Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:59 pm Post subject: LAKERS -vs- KINGS - 10/26 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings
Let the Games Begin... The lineups were missing some big names on both sides, but our young trio of Bynum, Farmar and Turiaf proceeded to impose their games on the Kings anyway. The Lakers took the final game of the preseason in Vegas 101-97. Now, the games start to count.
Mike Bibby had a torn ligament in his thumb and didn't play (that will be a setback for them). The Kings brought Artest off the bench for just a couple minutes, and Brad Miller wasn't playing. The Lakers tried to match with Kobe, LO and Mo sitting out. So, most of the primetime guys were sidelined in this game. For good measure, Sasha, Vlad and Cook decided to provide nothing, as well.
The Lakers didn't develop the kind of chemistry you'd like to see heading into the season, but if they can somehow battle to a few "W's" early on, that would go a long way. "That's the great equalizer -- success," said DFish at practice yesterday.
Luke -- -- With Kobe out, Luke was the only playmaker in the starters. They needed him to create and he stepped up with a team-high 8 assists to go with his 7 points on 3-7 shooting. He's doing an excellent job working with his bigmen and setting them up, especially Ronny and Drew. He started with a sweet long pass over the top of the D to Fish for a layup. Miscommunication on a post entry and he threw it out of bounds. He powered in a long outlet pass off a made FT for a score. Perfect lob from 35 feet out to Kwame who one-handed it over the rim. He banged in an open 20-footer straight away. Nice baseline drive and dish to Ronny for FTs. He got rejected badly in the paint. He hit Ronny in transition for the two-handed dunk. Tough long bounce pass through traffic to Ronny on the break and it resulted in another score. He attacked from the wing, drew the D then found Ronny for the And-1 (they've used that play well this preaseason). He attacked, drew the D and threw it up high for Bynum to smash down an And-1 dunk. He found Ronny late in the shotclock for an alley oop. He barely beat the shotclock on a jumper, getting it to bounce over the front of the rim from the wing with under 2 minutes left. With 11 seconds left, he nearly airballed his first FT attempt before swishing the next.
DFish -- -- Good run from DFish. He makes me nervous when he barrels into traffic on the break, but he's drawing fouls and has been finishing decently enough right now. It will be interesting to watch how and when Phil plays Fish. When the game was on the line tonight, Farmar closed the deal with Critt. Fish scored 15 points on 4-9 shooting, 6-6 from the line and had 5 assists in 24 minutes. He scored a layup off the over-the-top pass from the wing. He threw a wild pass trying to create off the dribble. He missed a stepback jumper. He bricked a layup on a three-on-one. He nearly traveled with the shot fake, but attacked and dished to Kwame for the layup. He drew a foul curling to his strong hand, he made both FTs. He missed a baseline jumper. He drew FTs in transition, he made both. He surveyed the floor on the break then attacked to his left and banked in the layup. He hit Bynum with the return feed at the elbow for a dunk. He missed an open baseline jumper. He banged down a three running the clock down the clock well at the end of the half. He had 11 points and 4 assists in the first half. He hit a teardrop down the lane after stealing the ball at midcourt. He missed a pull-up from the wing. He was called for a block in the lane, looked like he was there for the charge. He got the Kings on their heels and drew FTs in transition, he made both.
