LAKERS -at- BLAZERS - 2/29 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Streak Snapped... Heading into the game, the Lakers were 9-4 in the second game of back to backs. Impressive record, for sure, but with the short bench and facing an athletic team at home, this game had trouble written all over it. The Blazers had also taken the last four games from us on their home court.

The Lakers faded once at the end of the first half...and they faded again at the end of the second half. Even Kobe had a number of misses and miscues down the stretch. A tie game with a couple minutes left got away from them and we sputtered to a 119-111 loss.

At one point in crunch time, Kobe and DFish missed a combined 11-straight shots. Hard to overcome that, especially with the poor D we were playing. "Defensively, I didn't think we were aggressive enough," Phil said in the Register. "So we have to look at that."

The Lakers were miserable from downtown, as well. Tired legs might be an excuse for the Lakers 5-27 shooting from three. Meanwhile, the Blazers knocked down 9-19.

The Lakers impressive streak of seven straight road wins was also snapped.


Kobe -- -- After playing the first three quarters, Phil got Kobe a good chunk of rest to start the fourth quarter. Kobe had just tied up the game with a breakaway dunk and a steal to hit a three at the end of that third. We played even with the Blazers while he sat. You thought, maybe, after that break between quarters and the 5 minutes of rest, he had enough in him to deliver down the stretch. It never materialized. He missed a series of shots and we couldn't get stops and that was all she wrote. Kobe had a few bad decisions during that stretch, too. Bummer because he was captaining the team well in a hostile environment. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 12-24 shooting (2-8 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 5 assists with 6 turnovers, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 43 minutes. The Action: He stole a post entry bounce pass then hit a 20-footer from the wing to start the game. He telegraphed a pass on the break and it was picked off. He missed a jumper from the right side. He gave a head-and-shoulder fake then whipped a pass to Luke for a layup. He got hit and somehow banked in the shot as he was falling down, ridiculous shot, he made the FT, too. He hit Fish on the drive and kick for the baseline jumper in transition. He set up Ronny for a dunk after drawing the defenders off the dribble. He missed a 21-footer against the shotclock. He crashed the glass, grabbed the Sasha miss while in air and laid it in. He drew FTs getting hit on the dribble, he made both. He attacked down the lane at the end of the first and fed Ronny for the layup. He let an inbounds pass go right through his hands, but the Blazers couldn't take advantage of it. He missed a 19-footer to start the second quarter. He faced up on the right side, attacked baseline, elevated from the front of the rim, hung in the air past the defender and scored the And-1 reverse, he missed the FT. He swiped a ball from Przybilla, then drew the foul for FTs (then they got called for double techs, No. 12 for Kobe), he made both FTs. He spun and hit a one-footed fallaway looking like Reggie Miller on the baseline. He waited too long before passing and it resulted in a shotclock violation. He pushed out the break, recovered the ball when it was tapped away and scored the layup. He forced up a fade against aggressive D when Fish was open. He drained a wing three after Roy hit a jumper over him on the other end. Bad read, with Lamar on the weakside against Blake, Kobe didn't ball reverse to him, instead he dribbled into his corner and got doubled and had to call timeout. He missed a half-court heave. He had 20 points on 7-12 shooting and 5 assists at the half. He missed a three short to start the second half. He threw a pass away, getting caught off balance on a drive in traffic. He scooped up a loose ball, pushed out with speed and was called for an offensive foul against Blake (horrible call). Next time in transition, he got FTs, he made both. He missed a three. Huge sequence to close the third: Trailing by 4 points, Lamar blocked a shot and pushed out the break and fed Kobe for the dunk...then Kobe scooped up a loose ball on the inbounds and drained a three with 0.7 on the clock to give the Lakers a 1-point lead. He had 27 points after three quarters. He attacked off the pinch post and drew the goaltend call. He missed a drive and a three with 3 minutes left, but Gasol got both misses. He threw a pass away with 2:24 on a drive and kick, down by 2. He then missed a jumper on the next trip down. He lost the dribble and missed a heave from three in the corner on the next trip down. He missed a three out of a timeout. He scored a couple meaningless layups down by 10 with a few seconds left.

