NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 4/20 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Win No. 1 - The Battle Begins... So what fuels the Laker offense to start the playoffs? It wasn't the nitrous-oxide, Kobe-powered engine today. It was Gasoline. Pau Gasol nearly dropped a triple-double in his Laker playoff debut on way to a 128-114 opening game victory.

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets bus was seen burning on the side of the 110. Switching buses before the game didn't put out the fire. The Lakers scored 70 points in the second half of the game today, including a crushing 39-22 third quarter.

The Nuggets tried to switch things up on us by throwing Kenyon Martin at Kobe. That led to mismatches elsewhere, which we exposed throughout the game. You could almost see the team mind thinking -- struggling at times but thinking their way through it again on both ends. The days off may have had some issues there, but we collapsed the D and drew Pau's man away from him again and again to set him up for easy scores.

The zone D the Nuggets threw at us may have resulted in a little settling for jumpers, but it certianly didn't hold the line. Zone hasn't been our strength, so we're going to get a healthy dose of it until we master its weaknesses.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers in points (36), rebounds (16) and assists (8). Heck of a Laker playoff debut. Kobe had an off game, but Lamar and Luke both stepped it up. I'd expect the Nuggets to not miss 14 freethrows in the next one...but I'd also expect Kobe to execute better, as well.
Defensively, I don't think either team has any great answers. Whichever team puts together the better collective effort will win.


Kobe -- -- His jumper wasn't falling and he kept taking difficult shots. Some of the shot selection resulted in offense for the Nuggets on the other end. There was a lot of settling for jumpers, which might have been him not wanting to pick up a charge, but he could also have been worried about forcing the dribble too much for turnovers against the Nuggets. Either way, he didn't ever really get on track until parts of the fourth quarter. Kenyon Martin started on him defensively. I don't think that will be a factor. Kobe was just missing. "I should knock those down," Kobe said afterward about some of his misses. Amazing that he can struggle as much as he did and still end up with 32 points. He and Kenyon picked up a double tech talking trash. That's not the smartest move by Kenyon, it's just going to focus Kobe's intensity even more. Kobe started on AI defensively, but an offensive foul forced Phil to switch him to protect against foul trouble. He struggled with that foul trouble all game. We will have to pick and choose our spots on that match up carefully. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 9-26 shooting (1-5 from three, 13-14 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 37 minutes. The Action: He missed a wing jumper, got it back and threw a wild pass/shot off the glass. He turned the corner on Kenyon and scored a layup. He swatted AI's jumper to ignite the break. He was called for an offensive foul on an in-bounds pass (he would have to take a step off AI defensively now, after a couple stands Phil switched that up). He missed a wing three. He attacked and hit Pau for the dunk. He missed a three, going two for one. He missed a long three. Poor shooting first quarter (1-7) from Kobe, missing all the jumpers he took. Back in after a rest to start the second quarter, he missed a 21-footer. Poor shot selection, wide left on a three over the zone (the Nuggets then converted that into an And-1 on the other end as Kobe fouled in transition). Carter went right past him in transition for a layup. He sank a 16-footer from the wing. Back on AI defensively and he quickly picked up his third foul of the half with 2:51 left and had to sit...or not, Phil left him in for another 2 minutes before pulling him. He had 4 points on 2-10 shooting, 1 assist and 3 fouls at the half. Second Half: He missed a bank off a spin move. He missed a long jumper, quick two for the Nuggets the other way. He stole the ball and was fouled on the break and drew a tech on Carter, he made the tech, then the two FTs. He swished a baseline jumper off an in-bounds pass. He settled and missed a 20-footer, he then fouled Melo's 20-footer on the other end (not smart on either play, but the foul was a little cheap). He was looking to create off the dribble against Kenyon, he drew contact, leaned back and hit the And-1 16-footer over him and made the FT. He sank a wing jumper on iso against Martin. Back in, wild turnaround jumper which he missed badly. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed another tough fading jumper badly on iso. He missed a left hander in post iso. He drained a wing three behind a screen. He attacked from the FT line off the pass and scored a layup. He picked up his 5th foul with 7 minutes left on a reach and Phil sat him. Phil brought him back with 5:42 left for Luke. He drew FTs on a lob play a few seconds later, he made both. He settled again against Martin on iso and missed a jumper badly. He attacked Smith next time down and drew FTs (Kobe got a tech for talking with Martin at the line), he made one. He swished a wide open elbow jumper. He pumpfaked Smith into the air and fouled him out for FTs with 3:14 left, he made both. Fronted in the post, he took the high-low lob from Gasol and dunked. He was fouled, AI got ejected and Kobe sank both tech FTs, then he knocked down the personal foul FTs. He missed a fade at the elbow. He then sat with 1:32 left.