Turiaf -- -- Turiaf ran the floor well tonight, getting out in front of his man quite a bit. He and Luke have developed a little chemsitry, it seems as they connected a number of times. Turiaf was also was Mr. Freethrow in this one. His activity allowed him to get to the line 14 times, where he hit just 8. He was 5-7 from the floor and finished with 18 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal and 1 block in a team-high 36 minutes. He made a bad entry pass to Kwame for a TO. He dunked an And-1 in transition beating everyone down the floor, he made the FT. He couldn't handle a hot pass from Kwame in the lane. He faced up at the wing like Kobe and drew a foul on a swing-through move, he made one FT. He drew FTs off a drive and dish from Luke, he made both. He airballed an open baseline jumper. He threaded the needle to Farmar on the weakside attack and it led to an And-1. Nice feed to Sahsa who somehow lost it out of bounds. He hit Mihm with a baseline feed, but Mihm blew the reverse. He missed a 20-footer. He drew more FTs on a post entry feed, he made one FT. He dunked off a feed from Luke in transition. Luke founded Ronny again running the floor and it resulted in another easy score. Tricky interior feed to Bynum in traffic and it resulted in a dunk. Out of the timeout, Luke attacked, drew the D and fed Ronny for the And-1 layup, Ronny missed the FT. Ronny had 13 points on 4-6 shooting and 6 boards in 19 first-half minutes. He drew FTs on a jumper from 15 feet out, he made one. He drew more FTs under the hoop, but missed both. He knocked a ball loose in transition, stayed with it and then chucked it down court to Kwame for a dunk. He posted up, spun and drew another trip to the line, he made one. He reverse jammed an oop from Luke late in the shotclock. He overpassed in the lane and Bynum missed, but they were lucky it wasn't a three-second violation. Overall, excellent effort by our starting PF. Hopefully, Ronny will continue to get run like this and LO will fill in the remainder of the PF minutes.
Kwame -- -- "You have to keep being a teacher and keep the bad boys in the back of the class working all the time. It's just unbelievable," Phil said after cracking the whip on Kwame during Thursday's practice. It's always an adventure with Kwame. Kwame scored 10 points tonight on 4-5 shooting (2-4 from the line), 6 boards and 3 steals in 17 minutes. Solid numbers. Good D pinching into Fish's man to force a turnover. After mis-timing an offensive rebound he should have had, we got the ball back, Luke threw a long lob to him and he one-hand jammed it in. He held on to an interior feed from Fish and scored the layup. He threw an interior feed away. He pulled down an offensive board and drew a foul going back up, he swished the first FT and hit the second, amazing. He got poked in the eye then lost the ball letting a King slap it away without securing it. He pulled down an offensive board off a Vlad miss and scored the layup. Nice D on the perimeter to tap a ball away and then push it out, he missed the layup with a foul and then missed both FTs. Good job moving his feet to take a charge on Garcia on help D. He got a cherry picking dunk when Turiaf found him after a steal at midcourt.
Vujacic -- -- It's a steep drop from Kobe to Sasha. Although, Sasha was able to match that 0-8 that Kobe started out with in the last game. On the eve of the regular season, a chance to make a splash and Sasha couldn't deliver. He scored a donut in the stat sheet. The starters lose their engine and playmaking with Kobe out, and Sasha certainly couldn't replace any of that. He had a good weakside rotation on his first defensive stand to force a turnover. He got blocked at the rim on a layup. He missed a three against the shotclock. He hit Luke in stride with a long outlet off a made FT for a score. He slapped an outlet pass to Luke for a steal and it resulted in a Laker dunk. He missed at the rim in traffic. He clanked an open wing jumper in transition. He missed another one at the rim. Wild drive down the lane and he was called for the charge. He clanked another open jumper from the wing again. He threw up a prayer in the lane and missed, went down hard and was going to stay there, but we stole the ball and he miraculously recovered, bouncing up for a pass. He missed another long jumper in transition.
Bynum -- -- Bynum played his last game as a teenager...wow. The almost-20-year-old has come a ways since the overweight kid in the McD's game a few years back. He's finally playing above the rim on the offensive end, absorbing contact and finishing with authority. That wasn't there in the last two preseasons. He's also not getting winded in his long stints. That was an issue last year. So, you can see the definite progress and no "preseason" excuses can explain that away. Now, can he hold up? After the game, Bynum said he lost a little weight and is going to get back in the weight room. Having his own trainer pushing him all season should help. He needs to continue to progress on the defensive end and stay aggressive at anchoring the D. Bynum scored 18 points on 7-10 shooting, grabbed 7 boards and blocked 1 shot in 23 minutes. He was the third center off the bench for some reason tonight, getting his first minutes midway through the second quarter. On his first touch, he faced up, attacked to his left and hit a soft hook in the lane with his off hand. Ronny threaded an interior feed to Bynum and he finished with a dunk. Wow, great finish off the two-man game with Fish, Bynum had his right foot on the FT line when he caught the pass and took two big strides without a dribble and dunked with both hands. He had 6 points on 3-3 shooting in 7 minutes of the first half. Phil gave Bynum the start in the second half. He drop-stepped Moore and drew a foul. Finally, some quick ball movement on the perimeter (between Luke and Fish) and we got the ball to Bynum in the post and he drew FTs on a dunk attempt, he made one FT. Wow, another aggressive move from Bynum at the FT line, taking a dribble to his right, spinning quickly to his left to lose Moore and he missed a one-handed throwdown, he got it back and banked...love seeing that aggression. Good recovery to block Thomas under the hoop. He missed a short jumphook. He pulled down an offensive board, got hit hard and tapped on the And-1 attempt, he made both FTs. Quick shot in the lane after waiting for a couple seconds to get the ball and he hit the hook from a couple feet away taking some contact. Oh, my...Bynum took an alley-oop pass from Luke, hung in the air and stuffed it over a help defender who fouled him, then gave him a little stare down -- that's what I like to see. He got a chest bump from Luke and also made the FT on that one. With his back to the basket, he turned and hit a jumphook in the lane falling back a little after getting popped in the face with no call. Bynum will have his hands full in the season opener.
