|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Klone_dd
Star Player
Joined: 11 Mar 2002
Posts: 7330
|
 Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
Yep, Fish had Bibby on his heels so much, Bibby bruised them.
LO was especially active and aggressive. There's a certain freedom about his game right now that makes him exciting to watch. Anytime he can hit a kick-out 3, you can tell things are going well.
Kobe had no post-ASG lethargy (look at the numbers Yao, Howard and Timmy D had last night). 5 steals and harassment of JJ. Yum!
Glad to see Vlad didn't go snowboarding over the break. He's starting to assert himself at the right time. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Arizona
Star Player
Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 3177
Location: PHX
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
The word that kept going through my mind, especially watching the first half, was Pirhannas. That's what they were playing like. Just vicious in your face basketball. Gotta love it!
_________________
“I’m just a basketball player, you know? Just put me where you need me.” -Lamar Odom
“You’ve got to play with pride and guts.” -LO |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
A Mad Chinaman
Star Player
Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 6189
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Arizona wrote: | | The word that kept going through my mind, especially watching the first half, was Pirhannas. That's what they were playing like. Just vicious in your face basketball. Gotta love it! |
Note: The Hawks did make many careless mistakes. What's great is that the Lakers took advantage of most of their mistakes and punished them with a killer instinct. When you see Kobe having fun by 'dancing" with the ball, one knows that things are going well. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
A Mad Chinaman
Star Player
Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 6189
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Arizona wrote: | | The word that kept going through my mind, especially watching the first half, was Pirhannas. That's what they were playing like. Just vicious in your face basketball. Gotta love it! |
Note: The Hawks did make many careless mistakes. What's great is that the Lakers took advantage of most of their mistakes and punished them with a killer instinct. When you see Kobe having fun by 'dancing" with the ball, one knows that things are going well. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Vadorojo
Star Player
Joined: 17 Nov 2007
Posts: 1507
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| wolfpaclaker wrote: |
Also LOVED LO handling the ball this much. The way the team is using LO now, is superb. Atlanta was playing him straight up many times, and he made them pay. Superb 1 on 1 battle won against Josh Smith, won by LO. Proud to see LO playing at his best again, in complete fluidity with the rest of the team.
|
I cannot agree with you more. Lamar looks like a completely different player when he brings the ball up the court ... it seems to get him involved in the offense so naturally. He made some truly stellar plays tonight—driving and finishing with authority and even keeping the defense honest with some longer looks. Of course, his stellar rebounding was there as always. Props to LO.
_________________
"I like looking at a guy's face when he realizes that even his best moves aren't going to work on me all night. They look depressed." - Ron Artest |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
frenzy
Star Player
Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 1161
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I loved the energy that the players played with. We had so many steals because of the hustle. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Alpha
Moderator
Joined: 07 Jul 2002
Posts: 25155
Location: hawaii
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks DB!
Do you guys think that PJ gave LO the ball handling duties due to Kobe's pinky injury? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
postandpivot
Retired Number
Joined: 16 Sep 2003
Posts: 36822
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 2/19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings |
|
|
| DancingBarry wrote: | Ball-Hawking... The Lakers destroyed the Hawks in the first half, forcing them into 19 turnovers on which we scored 27 points. The team tied a season high with 16 steals on their way to the 122-93 win in Pau Gasol's Staples debut.
"We wanted to come back and get some revenge tonight," BShaw said at halftime, addressing the recent road loss. Yeah, the game was over by then at the Lakers had a 73-37 lead at the half.
Gasol was once again efficient and effective, scoring 23 in three quarters of play. Kobe picked up where he left off prior to the All Star game, that is scoring, playing tough D and grinning like a kid in a candy store. Lamar was beastly, dropping 17 points and 15 boards in three quarters.
The starters got some quality rest as they head into the much anticipated Shaq debut with the Suns. Gasol, Odom and Turiaf will have their work cut out for them without Andrew Bynum available to slide everyone down one position on the roster.
Kobe's thoughts on Shaq joining the Suns: "Don't have any." Going to make them a better team? "Doesn't matter who we play, we're ready to go."
