out Amare, to set up our post game for others. We'll see. Very weak effort tonight doing anything with purpose by the team. Kobe came in for some late garbage time and had his ankle stepped on. He left the game to get it iced early. Kobe finished with 15 points on 5-13 shooting (1-4 from three) in 34 minutes. He had 5 assists with 3 turnovers. He got blocked by Amare trying to dunk off a curl. With the crowd surging early, he quieted them with a long three. He drew the D and hit Kwame who went to the line. He attacked, missed and wanted the foul. He attacked down the lane again and scored a layup. He sank a 21-footer from the wing. He posted up at the elbow, curled around Bell on the dribble and finished easily at the rim. He got caught in the air and threw the ball away. He lost the handle and it resulted in a dunk the other way. He missed a three (it resulted in a quick three the other way). He attacked off the dribble, drew a foul and made both. He hit Kwame with a feed after he sealed his man and Kwame dunked. He attacked and drew FTs, making both. He missed a wing jumper to start the second half. He attacked, lost the ball and it resulted in a layup on the other end. He missed a three. He stole the ball and threw down an uncontested reverse dunk. He settled for a short jumper on the break and missed. Phil brought him back in for garbage time and he rolled an ankle. He mostly looked to set up others at this point. He hit Bynum with a high entry pass for a layup.

Lamar -- -- Lamar was frustrated on the floor tonight. He never gave up, but both he and Kobe were clearly seething with how piss poor the team played. "It's kind of sad," LO said in the Times. "I don't know if we're as close as a team as we need to be in terms of camaraderie, but something has to change, and quick." Lamar scored just 10 points on a poort 4-12 shooting, he pulled down 10 boards and had 0 assists with 3 turnovers. He hit a 20-footer from the wing on his first attempt. He knocked down another wing jumper. Amare rejected him at the rim, pulling down the ball and controlling it after Lamar tried to dunk. He took a Luke pass or airball and scored easily. He missed a runner. He traveled in the post. He got blocked in the post when the D collapsed on him. He came from the weakside as the Lakers worked the pick and roll on the other side and he took the extra pass from Kwame and drew FTs (Lakers need to do more of this to pull Amare out and let LO work down low). He attacked off the dribble, drew FTs and missed both. He missed in the post, got it back, got blocked, got it back, up-faked and hit an And-1, he then missed the FT. He missed a jumper. He missed a quick three. Nice hustle to reject Marion at the rim.

Luke -- -- We did a better job when Barbosa was matched up Luke. We milked it quickly and the Suns avoided the match up after that. Luke struggled at times offensively in the game and finished with 9 points on 2-8 shooting, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards (3 offensive) and 3 assists with 4 turnovers. Luke led all Lakers with 3 steals. He got blocked by Jones trying to post him up. He either airballed a floater or made a clever interior pass to Odom who had position and scored. He immediately attacked Barbosa off the dribble as soon as the Suns brought him in, and he drew a foul. We went right back to Luke and he missed an awkward post attempt. We went back to it again on the next possession and he drew a foul on Barbosa, posting him up (he made both FTs). Out in transition after a board and he found Kwame for a dunk. Nice board off a missed Odom FT and he hit Kwame for the dunk. He missed back-to-back threes. He posted up, his man flopped and Luke drew the call, he made one FT, but got back his own miss and then hit a sideline three. He swiped a couple passes and helped ignite the break. He swished an open three from the wing.

Kwame -- -- The difference between Amare anchoring the Suns D and Kwame anchoring the Lakers D was pretty apparent in this game. Amare was causing problems, Kwame was watching problems. He played just 18 minutes, getting 4 fouls while scoring 7 points on 3-6 shooting. He pulled down 4 boards. Kobe set him up and he was fouled, making one FT. He missed a jumphook in the post. He dunked off a feed by Luke in transition. He sealed Amare completely off the floor, took the entry pass and dunked (more please). He ducked, Amare jumped over him and Kwame scored a layup. He missed a post attempt over Amare and should have gotten the foul call. A rare block on Marion to save a hoop. He picked up his fourth foul early in the third and sat.

Farmar -- -- A guy like Farmar, who already studies Steve Nash, is going to watch the tapes of the these games over and over again this summer and look at how Steve Nash picked apart the Lakers. Reasonable game from the rook, we weren't on the same page defensively all game. If there is a slight hesitation with our rotations, Nash will exploit it. Jordan finished with 10 points on 4-8 shooting, 3 assists wtih 1 turnover in 21 minutes. Aggressive first shot, making a three from the corner on the first possession. He missed a top of the key jumper. He missed a three. He missed a wide open three. He sized up Bell on the break, put on the burst of speed, took contact and banked the And-1, he made the FT. He swished an elbow jumper. He short-armed a layup after a ballfake in the lane. He drew a charge, switching on Thomas in the post. He attacked the lane and hit a layup over Nash.