Mihm -- -- Some slow defensive reads and reactions from Chris in the first half. That's the rust showing as he used to contest shots and/or pick up fouls in those help situations. He's not even able to challenge on some of them. He hit a turnaround 10-footer in the lane. He drew FTs on a reach, he made one. Good position if he wanted to go to his right, but he want to his left and bricked badly. He pulled down a missed Farmar FT, then got the ball back and hit a good look on a short jumphook on the right block. He missed a reverse off a good feed from Ronny. He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting and grabbed 2 boards in his 8-minute stint.
Farmar -- -- Excellent two-way effort from Farmar again. He may not have started the game, but he finished it, and his defense down the stretch was aggressive, active and disruptive. Got to love that. Farmar scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting (3-5 from the line), had 4 steals and 2 assists. Poor pass to start on a kickout that went right in the backcourt. He drained a three straight away. He took the bounce pass from Ronny on the weakside and banked in an And-1, he missed the FT, but we got it back. He airballed a short baseline jumper and wanted the foul. He lost the ball at the rim on a layup. He attacked aggressively in transition and drew FTs going to his left, he made one FT. Quick catch-and-shoot three from the top of the key after getting back in the game. He kicked out to Karl for a three. He sank another three with he shotclock low. He then hustled to steal the ball on the other end. More tenacious D deflecting a ball out of bounds. He swiped a kickout pass. He missed a long three when the offense stalled. He snagged a perimeter pass that Critt winged on D. Great job on D down the stretch.
Crittenton -- -- One of those passive games from Critt. Phil said at Thursday's practice that Critt's decisions defensively have been the weak spot of his game, simply because of experience...which is what I've discussed in previous posts when I mentioned if I was going to attack Critt, I'd make him make decisions. Phil said it took Sasha two years to understand some of the things they want on that end. Hopefully, Critt's learning curve is much quicker. "Offensively, he's a really talented player," Phil said. "He has a natural ability to get to the basket and complete when he gets bumped." He went 0-2 in 12 minutes and had 1 assist tonight. He showed his great handle breaking pressure D in the backcourt on a few occasions. He missed a pull-up jumper. He traveled on a spin move. He deflected a perimeter pass and Farmar snagged it. He missed a pull-up jumper from the wing with 25 seconds left. He sank two FTs wtih 21 seconds left.
Radmanovic -- -- Nothing game from Vlad again. He somehow played 17 minutes and went 0-3. He really disappeared. He had to match up defensively against Artest briefly. He missed a pull-up J in transition. He missed a three out of a timeout. He grabbed 1 board.
Cook -- -- Uggh. There are a lot of problems with Cook at the PF defensively and they usually manifest themselves in two areas, he can't shotblock and he's a poor rebounder. Everytime he contests a shot in the paint, there's a good chance it will result in a foul. Cook fouled out tonight in 12 minutes, hoe shooting 1-3 and scoring 4 pionts. He gave up an And-1 to Abdur-Rahim. He somehow drew a foul with 1 second before the end of the quarter even though he didn't know the clock, he made both FTs. Nice hard foul to Garcia who had an open wing off a back pick (you do need to do that once in a while). He nearly gave up another And-1 to Abdur-Rahim on a post up and Cook had to sit with three fouls in short minutes. Nice attack from the FT lane off the dribble and banked a runner. He missed a three. He bricked a 15-footer. stunted foul not recovering to his man and continuing to hedge out on the ball handler after showing and he fouls out...thank goodness. Horrible game.
