Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:51 am Post subject: LAKERS -vs- WARRIORS - 10/11 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
Ah, the Preseason... These first few games are usually pretty ugly. Tuesday's down-to-the-wire game was a rarity that had a little bit more electricity. The Lakers pulled ahead early with a better performance out of the gate, as Phil shuffled the lineups and had Luke back. But they slipped late in the quarter and never had that kind of control in the game, dropping it 119-106.
It sure seemed like the Warriors had more than 12 offensive boards. Some of those second and third opportunities killed the Lakers, probably not as much as the Lakers 25 turnovers. Many of those were quickly capitalized on at the other end.
Don Nelson ran some lineups that he should never get away with...Point-guard-less units, with SG/SF's at the PF spots. We were generally poor with taking advantage of those situations.
Again, no note taking from tonight's write-up since I attended the game...so it's a bit less detailed than usual. (And please excuse any errors/typos.)
Kobe -- -- Lousy game from Kobe on both ends. He was a bit turnover prone again, with several of his miscues off the dribble resulting in easy transition points on the other end. He even missed a layup on a two-on-one break. His highlight play of the night came when the Warrior D parted like the Red Sea for him when they shaded for a pick, he attacked and threw down one of his reverse jams. He also had a few nice interior feeds to set up scores. He's certainly in that distributor role and led the team with 8 assists (5 turnovers) to go with his 11 points (2-10 from the floor) in 25 minutes. I'm not sure if some of his miscues off the dribble were because he was trying to put on a little showtime, or whether he was just forcing the issue a little too much. Maybe both. Either way, it's something to keep an eye out if Phil wants him to breakdown the D and set up others a bit more this year. Defensively, he got backdoored once, watched his man drain a three without getting out on him, and he watched another drive blow past him. Some forgettable D, for sure.
DFish -- -- Fish had the hot hand early, hitting a number of jumpers from the corner as well as a couple of pull-ups from the 15- to 18-foot range in transition. He also talked with the coaches quite a bit during the dead balls, giving them some feedback on things happening on the court. That's the kind of role you want to see him in. He finished with 12 points on 5-7 shooting in 17 minutes. Some of the defensive switches and help situations on D were much better executed than the previous game. Of course, we didn't have to contend with BDiddy in this game, as he sat out.
Luke -- -- Luke got the start and didn't seem to show much signs of struggle with his hamstring. He played a steady role running the offense and setting up teammates. He finished with 5 assists to go with his 8 points in 22:40 of action. He missed both threes he took. He scored a layup with an attack off the baseline. He pulled down an offensive board, attacked and set up Mihm for an And-1. Solid, all-around game.
Turiaf -- -- Ronny is always a bundle of energy and hustle, which sometimes will get him strapped with fouls. He had 4 fouls in 17 minutes to go with his 4 boards and 7 points. He had a nice follow-up throwdown as well as another dunk on the breakaway. He slipped a screen with Kobe, took the pass and gave a nice interior feed to Bynum who was fouled. It will be interesting to see how many minutes Phil gives him when we have a healthy LO and Kwame. Hopefully, that means less Cook.
Bynum -- -- The first thing that stuck out in tonight's game was the number of turnovers (5) Bynum chalked up. They were essentially offensive fouls and travels. He didn't dominate the glass as he did the other night and the Lakers generally paid the price. You wish he could also do a little more against a Croshere who was matched up against him. On the plus side, when Bynum had the chance, he finished strong around the rim. He had a number of dunks from interior feeds or the high entry type of passes. Again, Bynum didn't swat a shot, but he did seem to alter a couple.
Cook -- -- Yeesh. Nelson played Cook smart. He stuck an SG/SF on him defensively. Cook countered by playing Nelson dumb. He hovered around the 15-foot and out range. He posted up once. He showed no ability on the defensive glass, despite the size difference. And, he finished with 2 points on 0-5 shooting in 11 minutes. Cook at his worst.
Radmanovic -- -- Vlad had another strong outing. In the past couple of games, he's had some good reads out of the offense, especially coming weak to strong around a screen. Karl found him with a pretty behind-the-back pass on one such sequence and Vlad scored. His highlight of the night, however, came off a low-post handoff where Vlad finished with authority while taking out a Warrior player. Very nice. He finished with 12 points on 4-7 shooting, tying Fish for game-high in 23:32 of action. He pulled down 4 boards, 3 offensive. Could have used a little more help from him on the defensive glass. He played respectable defensively, otherwise.