Smush -- -- Smush had the fewest minutes of any Laker. Talk about the dog house. He played just 4 minutes, missed his only shot and continued to get torched by Barbosa. He missed a runner on his only attempt. Barbosa scored easily off a curl. Barbosa backed Smush up in transition, then sank a wide open three. He shaded Barbosa to his left (more like pointed the way to go and gave him a police escort to the basket for a layup). He then got subbed out for Shammond.

Bynum -- -- Good job by Bynum, putting in the effort and trying to cause problems without getting the ball passed into the post often enough. He finished with 9 points on 4-7 shooting to go with a game-high 12 boards (5 offensive) in just 17:48 of action. Tough catch on a difficult post entry and he scored off the glass with several defenders around him. He missed off the glass, just beating the shotclock. He took an entry from Kobe and dunked. Late in the third, he pulled down an offensive board and drew a foul, he made one FT. A rare feed to Bynum when Kobe hit him with a high entry pass and he scored with ease. He took the post entry, made a couple of moves and banked the jumphook off the glass from the right side (that shot from that spot should be a major weapon for him as his career goes along). He directed traffic, telling Cook to clear out so he could set a pick for Shammond and it freed up a wide open jumper. He missed a face up jumper, short.

Evans -- -- Mo never stopped playing and led the Laker bench with 10 points on 4-9 shooting in 23 minutes. His game was all perimeter, however. Never able to get on the glass and cause problems. He missed a corner three. He missed another three. He hit a baseline jumper. He hit a corner three. He missed his next attempt at three. He hit another corner three. He missed a baseline jumper. He swished a short baseline jumper.

Cook -- -- If we can find 18 minutes for Cook at PF, we can find a few more for Ronny. Cook shot a poor 2-8 for 7 points. He missed a wing jumper. He sank a three from the top of the arch. He upfaked to lose his man, attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He tried to post up, missed, then missed a tip in. He missed a 12-footer, short. He missed a three. He reversed off an interior feed from guard penetration.

Turiaf -- -- No minutes in the first half. He got his first minutes in the second half when Kwame had to sit with foul trouble. Some nice D on the screen rolls early on. His D got softer in garbage time. He played just 9:46 and scored 5 points on 1-3 shooting, 3-4 from the line. He drew a charge on Amare. Amare hit a jumphook over him in the post. He missed a jumper. He drew a foul on Amare, setting a pick, he made both FTs. He blew an easy layup. He banked a 15-footer from the right side (I'd like to see him do that more since he has some nice arch on his shot, which makes that easier).

Shammond -- -- He got dusted off and thrown into the mix to see if he could do something defensive against the Suns guards. He was average defensively. He had his stroke going on the offensive end and scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting in 19 minutes. He missed a three. He sank a wing three over Barbosa. He missed a fade in the lane. He attacked down the lane and finger rolled. He swished a wing jumper off a Bynum screen. He sank a long baseline jumper on iso.

Vujacic -- -- Reasonable offensive game, except for a hideous turnover. The D was about as poor as anyone elses. He scored 7 points on 20 minutes on 3-6 shooting (1-3 from three). He ball faked, moved in closer and hit an 18-footer. He got caught in the air and decided to ignite the Suns break. He hit a three from the wing. He took an offensive board, headfaked and scored a layup.

Phil -- -- Down by nearly 30 and Phil puts Kobe back in. Shortly later, he gets an ankle stepped on and rolls it... He went with a Shammond, Sasha, Mo, Cook, Odom lineup midway into the second quarter. That lineup isn't beating anyone... The Lakers got absolutely run off the floor in the first half. The Suns got what ever they wanted. The Suns pick and roll picked the team apart. Offensively, we struggled to figure out what we wanted to do. The Suns shot 57 percent to the Lakers 37 percent. They scored 23 points on the break -- to the Lakers 2, in the first half. The Lakers gave up 68 points, just a step up from the 39 points of the first half in the last game... The Suns ended up shooting 54 percent to the Lakers 41 percent. The Lakers did a decent job on the offensive glass, pulling down 17. The Suns had just 9 total turnovers to the Lakers 15. They had 30 assists to our 16... Do or die time for the Lakers...

[stillmatic]

Phil's line up in the second drove me nuts.

And yeah, that line is up isn't beating ANYONE.