Karl -- 8) -- There was a Coby at the game and there are questions about his status on the team. Will he make the cut or won't he? He hasn't shown much in the preseason...in most the games that is. Everyone seems to say he's doing a lot in practice, and I imagine he played in practice a lot like he did tonight because that's more consistent with the player we saw in the summer. Although, his D is actually looking a bit better. So, does he make the squad? The Lakers are facing luxury tax dollars, but Phil seems to be in his corner. I think he probably makes it. He scored 10 points off the bench on 3-4 shooting (2-3 from three) and had 3 boards in 16 minutes. He got some early run with 4 minutes left in the first half. He got Martin frustrated off the ball on D and drew an offensive foul on him. Nice strip from behind on Abdur-Rahim to save a layup. He stepped on the gas off the pinch post, hung in the air to take contact and he drew FTs, he made both. He missed a quick chuck at a three from the wing. He volleyball spiked an offensive rebound out with a good effort. He swished a wing three on his next attempt. He sank a three off a Farmar kickout to beat the shotclock. He attacked strong to his left, curled to the hoop overpowering Martin and he hit a floater on the baseline. Good two-way game from Coby. Glad to see he got to show what the coaches have been talking about.
Phil -- -- Looks like season starting lineup for the opener will likely be Kwame, Turiaf, Luke, Kobe and Fisher. Farmar and Bynum will come off the bench and clock half a game worth of minutes. When LO gets healthy, he probably takes Luke's spot at the SF... Some good D in the passing lanes by the Lakers early. The starters held the Kings to a 16-16 tie with 3:32 left in the first before Phil made some subs. Phil brought in Critt, Farmar and Mihm for Kwame, Sasha and Fish. They held serve and finished the quarter 26-26... Out of a timeout, they ran their iso sequence for Luke where he attacks from the wing, draws the D and looks for one of the Laker bigmen for a score. That play has been very productive for the team this preseason... The Lakers led 51-46 in the first half and had 14 assists with 8 turnovers. They only took 3 three-pointers and made 2. We had a 15-4 advantage on points off turnovers in the half... Phil gave Bynum the start in the second half after playing him limited minutes in the first. He managed to get Bynum 23 minutes, Kwame 17 and Mihm 8 in odd fashion... The Lakers cut the turnovers down to 17 in this game, slightly better, but still too high. They shot 47 percent from the floor and went 4-10 from three in the second half after not jacking many in the first half... Somehow, the guys got out-rebounded 49-36, still having problems controlling the defensive glass... The Lakers shot a poor 29-42 from the line... The Lakers got the W, but they seem to be stumbling into the regular season. Offensively, they aren't on the same page in the half court and have trouble reading mismatches or running through the combinations of passes that will expose a team's overplay. Not having Kobe in this one is a setback since they are so confused on the floor when he's out there. Hard to say what kind of play we will get in the next game, but we aren't clicking like we need to...
Joined: 21 Mar 2002 Posts: 1408 Location: Long Beach, CA
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:26 pm Post subject:
Nice write up DB. I missed the game, so I appreciate being able to have this info. Man, Sasha blew a great opportunity. Not that I expected anything different. Farmar is making a push for big minuets. Baby Bynum continues to grow.
I think Coby K. makes the team if for no other reason than his father is a UNC grad, as is Mitch, and I can't see Mitch cutting a fellow Tarheel's kid.
thanks DB. once, kobe and lamar are ready to start...it looks like our second unit is going to be able to hold it's own. _________________ "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."
No Laker game experience is complete without the DB review.
Some comments for your opinion
Re: Cook
Besides all the things that you mentioned, what seems to highigh his difficiencies is the play where Bynum tapped/slightly knocked the ball out of the hands of his player to Cook and he fumbled it to the Kings?!?!?! If Cook is not hitting his shots, how short a leash do you think PJ will give him? In the previous game, Cook actually put the ball on the court to get a layup, why haven't we seen this more?