Gasol -- -- Like the last time we played the Blazers, our two-man game with Gasol was largely ignored. Not that we really needed the offense, but down the stretch we certainly executed poorly. Late in the game, Gasol had some nice battles on the offensive glass to get us a number of resets in crunch time. Defensively, the Blazers seemed like they could get anything they wanted. Aside from Gasol taking one of the Portland bigs, the Blazers often went with small lineups against. It will be nice when we can force them to have to match up with our length. Gasol had a little foul trouble in the first half. He did a good job drawing fouls on the Blazers himself. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 4-10 shooting (7-8 from the line) to go with 9 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 1 turnovers and 4 fouls in 36 minutes. The Action: Gasol sat on Aldridge's hook and forced an airball early on. He created on iso, spinning to the baseline and hitting a soft jumper over his man. He had to sit with 4 minutes left in the first after picking up his second foul. He missed a jumphook in the lane. Aldridge walked around him for an easy layup. He got blocked off the two-man game out of the timeout but Lamar cleaned it up. He missed a hook in the lane. He drew FTs off an interior feed from Lamar and he made both. He took contact in the lane with no call and missed. He had just 4 points on 1-5 shooting in 17 first-half minutes. He hit Luke with a no-looker for a layup. He posted up, drop-stepped and hit off the glass with his left. He faced up and swished a 10-footer from the left side. Next time down, he attacked off the dribble to his right and drew FTs, he made both. He hit the floor for a loose ball and fed Lamar for a layup just before the shotclock went off. He attacked off the dribble to his left, took contact and switched hands nearly getting the And-1, he made one FT. He missed a jumper short on the pick and pop. He was called for a charge on the pass off. He swished the elbow jumper on a flash to the ball (this is a PF-type of shot that he will see a lot of). He drew FTs on a drive and dish from Sasha, he made both. Great job on the offensive glass with 3 minutes left to pull down a couple boards and it eventually led to a three by Sasha to tie it up. He missed a short jumphook in the lane.

Lamar -- -- As good as Lamar's numbers were, if we could have executed our offense a little smarter, there were a number of mismatches and post opportunities available for him. We didn't take the smart route to get him the ball and ran into a number of turnovers on poorly executed passes. Good all-around game and effort from Lamar. He gobbled up a lot of boards in the first half, but only had 3 in the second half. The Stats: He scored 17 points on an efficient 7-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-5 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 4 fouls in 43 minutes. The Action: He took a pass in the lane and hit a jumphook on the baseline. He cleaned up a Gasol miss with a putback layup. Nice interior bounce pass to Gasol to draw FTs. He posted up in transition, took the pass, missed, got it back and scored. He had 6 points on 3-4 shooting and 9 boards in the fist half. They worked the ball into Lamar a few times to start the second half to try to collapse the D. He drew FTs on a feed from Kobe in the lane, he made both. He scored a layup when Gasol dug out a loose ball and hit Lamar just before the shotclock went off. He dunked off the inbounds pass from Luke. Nice pressure D on the perimeter to force a turnover out of a timeout. He was hammered on the break, he missed both FTs, however. Great play, momentum changer at the end of the third, he blocked Przybilla on one end and pushed out the break to Kobe for a dunk. He had 12 points and 11 boards after three. He scored an And-1 off the inbounds pass again, he made the FT. He posted up Outlaw and hit the jumphook. He missed a three on the next trip.

Fisher -- -- He started off hitting his first couple jumpers and a layup, then he went 0-8 on his next shots...including several good looks in crunch time. He also missed all six attempts from beyond the arc. Another poor shooting game. The misses by him and Kobe down the stretch were too difficult to overcome. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-11 (0-6 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 31 minutes. The Action: He swished an 18-footer from the right wing on his first shot. He drained a baseline jumper of a drive and kick from Kobe. He faked the jumper on the break, attacked the paint and somehow scored around Przybilla. Nice look, spotting Luke cutting behind the D from the weakside and it led to a layup. He missed a difficult chuck at a three to beat the shotclock. He missed a three over the zone. He had 6 points on 3-5 shooting in the half. He missed a three. He scooped up a loose ball and fed Lamar for FTs on the breakaway. He hit Sasha for a three. He missed a short jumper off an offensive board. He missed a three off a Gasol kickout. He missed a couple more threes late. He missed a wing jumper.

Luke -- -- Easily one of Luke's better games of the year, unless you count maybe some of those games where he had clutch steals in the final minutes. While he had some issues defensively (who didn't?), he gave a well-rounded offensive contribution in this one. Unfortunately, he will be on the highlight reel for getting crossed over badly by Roy. Luke had a couple nice passes on inbounds that led to scores for Lamar. Much better game against a team that gave him a lot of issues the last time we met up. He's been gradually improving his game over the past couple weeks. Whether it's that he's feeling better or getting more confidence, it's nice to see the stat lines start to fill out a little more lately. The points were a season high. The Stats: Luke scored 17 points on 7-10 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists with 1 turnover and 1 foul in 32 minutes. The Action: He threw an outlet out of bounds. He spun on the break and hit a tough baseline floater. Nice challenge on the perimeter to force a miss by Webster. He scored a layup when Kobe drew the D and hit him cutting. He missed a mid-range jumper. He pushed out and missed a pull-up in the lane on the break, but Ronny drew FTs on the board. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made both. Great position on the opposite side of the rim and he took the Farmar miss and hit the jumphook. He scored a layup cutting from the weakside behind the D and taking the pass from Fish. He got crossed over badly by Roy for a layup. He scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting to go with 6 boards in the first half. He wasn't close on a 20-footer. He scored a layup with contact off a no-looker from Pau. Webster iso'd against Luke and scored an And-1. He kept a miss by Fish alive, then he hit Lamar on the inbounds pass for a dunk. He attacked from the wing and hit a runner over Roy. He had 14 points and 7 boards after three. He swished an open three on the kickout from Farmar. He found Lamar again on an inbounds for an And-1.