*sigh* Good work, yet again DB. Thanks.

[8750]

thanks, DB...
i didn't cultivate any hope at the beginning of this series... we can't match the suns style and we can't impose our strategy, in part because we don't have the right players in part because we don't have any strategy... that's why playing team-ball is totally useless with this team...
i didn't have any expectation, so i'm not overreacting now... but i think that our coaching is one of the greatest problems we have to solve... this team doesn't have any identity, and doesn't show any motivation... we didn't see any technical improvement from last season, and didn't see any mental improvement... i never believed the naif "we are talented young and improving", so i understand perfectly that also the smartest strategy could never work with smush, cook, sasha, kwame, and so on... but when at the end of a season a team can't play any defense and doesn't have any character, we have to deduce that this team is very poorly coached...

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB - tough work analyzing this game?!?!

DB - why didn't any Lakers commit clean, legal and hard fouls to any Suns that were driving through the paint to make them acutely aware that there will be no easy layups?!?!?!

Which Lakers would do that:
Cook - kidding
Bynum - not yet
LO - injuried
Luke - too slow
Mo - injuried?!?!
Kwame - what happened to him

Bill Plashke asks the question of how long can he stand playing on a team that just doesn't have the talent, drive and/or will to win?!?!?!

[coop-a-loop]

Oh well. I was happy that the Lakers made the playoffs. But if I knew that they were going to get embarrased like this by the Suns, then I think we would have been better off in the lottery. What a waste of a playoff spot.

Already looking to the offseason, and I hope Dr. Buss, Jim Buss, and Mitch Kupchak have the balls to make some drastic moves to improve this team.

[zass17]

Barbosa -- -- lightening fast, combined scoring 100 for the last 4 vs Lakers playoff games. Making Lakers looks slow and stupid.

[Sage_10]

Worst game ever!
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[Mation]

Thanks DB,

Hopefully the lakers can rejuvenate at home.

[AV]

That was ugly....I think the coaching staff is going to have to come to the realization sooner or later that....we have to bring down the rotation to 7 maybe 8 guys...we has some ugly line ups out there that just got smoked, and when the first line was being inserted back in, already behind the 8 ball....I assume they are trying to keep them fresh, but it's playoff time and our depth is really really really poor.....LO's statement alluding to chemistry problems is very concerning.....but to end on a positive note, I think Jordan is looking really good for a rookie PG, so that is a bright spot for this squad

[ElginBaylor]

[Dr. Funkbot]

[LakerLanny]

It's like the coach gave up on the team before the series even started.

If I am Dr. Buss, I am wondering if I am getting good value on my $10 million per year coach.

There is no way you couldn't just plug in 100 other coaches at a fraction of the pay and get at least as good of an effort from the team as Phil is getting.

Clearly, Jackson is banking off past glories, he is useless with this current group of players.
_________________
Love, Laker Lanny

[CorkyTomjanovich]

Phil needs to take some responsibility here. Phoenix was getting easy basket after easy basket while the only guy who consistently protects the hoop (and guards Amare the best) was glued to the bench. Ronny and that is a fact.

Then down 12 he starts playing the scrubs. I just don't get it.

Good teams, believe it or not, have set rotations!!! Phil has never tried a rotation and stuck with it. 9 guys should be playing, 10 at the most, not the entire team. It might be hard to get some consistency going when he changes his patterns and lineups constantly. I think the players would appreciate a little consistency from him.



No excuse for what Phil pulled last night.

[PopcornMachine]

[RYZ]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

[ProjectAB]

How do you do it DB? Right now, I'm looking more toward Bynum's summer training session and see how he'll fare against Oden(assuming Memphis picks him) than these next two games.

[DancingBarry]

[LaxT]

[LakersSpirit]

"Someone left our cake out in the rain, and I just can't take it, because it took so long to bake it, and we'll never have that recipe again"... I think those lyrics, from an old song, kind of sums up, how I feel... An era is truly gone... That era, when we had a certain type of Laker Team, with true grit, that always came to play, 100%...

The Kobe Bryant Era has been a very intriguing, and revealing one... Half of what you think, and feel, however, often has to remain hidden, if you want to maintain friends, and family, in the L.A. Area, and, perhaps, beyond... :roll: Very interesting, that L.A. would love one player, so much, and, in effect, let a team, with so much tradition, fall by the wayside... I don't know, that seems to be the stuff of Greek Tragedy..... End of Story.
_________________
"Teamwork is a nebulous thing. It is as ephemeral as love, disappearing at the latest insult.".... Phil Jackson