Re: The Facillator - Luke vs. Kobe
With the obvious skills of Luke and the difficiencies of Kobe passing the ball consistently (along with his skills as a scorer or passing while attempting to score his greatest skill), how do you think that this situation will work itself out since it appears that Luke (when everybody is healthy) will be on the second unit?
Re: Bynum's Consistency
From your viewpoint, what do you think Bynum can produce consistently and during the last 20 games of the regular season? How do you think that PJ will play him to allow him to be consistent since he can't (or should not) average 30+ minutes per game - may 20 to 25 minutes?
Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 3732 Location: The other side
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:09 am Post subject:
Is it me or do other Lakers actually play better without Kobe?
I did not see the game and my guess is opposite to the overview of DB here, but I remember the opening of the last season. I like the balance. There are players in this team who can and do step up. (forget about Cook and Sasha I am not referring to them. After all, they can hardly be called players...) I just hope Bryant-fascilitator (which has not worked too well yet) will pay off and guys will not get stagnant whe Kobe gets back to the lineup.
Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 10761 Location: Bay Area, CA
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:23 am Post subject:
Thanks DB.
The more I watch Farmar, the more I fall in love with his game. He was hitting that 3 ball tonight and man, he was active on defense all right. You could feel his impact and energy whenever he was in the game.
Is it me or do other Lakers actually play better without Kobe?
I did not see the game and my guess is opposite to the overview of DB here, but I remember the opening of the last season. I like the balance. There are players in this team who can and do step up. (forget about Cook and Sasha I am not referring to them. After all, they can hardly be called players...) I just hope Bryant-fascilitator (which has not worked too well yet) will pay off and guys will not get stagnant whe Kobe gets back to the lineup.
Yes, Kobe Facilitating simply does not work. When Farmar runs the game, the teams just looks more fluid. _________________
Good analysis DB. Thanks. _________________ "You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE
I actually liked Coby Karl in this game. I have to look carefully to see which one is him and which one is Luke when they play together, but Karl is faster and has a better wingspan. He has good off the ball movement and a pretty three point shot. The second unit looks like they can get into a nice rhythm with him and Luke out there at the same time. I'd like to see another good game.
Also have to snicker to myself at all the people who wanted to hang the next championship banner on the merits of Critt. I think he has real nice potential and is a great athlete, but all rookies start with good games and not so good games and we can see that he still has a ways to go. _________________ Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
Thanks DB. That was a great update - though I'm sure like myself it's a lot easier to evaluate a team when they are playing well.
Funny how they stepped up in the absence of a certain player. Maybe a little message to him that we aren't as bad as y'all think?
It was great to read your thoughts on Bynum. I am now thinking that when he has these sort of size advantages in a year or two - with continual hard work in the offseason - these will be 30 point games. That is when he'll truly have arrived as a dominant force. The same thing happened with Yao, he would not have the really big games when he should have until a couple of years into the league. Now that Bynum's above the rim game is coming along strongly, in next year or two I want to see him get steady/consistent with his back to the basket. Also have a jumper - not from the perimeter, just something that he can step out 12' or so and knock down. It will make him lethal in the Triangle and an absolute 20 ppg scorer. All the way through that, his team defensive recognition must be focused on through game tape. They are working with many things, but one thing I still question is whether they work on defense with him (outside of games).
Nice way for this team to close out the preseason. Hopefully this sort of performance is there the first week or so with Odom out. We need impact from Luke in particular - he is the key guy with Lamar out. Luke plays well = Lakers in great position on offense.
The more I watch Farmar, the more I fall in love with his game. He was hitting that 3 ball tonight and man, he was active on defense all right. You could feel his impact and energy whenever he was in the game.
Yeah, he showed some speed and energetic decision making skills again tonight that left me thinking he has a place in the league. His hustle down the floor to retreive a loose ball and not tip out of bounds, was really good. His ankle injuries (when wasn't he injured with ankle problems in college) at UCLA turned him away from being this athletic (into a cerebral point guard for Howland.) He seems both stronger and faster this year. His pressure with the ball is more assured. He is confident in his shot. His "D" is better, better anticipation.