Kobe --  -- Problems? What problems? The Stats: He scored 23 points on 8-16 shooting (1-4 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 steals, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He missed an open baseline jumper. He posted up, drew the double and hit a cutting Lamar for the dunk. He drew FTs on the break, he made both. He drew a loose ball foul after dogging Joe Johnson on D and causing a turnover. He hit Vlad cutting down the lane for the layup. He missed a wing three. He attacked to his right, spun to his left and went glass for the score. He dunked when a loose ball bounced to him under the hoop. He had a reverse blocked. He then picked Johnson on iso D at the top of the key, pushed it up and scored the layup with a second left in the first quarter. He pounded the dribble with a jump in his step, then drilled the three over a defender. He then stole the pass on the other end, pushed it out, sliced around defenders and scored the layup. He drew FTs when Fish curled into the lane and fed him, he made both. Sequence of the night: He worked the two-man game with Pau, going behind his back with return pass to Gasol, who hung in the air to finish a reverse. He attacked from the wing, got into the defender's chest and drew FTs, he made both (49 straight now). He ballfaked to open up a lane, then threw down. Kobe had 19 points on 6-11 shooting at the half. He missed a three after deflecting a pass on the D end. He fumbled a pass on the sideline, gathered it and hit the chuck at the shotclock buzzer in front of the bench, grinning as he returned to the other end. He missed a reverse, trying to reach back and flip it in off a baseline attack. He attacked and airballed, wanting the foul. He attacked on the next possession and scored an easy layup.
Gasol --  -- Staples was alive with anticipation of Gasol's debut in the golden armor. He delivered. You aren't going to see many blowouts like we saw tonight, but he and the team were clicking at a high rate. Phil admits they are still just doing some very basic things in the offense, and it's true. The two-man game is about as simple as it gets...yet it was one of the things our team was weak at. The game gets real simple and real easy when we add that weapon in our mix. Gasol worked a lot of slip screens with success. He gave us some iso post play when the ball was dumped into him. He faced up and attacked. The opposing bigs were in foul trouble and hardly a factor. Has he lost an opening tip for us yet? The Stats: He scored 23 points on 7-11 shooting (9-10 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 30 minutes. The Action: He forced a pass to Kobe and turned it over on the first possession. Out on the break, he finished the lob from Fish for his first score at Staples. He faced up from the wing, attacked and drew FTs, he made one. He cleaned up a Fish miss with a putback And-1, he made the FT. He felt his man lean, spun baseline, reached and threw down an And-1 dunk, he made the FT. He drew a double and kicked to Vlad for the open three. He faced up on the right side and quickly attacked to his right and earned FTs, he made both (both Hawk bigmen were now in foul trouble with 2 minutes left in the first quarter...also note the efficiency in those sequences). Back in after a lengthy rest, he drew Horford's third foul on another post up, he made both FTs. He worked the two-man game with Kobe, attacked and hit a hanging reverse around a defender. He was held on a slip screen and drew FTs at the end of the half, he made both. He had 17 points on 4-5 shooting at the half. He posted up, drop stepped and banked a jumphook. He worked the two-man game with Kobe, slipped the screen, took the pass and drew the help defender, then bounced to LO for the uncontested dunk (if you're going to double Kobe off those screens, you'll pay the price). He screened for Vlad, took the return pass and used his length to score under the hoop. He got blocked from behind trying to finish under the hoop. He couldn't finish a lob from Vlad. He missed a baseline jumper. He posted up in the middle of the lane, turned and hit the short jumper. He erased Law's dribble drive.
Lamar --  -- Lamar is balling. He looks like a different player lately. He's doing a lot of little things, but at a higher rate. He's hitting the boards, pushing the tempo (a few too many errors on that tonight), and he's looking for his opportunities. Not needing to conserve energy, he has increasingly brought the ball up court since we've added Gasol. Tonight, that's the most we've seen of that all season. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-9 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 15 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. The Action: He put on a burst of speed to his right to get past Smith and he got the goaltend call on a layup. He threw an outlet away. Superb cut off Kobe, with speed, LO then threw down the monster dunk. He deflected a pass to save a layup. He charged, lowering his shoulder while trying to go up strong. He worked the ball over to the right side of the floor, then attacked a big lane to his left and scored over Smith. He stripped a ball off Zaza's foot to save a hoop. More good D, contesting a shot well and forcing a brick. He scored a layup off a Sasha airball. He drew FTs and bounced both in, he had a double-double at the half with 10 points and 12 boards. He airballed a step-back jumper. He dunked after Kobe and Gasol worked the two-man game to perfection and Pau found LO alone under the hoop. He took the offensive board, ballfaked and quickly stepped around Horford for the dunk. He missed a sure score off a lob when Kobe erased his man with a back screen, he got it back, then threw it away. He drained a three on a kickout from Farmar, then contested the layup at the other end for a miss at the end of the quarter. He sat at the end of the third.