Mihm -- -- He came off the bench and looked a bit more fluid, even had his jumphook drop for him. Chris's highlight came off a two-man sequence with Luke, where he finished an And-1 strong at the rim. In 18 minutes, he had 11 points on 4-7 shooting, 5 boards and 1 block. Between him and Bynum, we got 22 points on 9-16 shooting and 11 boards in 36 minutes. That's respectable from the C spot, although against a team that's a little weak in the interior.
Karl -- -- Kid played some pretty good ball tonight. He showed his NBA range, knocking down 3-4 from behind the arc with that quick release of his. He also had a couple of beauty passes: One to Vlad as Karl attacked strong to his right, Vlad curled from the weakside and Coby hit him with a perfectly timed behind-the-back pass for a score; the other pass was a high lob from the baseline for a Bynum dunk. Defensively, he showed very well. He challenged a breakaway nicely even though he was whistled for a foul (he took a pretty hard tumble on that one, but bounced up). He contested his man well once or twice to force a miss. He even had a nice lateral stop on a drive attempt. Good job.
Crittenton -- -- Critt's highlight play of the night showed his ability to break down the D with Kobe-like precision, splitting a double team with the dribble, then rising up and hammering a dunk. Very nice. Critt had a couple of stints in this game, once opposite Kobe where he took a backseat role and essentially just looked to give the ball to Kobe. He'll need to find a balance there at some point and be aggressive while Kobe is on the floor. So, those minutes were pretty much nothing. His other stint came late in the game, when he had the chance to be aggressive. He attacked and got to the line, but only made 1-4 from the stripe. He scored just 3 points on 1-2 shooting in 15 minutes. He had 1 assist (a couple of sloppy passes for turnovers) and 3 boards.
Farmar -- 8) -- Farmar played another steady game, with a little speed and explosion at times. He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting, missing both threes he took. He had 2 steals. We saw a little of that Farmar/Critt lineup that the Lakers played in the summer league. Farmar took a good spill after one drive down the lane. When he goes to his super hops, it looks a bit scary when he gets hit. That bit of strength he added in the offseason will help that some, but it still makes me nervous.
Sasha -- -- Sasha mixed things up well offensively, getting to the rim to get some points. He finished wtih 8 points on 2-7 shooting, missing both threes. Still, his D is an issue. He was giving up some of the more blatent penetration in this game. If there is a battle between Sasha and Karl for PT, it's now 1-1 after Hawaii.
Patterson -- -- He had a nice swat on Belinelli, one of his three blocked shots with that length of his. He was, however, generally a guy they tried to pick on when he was in the game. Patterson did manage to pull down 5 boards in his 6 minutes of action. Very active, but give up penetration too easily at times.
E. Brown -- -- Token appearance. He just missed a tough shot on the baseline in his only attempt.
Special Props -- -- Got to meet a great Laker fan tonight from LG, who you all know as "Alpha" here and at other boards. He even hooked me and the family up with nice gift. Very thoughtful. I'll have to return the favor some day, my friend.
Last edited by DancingBarry on Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 05 Nov 2005 Posts: 10782 Location: Hoosier Nation
Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:09 am Post subject:
I hope everyone remembers that pre-season games are not about winning or losing, but about getting experience and feeling comfortable with teammates and the system.
Thanks for the recap DB. _________________ Not a legend
Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 29999 Location: Likely nowhere near you
Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:25 am Post subject:
DB, Kobe's passiveness, do you feel it is a result of:
- it is preseason, so who cares?
- Kobe sees a bad situation, so he is mailing it in?
- whole new team, so PJ asked him to start out as facilitator while everyone gets used to the offense?
- whole new system that features Kobe as the facilitator (didn't PJ say he was going to mix things up?)?
- Kobe is still getting used to the new body style he is sporting (the lean one)? _________________ Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'
any reason why Cook looks lost? his D was always bad and now his offense is as well is it time to put him on the Inactive-list?