Does it all dissipate from Phil's handling of the guard slot? We actually need Farmar to create "B" team flow and sustain it.
The problem I find with not starting some of these younger guys who are clearly outplaying the veterans (who are starting) is that come regular season, Phil's rotation changes.
He's not giving the 2nd unit as much burn neither will he rest the 1st unit as much as he is now.
Bryant + Odom will get 38-40 a night.
Turiaf, Fisher and Kwame will get 25-30 a night.
Then you have the guys who were here last year and have the experience in the NBA like Walton, Evans, Mihm, Radmanovic etc.
That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for Farmar, Bynum, Crittenton. I would like to see all 3 get in between 15-25 mpg. I don't see it happening though .. Farmar is probably going to get around 20 mpg and Bynum the same (maybe even less considering Kwame's gotten 30-35 mpg as a starter ussually). Crittenton doesn't seem to be a guy that will even play each game (not part of the rotation).
Would love to see Phil make some changes and balance the starting lineup better with youth/vets. Turiaf is the one good move he's made in that regard, now I just hope he atleast makes the switch at PG (Farmar in place of Fisher) .. let Farmar run the show on the 1st unit.
First line - Brown, Turiaf, Odom/Walton, Kobe, Farmar
Second unit - Bynum, Radmanovic/Evans, Odom/Walton, Crittenton, Fisher/Sasha.
Critt runs the point mostly on the 2nd unit even though he'd be considered the "2" in that lineup.
no kobe = ball movement, player movement away from the ball because there's a chance they might get the ball passed to them = the same type type of effort on defense even if the execution wasn't always there.
Joined: 13 Jul 2004 Posts: 1598 Location: Sacramento, CA
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:51 am Post subject:
wolfpaclaker wrote:
The problem I find with not starting some of these younger guys who are clearly outplaying the veterans (who are starting) is that come regular season, Phil's rotation changes.
He's not giving the 2nd unit as much burn neither will he rest the 1st unit as much as he is now.
Bryant + Odom will get 38-40 a night.
Turiaf, Fisher and Kwame will get 25-30 a night.
Then you have the guys who were here last year and have the experience in the NBA like Walton, Evans, Mihm, Radmanovic etc.
That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for Farmar, Bynum, Crittenton. I would like to see all 3 get in between 15-25 mpg. I don't see it happening though .. Farmar is probably going to get around 20 mpg and Bynum the same (maybe even less considering Kwame's gotten 30-35 mpg as a starter ussually). Crittenton doesn't seem to be a guy that will even play each game (not part of the rotation).
Would love to see Phil make some changes and balance the starting lineup better with youth/vets. Turiaf is the one good move he's made in that regard, now I just hope he atleast makes the switch at PG (Farmar in place of Fisher) .. let Farmar run the show on the 1st unit.
First line - Brown, Turiaf, Odom/Walton, Kobe, Farmar
Second unit - Bynum, Radmanovic/Evans, Odom/Walton, Crittenton, Fisher/Sasha.
Critt runs the point mostly on the 2nd unit even though he'd be considered the "2" in that lineup.
The bolded part is where I disagree with you. I don't Phil will change much in the regular season on Bynum's and Farmar's minutes. I actually think both of them will play more than Kwame and Fisher respectively.
In every pre-season game, no matter when Phil brought Bynum in, he played the most minutes of all 3 Centers. Last year, Bynum got 21mpg. This year it's obvious he's much improved so I'm certain the minutes will go up accordingly. My guess is around 25....Kwame's minutes won't be 25-30 unless he once again starts clearly outplaying Bynum.
Fisher's minutes definitely won't be in that range. He's alluded to lessor minutes himself many times. I expect the pattern Phil showed in pre-season of Fisher starting and playing about half the game will continue into the regular season. Farmar will get plenty of time.