Turiaf -- -- We didn't run any of the Gasol/Turiaf combo in this one, nor did we use Ronny at the PF. So, his minutes were limited, and our defense missed its anchor tonight. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists and 1 foul in 12 minutes. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper falling back a bit on the release. He dunked when Kobe drew his man off the screen and found him. He drew FTs grabbing the Luke miss on the break and drawing a foul, he missed the first flat, but made the second. He kicked out to Sasha for the long jumper. He hit Farmar cutting down the lane for the layup. He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Kobe at the end of the quarter. He missed a face-up 14-footer to start the fourth. He posted up Przybilla, backed him down and hit with his right off the glass.

Farmar -- -- Weaker game from Farmar, especially on the defensive end. He gave up a few layups in the game and he was also not on the same page on a couple of rotations. Offensively, he couldn't connect from beyond the arc like the rest of the team. I'm not sure we would have been any better served with him in there late, either. He also had a number of misses and miscues just before he got pulled for Fish. The Stats: He scored 7 point son 3-8 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: He scored a layup working off Turiaf. Dumb foul in the backcourt with 3 seconds left in the quarter to give up FTs, it essentially erased a Turiaf score. He stepped on the gas to get around Jack, then he scored the And-1 layup and made the FT. He missed a three in semi-transition. Jack blew past him for a layup. He missed a three out of a timeout. He swished a baseline 15-footer, but gave up a a layup on the other end. He kicked out to Luke for a three. He missed a fade in the lane. He was called for a charge on a kick out. He missed an 17-footer from the right side. He missed a corner three.

Vujacic -- -- The Machine needed a recharge. He came out firing blanks. Late in the game, however, he hit a couple of critical threes that kept us even with the Blazers. Too bad, we couldn't pull it off. Those were some big shots, and even though our roster options are limited at the moment, he is gaining some trust from Phil late in games. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (2-8 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. The Action: He missed back-to-back threes on one possession, but we still ended up scoring off his second miss. He swished his next with his toe on the three line on a kickout from Ronny. He missed a long three in early offense. He drew FTs on a cut away from the ball, he made one (he's been slumping on his FTs lately). He missed a wide open three short. He missed another good look at a three, coming up short. He was just 1-6 for 3 points in the first half. A little pressure D on an inbounds and Jack coughed up a ball that Kobe scooped up and hit a three from. Down by 3 with 5:38 left, Sasha drained a wing catch-and-shoot three to tie it up. He ballfaked to lose a defender, attacked and fed Gasol for FTs. Down by 3 with 3:04, after a couple Laker misses, Fish found Sasha on the wing and Sasha tied the game with another three. He missed a three set up for him out of a timeout a play later.

Phil -- -- We've been playing well with our number of injuries. But those extended minutes really take their toll on these types of games. If we could have taken care of business in a better manner in the previous game, maybe we have some fresher legs (in Kobe, at least)... Despite a couple giveaways in transition on outlet passes, the Lakers pushed out to a 13-5 lead (on 6-7 shooting), forcing a Blazer timeout... Gasol picked up two early fouls and Phil had to change up rotations. The Lakers led 32-27 after the first... Phil called a timeout when the Blazers cut the lead to 46-45. We went to the Kobe/Gasol two-man game on the inbounds... The Lakers flamed out a bit at the end of the first half as the Blazers went on a 10-2 run and we trailed 64-59. While we shot 51 percent in the first half, we let the Blazers knock down 55 percent, including 6-11 fom three (we were 1-11 from three). Blake made 5-8 of those Blazer threes... The coaches wanted the team to tighten it up defensively. No kidding... The Lakers had back-to-back turnovers trying to get the ball into the post to Lamar against a smaller man. We then gave up a dunk and Phil called a timeout... Trailing by 4 with a few seconds left in the third, Kobe got a dunk and a three to take an 87-86 lead into the fourth... Phil gave Kobe his first rest of the game to start the fourth, going with a Turiaf, Odom, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup. Despite an 8-0 run, the second unit rallied and we trailed 96-95 when Kobe came back in at the 7:26 mark... The Lakers were trading punches down the stretch, but couldn't get stops, then couldn't get scores. We faded badly... "We played a very good game up till the four- or five-minute mark," Phil said...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A couple painful 10-2, 10-0 runs at the end of the halves.