Not to kick a guy when he's down, but you know when they say some guys play bigger than they actually are, for Cook, he plays defense like a guard, never mind the dude is like 6'10, instead of intimidating small guys coming into the lane, the dude stands there flat-footed, hands on the side hoping to sell a charge. _________________ Ringo "You retired too?"
Doc "Not me, I'm in my prime."
Didnt see the game, but Critt doesnt play aggressive with Kobe either? A trend is a trend IMO.
shaq didn't have a problem. neither, apparently, does fisher. i think it's a problem because they're two gaurds that need the ball to slash to the basket. when kobe's on the floor as a SG he needs his PG to be a spot up shooter. if critt is in the game with kobe, kobe needs to slide down to SF and work out of the of the wing, and have critt operate with the ball out on the perimeter. _________________ "i was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine, but i'm climbin' up to the highlands, goin' to make that mountain mine" ~ Lakers, 2011
At this point I would keep Karl over Cook. The only thing Cook adds to this team is a three point shot. Karl brings the same to the table, along with grit and some nice passing skills. Cook doesn't even use his size as an advantage, he neither rebounds nor blocks any shots. It's painful seeing Cook on the floor.
At this point I would keep Karl over Cook. The only thing Cook adds to this team is a three point shot. Karl brings the same to the table, along with grit and some nice passing skills. Cook doesn't even use his size as an advantage, he neither rebounds nor blocks any shots. It's painful seeing Cook on the floor.
I would have disagreed before the season started, but I agree. Might as well start fresh in as many places as we can. Cook is a tool _________________ The lakers will get prince.
Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:12 am Post subject: Re: LAKERS -vs- WARRIORS - 10/11 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
DancingBarry wrote:
Cook -- -- Yeesh. Nelson played Cook smart. He stuck an SG/SF on him defensively. Cook countered by playing Nelson dumb. He hovered around the 15-foot and out range. He posted up once. He showed no ability on the defensive glass, despite the size difference. And, he finished with 2 points on 0-5 shooting in 11 minutes. Cook at his worst.
Radmanovic -- -- Vlad had another strong outing. In the past couple of games, he's had some good reads out of the offense, especially coming weak to strong around a screen. Karl found him with a pretty behind-the-back pass on one such sequence and Vlad scored. His highlight of the night, however, came off a low-post handoff where Vlad finished with authority while taking out a Warrior player. Very nice. He finished with 12 points on 4-7 shooting, tying Fish for game-high in 23:32 of action. He pulled down 4 boards, 3 offensive. Could have used a little more help from him on the defensive glass. He played respectable defensively, otherwise.
Mihm -- -- He came off the bench and looked a bit more fluid, even had his jumphook drop for him. Chris's highlight came off a two-man sequence with Luke, where he finished an And-1 strong at the rim. In 18 minutes, he had 11 points on 4-7 shooting, 5 boards and 1 block. Between him and Bynum, we got 22 points on 9-16 shooting and 11 boards in 36 minutes. That's respectable from the C spot, although against a team that's a little weak in the interior.
Karl -- -- Kid played some pretty good ball tonight. He showed his NBA range, knocking down 3-4 from behind the arc with that quick release of his. He also had a couple of beauty passes: One to Vlad as Karl attacked strong to his right, Vlad curled from the weakside and Coby hit him with a perfectly timed behind-the-back pass for a score; the other pass was a high lob from the baseline for a Bynum dunk. Defensively, he showed very well. He challenged a breakaway nicely even though he was whistled for a foul (he took a pretty hard tumble on that one, but bounced up). He contested his man well once or twice to force a miss. He even had a nice lateral stop on a drive attempt. Good job.
Thanks for another great recap. Here's my $0.02.
In my opinion, Cook is done. He's played terribly in two preseason games. We could give him the benefit of the doubt and say he doesn't matchup well with the Warriors, but I'd rather not give him the benefit of anything. Poor defense, poor decision making, and since when has he had such a poor shot?
Rad deserves Cook's minutes. Period. He's shooting well and getting more comfortable in the offense.
Man, it was nice to see Mihm playing better. I was worried in the first preseason game when he looked like he couldn't get his feet off the ground. He had a little more spring in his legs last night, and I dug it.