Fisher --  -- He was taking it to Bibby off and on in this game and had him on his heels. Fish was bullying him well, although not always successfully. In the end, Bibby sat with fouls and a hurt foot. I'd like to see some of that tomorrow. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-11 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line), 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He pushed up in transition, drew the D and lobbed at the rim for Gasol to finish it. He banged Bibby in the paint and hit the jumphook over him. He missed a three on a kickout from Gasol. He missed a layup drawing a crowd, but Gasol cleaned it up. He missed a bank working off the ball to get open on the right side. After some pressure D caused a turnover, DFish pushed the ball up and scored a layup. He drew FTs, pushing out the break, he made one. He missed a pull-up jumper at the FT line. He sank a 15-footer over Bibby. He overpowered Bibby but missed the easy layup. He attacked Bibby again and sent him to the bench with his fourth foul. He swished a sideline three on a kickout. He dropped to the level of the ball and picked off a return pass.
Radmanovic -- -- Another strong all around effort on both ends from Vlad. He and Lamar have been playing some very good ball since the arrival of Gasol. Vlad is not just setting up from behind the arc, he's cutting, he's faking the jumpers and attacking. On the D end, he continues to get into passing lanes and has been disruptive. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-9 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 31 minutes. The Action: He cut down the lane from the weakside and scored a layup off a Kobe pass. He swished a three off the Gasol kickout. He got rejected trying to throwdown over Smith. He missed an open wing three. A few seconds later, he had a monster throwdown on the break when Luke stole the ball from Bibby. Vlad then stole a ball in the back court and fed Luke for the dunk. He blocked Childress under the hoop. He faked the pass, then hit the top-of-the-key jumper. He swiped another pass, jumping the lane. He drew FTs when he and Kobe forced a turnover in the backcourt, he made both. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting at the half. He missed a three. He missed a one-hander in the lane. He was fouled trying to throwdown on the baseline attack, he swished both FTs.
Luke --  -- Luke led the team with 5 assists in limited time. Decent all around game, but there was a lot of garbage time in this one. Vlad has been outplaying him consistently lately. The Stats: He had 6 points on 3-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 23 minutes. The Action: He had an over-the-shoulder pass picked off trying to hit Gasol for the dunk. He ballfaked and hit the wing jumper. He beat Williams to the spot on the other end and drew the charge (very nice). He got blocked trying to beat the shotclock. He swiped the ball from Bibby who was trying to push out the break, Luke then set up Vlad for the huge dunk pushing out the break. He missed a gimmie layup, but Vlad then returned the favor by stealing a ball in the backcourt and feeding Luke for the dunk. He spun and hit the jumper in the lane. He missed a three.
Turiaf --  -- Not a great night from Ronny. He was a bit foul prone and had a couple airballs offensively. Hopefully, he'll rise to the challenge in tomorrow's game. He seems to do that when the odds are stacked against him. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-7 shooting to go with 5 boards, 1 block and 5 fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: In to start the second quarter and he gave up an And-1 to Childress. He then got blocked on the other end and reached to pick up his second foul just seconds into the quarter. He missed a 19-footer. He airballed trying to hit a long baseline fade to beat the shotclock. He dunked in the lob pass, rolling off the high screen. He then fouled Law on the other end. He airballed an open 15-footer, then fouled Smith who tried to throw down at the other end. He put back in a missed three by Farmar. He swatted Law's drive.