[DancingBarry]

First...!

[LakersFan_73]

Frustrating game to watch... Thanks for the recap, DB.

edit- aww man, you're a cheater DB. thought i had first! :p

[McSassy]

You put a happy face!

[D8]

Edit the thread's name... Wrong smiley because we lost this one. lol

[Magic'sSon]

[Andre2K]

thanks for the recap, Gasol left nothing to be desired in this game... can't wait till Bynum gets back. Also where is Radman when you need him!
_________________
My Dream Starting 5 next Season

Pg Lonzo
Sg Kawhi
Sf Ingram
Pf Lebron
C Dedmon

Bench: Caruso, Hart, Bullock, Kuzma, McGee etc

[LakersFan_73]

[AndrewBynum17]

Sad day for us, 10 game win streak snapped, and Crit scores 22.

[Trajan]

Real upsetting game to watch till the end. Frustration was up in the air. Hopefully the Lakers can bounce back because one of the elite is coming to town on Sunday.

[TooCool]

Thanks DB! Crappy game. The Blazers wanted the win more, that's for sure. The refs were horrible all night long. It was just unfortunate that the phantom calls from the refs had to come against us the last few minutes of the game.

Plus, Fish has been cold for a few games now... yet he keeps shooting. Why? If he's shooting in the 1st half, I understand... you want to get a rhythm going. But anyone who plays basketball should know that if you're cold... you're cold the rest of the game. That's where you need to be effective elsewhere, and let someone else shoot.
_________________

[DancingBarry]

[KBryantisclutch]

[Drifts]

if we win sunday, it's all worth it. great recap..

those quick 3s when in reality we could've taken quick 2s killed us
_________________
"Now, if life is coffee, then the jobs, money & position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold & contain life, but the quality of life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

[LakerSanity]

I get that Fish sucked and we missed tons of shots in the end... but that's not the reason we lost - we lost because our defense sucked and we let them shoot 53% from the field.

Poor defensive game... I doubt Phil didn't notice.
_________________
LakersGround's Terms of Service

Twitter: @DeleteThisPost

[melo061]

The reality is that we lost the game on defense. Kobe, Fisher, Luke and nearly everyone on the team decided to leave their defensive games back home.
_________________

Perfect music.

[SladeRider]

This is a game Bynum would be ideal for, LMA would not be getting the points he was with Bynum around and Roy and Jack wouldn't of been as effective.

I still feel Pryzbilla couldn't set one screen without moving and thus allowed them to use the pick and roll to great effect. but the reality is that this is a back to back, against a youthful team with alot of energy, I think anyone going into Portland on the end of a back to back would of had trouble, just goes to show how much their team has improved.

But it was near impossible to watch the game with Portland's commentators, they kept (bleep) about Kobe and everything and if Portland of lost, they would of been looked at as sore losers.
_________________
"This is a comptitive city. We're used to winning titles, not just winning games and being in the first round. We want to win championships. Now's the time.", "do something, and do it now."
- Kobe Bryant

[ChefLinda]

Thanks for the detailed recap, DB. I had a long day and fell asleep just before the game started. Guess I don't need to bother watching the DVR.

I had a bad feeling about this game -- second night of back to back, Kobe and Lamar needing to go back in the 4th quarter of the Miami game, we always have trouble winning in the Rose Garden, and since we beat them earlier in the week, I figured they'd want to pay us back. All in all, I'm glad I slept through it.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

[limchrc]

Maybe we can start another streak soon.

[yanyon]

Lakers will bounce back.. Give em credit for trying to beat a hungry team to beat on their home floor. Our D did suck and our shot selection in the last couple of minutes in the game wasnt the best choice. We deserve to lose in this game...

[twoface723]

Fisher hasn't look good so lately at all. I don't know what has happened..

[D-Dogg]

Oh my oh my Fisher was bad. But it wasn't his shooting that made me angry...it was that he consistently left Blake open for threes. EVERY TIME. We are lucky Blake didn't make more of them, because he missed two WIDE open ones in the third back to back, and every time he hoisted, fish was nowhere near him...sometimes Fish was down in the paint.

Just atrocious defense by Fish...and those threes were momentum shifting shots.

Combine his bad defense with the 5-27 three shooting, and there was no way we'd grab momentum in the Kryptonite Garden.
_________________
17 on the horizon.

[hoopschick29]

Ehh....not gonna worry about it. 13-2 February...I'll take that.

The important thing is to get back up on the horse.
_________________
So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.

[32to24]