If nothing else, Coby Karl has proven that he is willing to learn, has a high basketball IQ, and can make an open shot. His rotations on defense are a little hesitant, but I really think that will improve. Plain and simple, Coby Karl deserves the 15th roster spot. Even if that means keeping him in the D-League. Or, we could trade Cook to the Bobcats for their trade exception and a little cap relief to open up another slot.
Cook has adopted that gunslinger attitude. It seemed like everytime he touched the ball, he shot it. And if there were a rebound to be had, he missed those, too.
Like what Opie Karl did. He showed a pretty sweet stroke and some real court savvy.
First time I saw Critt. Kinda meh game. I agree that he was deferring totally to Kobe and not looking to do much on his own when the both of them were on the court. Not that I blame the kid. I mean, if it were me, I'd be like "Do you want the ball now, Mr. Bryant."
Thanks DB! From the sound of it Radmanovic really mixed it up
these two nights. The first night he showed his long-ball threat and
the second he showed his cuts to the rim. Good to hear.
Also thanks to Aloha for being a great representative not only
to the Hawaii-Laker-fan-base but to Lakersground as well.
Here's a link to the highlights of the game; sorry if already posted.
Full credit to lallousse28 on youtube.
Vlad had another strong outing. In the past couple of games, he's had some good reads out of the offense, especially coming weak to strong around a screen
I'm SOOOOOOOO happy to see this. As was previously stated, he needs to take Cook's minutes. All of them.
DB, i'm just watching the first quarter of the game and i thought Kobe Played Very good ball. That isn't passive ball, people think it is but Kobe in that quarter was attacking and then making the right play. What do you think happened later in the game? Because to me it's kobe's mindset and i liked what i saw in that first quarter. _________________
Joined: 09 Oct 2007 Posts: 2884 Location: Los Angeles
Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:41 pm Post subject:
Cook was driving me crazy..I mean he has some open shots and he bricks the shots or air balls them...he needs to go to Miami with Smush and move Karl into the Lakers bench.
Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:25 pm Post subject: Re: LAKERS -vs- WARRIORS - 10/11 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
DancingBarry wrote:
Special Props -- -- Got to meet a great Laker fan tonight from LG, who you all know as "Aloha" here and at other boards. He even hooked me and the family up with nice gift. Very thoughtful. I'll have to return the favor some day, my friend.
no problem my friend... you do so so much for us laker fans... i don't think you really grasp the magnitude of your game write ups. for some of us who are not in the LA area, your coverage is a true God send.
lol, the Laker bball quality was a joke but being in HI we're so appreciative just to see the guys in person. meeting you was a definite highlight of the night... i hope you and your family had (or are still having) a nice time here.
I, for one, like Cook. I miss the behind the back pass from Kobe to Cook for an open jumpshot. Cookie just needs to get his rhythm back...there is definitely a spot for him on this team.
I agree, though, Vlad Rad should get most of the minutes because of the way he is playing. Karl? Not so much. Maybe down the road.
The only rook I wanna see much of this year is JCritt. BALLER.
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-- Lousy game from Kobe on both ends. He was a bit turnover prone again, with several of his miscues off the dribble resulting in easy transition points on the other end. He even missed a layup on a two-on-one break. His highlight play of the night came when the Warrior D parted like the Red Sea for him when they shaded for a pick, he attacked and threw down one of his reverse jams. He also had a few nice interior feeds to set up scores. He's certainly in that distributor role and led the team with 8 assists (5 turnovers) to go with his 11 points (2-10 from the floor) in 25 minutes. I'm not sure if some of his miscues off the dribble were because he was trying to put on a little showtime, or whether he was just forcing the issue a little too much. Maybe both. Either way, it's something to keep an eye out if Phil wants him to breakdown the D and set up others a bit more this year. Defensively, he got backdoored once, watched his man drain a three without getting out on him, and he watched another drive blow past him. Some forgettable D, for sure.
-- Fish had the hot hand early, hitting a number of jumpers from the corner as well as a couple of pull-ups from the 15- to 18-foot range in transition. He also talked with the coaches quite a bit during the dead balls, giving them some feedback on things happening on the court. That's the kind of role you want to see him in. He finished with 12 points on 5-7 shooting in 17 minutes. Some of the defensive switches and help situations on D were much better executed than the previous game. Of course, we didn't have to contend with BDiddy in this game, as he sat out.