Farmar --  -- Farmar looked like he had a little jump in his step. Perhaps that game on All Star weekend got his RPMs back into the redline a little more. He played more like we saw at the beginning of the season. The confidence was flowing and he led the bench in scoring. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in just 17 minutes. The Action: He went to the floor on the D end to pull out a loose ball. He missed a fade in the lane. He missed a three. He attacked baseline to his right and hit the reverse. He swiped the pass in the backcourt, then threw down with both hands. He missed a baseline jumper. He hit a high arching baseline jumper a little behind the backboard. He attacked and kicked out to Lamar for a three near the end of the quarter. He lost the ball trying to split the double and it led to points the other way. He lobbed to Ronny for the dunk off the high screen. He overpassed at the front of the rim, got it back and swished the 29-footer instead. He missed a layup off a cut down the middle of the lane. He swished an early offense three when his man sagged off him. He missed a three on his next attempt.
Vujacic --  -- After a short first half stint, he came in for Kobe with 28 seconds left in the third and finished out the game. A little weak defensively in the game, but he was effective from anywhere on the perimeter with his shot. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 block and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He airballed a baseline jumper, but Lamar cleaned it up. He drained an ultra-quick catch-and-release coming off the screen at the wing. He missed a corner three. He sank a sideline jumper. He sank a baseline jumper. He swished another quick baseline catch and fade.
Karl --  -- He came into the game with 6 minutes left to pull off the day-night NBA/NBDL double header like Farmar did last year. The crowd went into the "Coby...Coby...Coby..." chant for him after a score late in the game. Hey, why not when he once again threw down a nice dunk in this one. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 assist in 6 minutes. The Action: He missed on a tough shot after a spin in the lane. He busted out ahead of the pack, took the long outlet as Staples began to anticipate a score, and threw down a huge two-hand jam to get on the scoreboard. He missed a wing three. He attacked, took contact, gathered the ball and flipped in the And-1, he made the FT.
Mbenga --  -- He came in with 8 minutes left in the fourth to help secure the tacos. He didn't score despite a few decent looks. The Stats: He had 0 points on 0-3 shooting, 1 board, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. The Action: He missed a jumphook. He hit Sasha for the jumper. He got tapped on a 16-footer. Zaza spun on him and drew the foul for FTs. He missed another FT jumper.
Phil --  -- The news from multiple places appears that Bynum won't be back at his original estimated timeline. Uggh. Hopefully, it's not too much longer... The Lakers pulled out to a 26-14 lead off an 11-2 run... After a timeout, the Lakers scored the next 6 to finish the first quarter with a dominating 32-14 opening 12 minutes. They dominated the boards on both ends. LO was strong on the glass, Gasol got the other bigs in foul trouble. They had 22-6 advantage on points in the paint in that quarter... The Lakers continued to demolish the Hawks, pulling out to a 46-23 lead after steals and dunks in the backcourt by Farmar, Luke and Vlad... The Lakers scored 41 in that second quarter and led 73-37 at half. Atlanta had 19 turnovers from which the Lakers scored 27 points... The rest of the game was in cruise control with extended garbage time... Phil said the team played with will, energy and purpose. That's what I like to hear...
Game Flow -- LINK -- The Lakers had 19-2 and 22-1 runs in the first half. That's insane. |
| Quote: | | The Lakers had 19-2 and 22-1 runs in the first half. That's insane |
 thats not fair at all. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40223
Location: O.C.
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Alpha wrote: | Thanks DB!
Do you guys think that PJ gave LO the ball handling duties due to Kobe's pinky injury? |
I think he has plans to run Lamar as the PG or lead guard now that we got Pau. I heard a reference to him interested in a Kobe, Ariza, LO, Pau, Bynum defensive unit where LO runs as lead guard and they run some zone on D. So, I think some of what we are seeing is Phil thinking ahead to when Bynum gets back, and possibly Ariza. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Alpha
Moderator
Joined: 07 Jul 2002
Posts: 25155
Location: hawaii
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
^cool, thanks!
I sure hope Ariza is able to heal up soon (in light of the reports yesterday). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lakefan24
Starting Rotation
Joined: 30 Oct 2007
Posts: 463
Location: Orange County
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:53 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| One of many taco nights that are to come. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40223
Location: O.C.
|
| Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Alpha wrote: | | I sure hope Ariza is able to heal up soon (in light of the reports yesterday). |
I'm not holding my breath. And hopefully Bynum is only a week or two longer than projected. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