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-- With Kobe out, Luke was the only playmaker in the starters. They needed him to create and he stepped up with a team-high 8 assists to go with his 7 points on 3-7 shooting. He's doing an excellent job working with his bigmen and setting them up, especially Ronny and Drew. He started with a sweet long pass over the top of the D to Fish for a layup. Miscommunication on a post entry and he threw it out of bounds. He powered in a long outlet pass off a made FT for a score. Perfect lob from 35 feet out to Kwame who one-handed it over the rim. He banged in an open 20-footer straight away. Nice baseline drive and dish to Ronny for FTs. He got rejected badly in the paint. He hit Ronny in transition for the two-handed dunk. Tough long bounce pass through traffic to Ronny on the break and it resulted in another score. He attacked from the wing, drew the D then found Ronny for the And-1 (they've used that play well this preaseason). He attacked, drew the D and threw it up high for Bynum to smash down an And-1 dunk. He found Ronny late in the shotclock for an alley oop. He barely beat the shotclock on a jumper, getting it to bounce over the front of the rim from the wing with under 2 minutes left. With 11 seconds left, he nearly airballed his first FT attempt before swishing the next.
-- Good run from DFish. He makes me nervous when he barrels into traffic on the break, but he's drawing fouls and has been finishing decently enough right now. It will be interesting to watch how and when Phil plays Fish. When the game was on the line tonight, Farmar closed the deal with Critt. Fish scored 15 points on 4-9 shooting, 6-6 from the line and had 5 assists in 24 minutes. He scored a layup off the over-the-top pass from the wing. He threw a wild pass trying to create off the dribble. He missed a stepback jumper. He bricked a layup on a three-on-one. He nearly traveled with the shot fake, but attacked and dished to Kwame for the layup. He drew a foul curling to his strong hand, he made both FTs. He missed a baseline jumper. He drew FTs in transition, he made both. He surveyed the floor on the break then attacked to his left and banked in the layup. He hit Bynum with the return feed at the elbow for a dunk. He missed an open baseline jumper. He banged down a three running the clock down the clock well at the end of the half. He had 11 points and 4 assists in the first half. He hit a teardrop down the lane after stealing the ball at midcourt. He missed a pull-up from the wing. He was called for a block in the lane, looked like he was there for the charge. He got the Kings on their heels and drew FTs in transition, he made both.
-- Turiaf ran the floor well tonight, getting out in front of his man quite a bit. He and Luke have developed a little chemsitry, it seems as they connected a number of times. Turiaf was also was Mr. Freethrow in this one. His activity allowed him to get to the line 14 times, where he hit just 8. He was 5-7 from the floor and finished with 18 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal and 1 block in a team-high 36 minutes. He made a bad entry pass to Kwame for a TO. He dunked an And-1 in transition beating everyone down the floor, he made the FT. He couldn't handle a hot pass from Kwame in the lane. He faced up at the wing like Kobe and drew a foul on a swing-through move, he made one FT. He drew FTs off a drive and dish from Luke, he made both. He airballed an open baseline jumper. He threaded the needle to Farmar on the weakside attack and it led to an And-1. Nice feed to Sahsa who somehow lost it out of bounds. He hit Mihm with a baseline feed, but Mihm blew the reverse. He missed a 20-footer. He drew more FTs on a post entry feed, he made one FT. He dunked off a feed from Luke in transition. Luke founded Ronny again running the floor and it resulted in another easy score. Tricky interior feed to Bynum in traffic and it resulted in a dunk. Out of the timeout, Luke attacked, drew the D and fed Ronny for the And-1 layup, Ronny missed the FT. Ronny had 13 points on 4-6 shooting and 6 boards in 19 first-half minutes. He drew FTs on a jumper from 15 feet out, he made one. He drew more FTs under the hoop, but missed both. He knocked a ball loose in transition, stayed with it and then chucked it down court to Kwame for a dunk. He posted up, spun and drew another trip to the line, he made one. He reverse jammed an oop from Luke late in the shotclock. He overpassed in the lane and Bynum missed, but they were lucky it wasn't a three-second violation. Overall, excellent effort by our starting PF. Hopefully, Ronny will continue to get run like this and LO will fill in the remainder of the PF minutes.