-- Luke got the start and didn't seem to show much signs of struggle with his hamstring. He played a steady role running the offense and setting up teammates. He finished with 5 assists to go with his 8 points in 22:40 of action. He missed both threes he took. He scored a layup with an attack off the baseline. He pulled down an offensive board, attacked and set up Mihm for an And-1. Solid, all-around game.
-- Ronny is always a bundle of energy and hustle, which sometimes will get him strapped with fouls. He had 4 fouls in 17 minutes to go with his 4 boards and 7 points. He had a nice follow-up throwdown as well as another dunk on the breakaway. He slipped a screen with Kobe, took the pass and gave a nice interior feed to Bynum who was fouled. It will be interesting to see how many minutes Phil gives him when we have a healthy LO and Kwame. Hopefully, that means less Cook.
-- The first thing that stuck out in tonight's game was the number of turnovers (5) Bynum chalked up. They were essentially offensive fouls and travels. He didn't dominate the glass as he did the other night and the Lakers generally paid the price. You wish he could also do a little more against a Croshere who was matched up against him. On the plus side, when Bynum had the chance, he finished strong around the rim. He had a number of dunks from interior feeds or the high entry type of passes. Again, Bynum didn't swat a shot, but he did seem to alter a couple.
-- Yeesh. Nelson played Cook smart. He stuck an SG/SF on him defensively. Cook countered by playing Nelson dumb. He hovered around the 15-foot and out range. He posted up once. He showed no ability on the defensive glass, despite the size difference. And, he finished with 2 points on 0-5 shooting in 11 minutes. Cook at his worst.
-- Vlad had another strong outing. In the past couple of games, he's had some good reads out of the offense, especially coming weak to strong around a screen. Karl found him with a pretty behind-the-back pass on one such sequence and Vlad scored. His highlight of the night, however, came off a low-post handoff where Vlad finished with authority while taking out a Warrior player. Very nice. He finished with 12 points on 4-7 shooting, tying Fish for game-high in 23:32 of action. He pulled down 4 boards, 3 offensive. Could have used a little more help from him on the defensive glass. He played respectable defensively, otherwise.
-- Kid played some pretty good ball tonight. He showed his NBA range, knocking down 3-4 from behind the arc with that quick release of his. He also had a couple of beauty passes: One to Vlad as Karl attacked strong to his right, Vlad curled from the weakside and Coby hit him with a perfectly timed behind-the-back pass for a score; the other pass was a high lob from the baseline for a Bynum dunk. Defensively, he showed very well. He challenged a breakaway nicely even though he was whistled for a foul (he took a pretty hard tumble on that one, but bounced up). He contested his man well once or twice to force a miss. He even had a nice lateral stop on a drive attempt. Good job.
-- Critt's highlight play of the night showed his ability to break down the D with Kobe-like precision, splitting a double team with the dribble, then rising up and hammering a dunk. Very nice. Critt had a couple of stints in this game, once opposite Kobe where he took a backseat role and essentially just looked to give the ball to Kobe. He'll need to find a balance there at some point and be aggressive while Kobe is on the floor. So, those minutes were pretty much nothing. His other stint came late in the game, when he had the chance to be aggressive. He attacked and got to the line, but only made 1-4 from the stripe. He scored just 3 points on 1-2 shooting in 15 minutes. He had 1 assist (a couple of sloppy passes for turnovers) and 3 boards.
-- Sasha mixed things up well offensively, getting to the rim to get some points. He finished wtih 8 points on 2-7 shooting, missing both threes. Still, his D is an issue. He was giving up some of the more blatent penetration in this game. If there is a battle between Sasha and Karl for PT, it's now 1-1 after Hawaii.
-- He had a nice swat on Belinelli, one of his three blocked shots with that length of his. He was, however, generally a guy they tried to pick on when he was in the game. Patterson did manage to pull down 5 boards in his 6 minutes of action. Very active, but give up penetration too easily at times.
-- Token appearance. He just missed a tough shot on the baseline in his only attempt.
-- Got to meet a great Laker fan tonight from LG, who you all know as "Alpha" here and at other boards. He even hooked me and the family up with nice gift. Very thoughtful. I'll have to return the favor some day, my friend.