-- "You have to keep being a teacher and keep the bad boys in the back of the class working all the time. It's just unbelievable," Phil said after cracking the whip on Kwame during Thursday's practice. It's always an adventure with Kwame. Kwame scored 10 points tonight on 4-5 shooting (2-4 from the line), 6 boards and 3 steals in 17 minutes. Solid numbers. Good D pinching into Fish's man to force a turnover. After mis-timing an offensive rebound he should have had, we got the ball back, Luke threw a long lob to him and he one-hand jammed it in. He held on to an interior feed from Fish and scored the layup. He threw an interior feed away. He pulled down an offensive board and drew a foul going back up, he swished the first FT and hit the second, amazing. He got poked in the eye then lost the ball letting a King slap it away without securing it. He pulled down an offensive board off a Vlad miss and scored the layup. Nice D on the perimeter to tap a ball away and then push it out, he missed the layup with a foul and then missed both FTs. Good job moving his feet to take a charge on Garcia on help D. He got a cherry picking dunk when Turiaf found him after a steal at midcourt.
-- It's a steep drop from Kobe to Sasha. Although, Sasha was able to match that 0-8 that Kobe started out with in the last game. On the eve of the regular season, a chance to make a splash and Sasha couldn't deliver. He scored a donut in the stat sheet. The starters lose their engine and playmaking with Kobe out, and Sasha certainly couldn't replace any of that. He had a good weakside rotation on his first defensive stand to force a turnover. He got blocked at the rim on a layup. He missed a three against the shotclock. He hit Luke in stride with a long outlet off a made FT for a score. He slapped an outlet pass to Luke for a steal and it resulted in a Laker dunk. He missed at the rim in traffic. He clanked an open wing jumper in transition. He missed another one at the rim. Wild drive down the lane and he was called for the charge. He clanked another open jumper from the wing again. He threw up a prayer in the lane and missed, went down hard and was going to stay there, but we stole the ball and he miraculously recovered, bouncing up for a pass. He missed another long jumper in transition.
-- Some slow defensive reads and reactions from Chris in the first half. That's the rust showing as he used to contest shots and/or pick up fouls in those help situations. He's not even able to challenge on some of them. He hit a turnaround 10-footer in the lane. He drew FTs on a reach, he made one. Good position if he wanted to go to his right, but he want to his left and bricked badly. He pulled down a missed Farmar FT, then got the ball back and hit a good look on a short jumphook on the right block. He missed a reverse off a good feed from Ronny. He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting and grabbed 2 boards in his 8-minute stint.
-- One of those passive games from Critt. Phil said at Thursday's practice that Critt's decisions defensively have been the weak spot of his game, simply because of experience...which is what I've discussed in previous posts when I mentioned if I was going to attack Critt, I'd make him make decisions. Phil said it took Sasha two years to understand some of the things they want on that end. Hopefully, Critt's learning curve is much quicker. "Offensively, he's a really talented player," Phil said. "He has a natural ability to get to the basket and complete when he gets bumped." He went 0-2 in 12 minutes and had 1 assist tonight. He showed his great handle breaking pressure D in the backcourt on a few occasions. He missed a pull-up jumper. He traveled on a spin move. He deflected a perimeter pass and Farmar snagged it. He missed a pull-up jumper from the wing with 25 seconds left. He sank two FTs wtih 21 seconds left.
-- Nothing game from Vlad again. He somehow played 17 minutes and went 0-3. He really disappeared. He had to match up defensively against Artest briefly. He missed a pull-up J in transition. He missed a three out of a timeout. He grabbed 1 board.
-- Uggh. There are a lot of problems with Cook at the PF defensively and they usually manifest themselves in two areas, he can't shotblock and he's a poor rebounder. Everytime he contests a shot in the paint, there's a good chance it will result in a foul. Cook fouled out tonight in 12 minutes, hoe shooting 1-3 and scoring 4 pionts. He gave up an And-1 to Abdur-Rahim. He somehow drew a foul with 1 second before the end of the quarter even though he didn't know the clock, he made both FTs. Nice hard foul to Garcia who had an open wing off a back pick (you do need to do that once in a while). He nearly gave up another And-1 to Abdur-Rahim on a post up and Cook had to sit with three fouls in short minutes. Nice attack from the FT lane off the dribble and banked a runner. He missed a three. He bricked a 15-footer. stunted foul not recovering to his man and continuing to hedge out on the ball handler after showing and he fouls out...thank goodness. Horrible game.