Gasol -- -- "This is like room service for Pau Gasol. The ball being brought to him right at the rim," Van Gundy said late in the broadcast. With attacks coming from other spots in the offense that drew the D, it definitely set the table for Pau all game. He had a number of dunks and layups. If you leave him, you will pay. So Pau got his first playoff win of his career and had a new playoff career high in points. When wasn't scoring, he was also sharing the ball well himself. His best assist of the game came late on a high-low lob sequence to Kobe, very nice. The Nuggets were picked apart by the passing to and from Gasol all game. Defensively, he was disruptive enough with his length. Also, he continues to show some screen-roll D. Great stat line, just 2 assists shy of the triple-double. The Stats: He scored 36 points on 14-20 shooting (8-8 from the line) to go with 16 boards, 8 assists, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 45 minutes. The Action: He hit Vlad for a layup. He found Fish wide open for a three. He dunked off the jump pass from Lamar. He scored off the jumphook and pass from Luke. He ballfaked, then swished the open wing jumper. He dunked off the drive and dish from Kobe against the zone. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a 10-footer short. He was fouled on a layup attempt, he made both FTs. He scored a layup over a smaller man. He missed a jumper, got it back when he cut and scored the layup. He scored another layup in transition off the Lamar pass. He dunked off a quick touch pass from Lamar in the interior. Great first half, scoring 18 points on 8-11 shooting to go with 7 boards and 5 assists. "We settled way too much at the beginning of the second quarter," Pau said at the half. "That's what led to a some fastbreak points and easy layups." Second Half: He attacked from the elbow for FTs on our first possession, he made both. He dunked Vlad's missed layup (Vlad drew Gasol's man to the other side of the paint). He drew FTs off the quick feed from Kobe against the zone, he made both. Vlad found him for a layup. He was blocked on an iso attack (but it went right to Vlad for three). He iso'd again on the next sequence and drew FTs, he made both. He dunked off the interior feed from Vlad. He dunked again, getting out on the break on the next trip and taking the pass from Lamar. He dunked off the extra pass from Vlad. He couldn't hit the jumphook off a Kobe miss. He got blocked from behind in the post. Great high-low lob to Kobe for a dunk (Pau recognized the fronting D on the post defender. This is a typical PF-type of Tri read that we will see going to Bynum at some point from Pau). Nice challenge on Melo, then he blocked Najera on recovery. He scored a layup off the interior feed from LO.

Lamar -- -- Very good well-rounded game from Lamar. A lot of nice extra passes that led to easy scores. He also had some great pushouts off rebounds to get us some breakaway points. He seemed to bring the intensity throughout the game. He wasn't caught in too many bad spots offensively, though the Nuggets did sag off him at times. He crashed the offensive boards to pull down 6 on that end, something we need against the zone. Defensively, he's going to have to strike a balance between staying on shooters and helping clog the lane. The Nuggets bigmen can pull the Lakers out to the perimeter depending on the lineups...and that can open up lanes for Melo or AI. So, Lamar will have to be mindful of the situations and sometimes stick with a shooter. The Stats: He scored 17 point son 8-14 shooting (1-4 from the line) to go with 14 boards (6 offensive), 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. The Action: He hit Pau on a jump pass for a dunk. Nice hustle to throw a loose ball off the Nuggets. He attacked down the lane off a pass and dunked. He hesitated on the dribble, then attacked for the layup. He missed a wide open 18-footer over a zone (Nuggets were definitely sagging off him on multiple sequences). He couldn't secure a missed FT on the defensive end. He missed a layup against the zone. He dunked, taking a soft pass from Fish and aggressively attacking. He pulled down a board and pushed out the break to draw a foul on Melo, he made one FT. He pushed out the steal and hit Pau for a layup. He cut baseline and hit Pau with a touch pass for a dunk. He pulled down a Sasha miss and scored a layup. He had 9 points and 9 boards at the half. Second Half: He drew a charge on Melo with a good recovery. He missed after pulling down a rebound off Vlad's miss, he then grabbed it and scored. He missed a long jumphook off the left block. He pushed out and fed Gasol on the break for a dunk. Lamar went almost one-on-five on a pushout, going inside-out with long strides at full speed and he scored the layup over defenders. He sagged off Kleiza to help and gave up a three. Back in and he tweaked his knee, bumping it on the offensive end and hobbled over to the bench during a timeout (he looked fine later). He drew FTs posting up Melo, he missed both, however. He hit Pau with an interior feed for a dunk. He pushed out the steal, went behind his back with the dribble, then underhanded to Luke and flushed down the lob dunk on the return feed. He swished a 20-footer next time down.

Fisher -- -- At least AI didn't go for 50...and apparently was frustrated enough on what he though should have been a foul on DFish that he got tossed late in the game. We tried to start Fish on Carter, but Kobe's foul issues changed that. So, AI was able to go to work on Fish. (Glad to see AI went 7-13 from the line because he was doing some damage.) We're just going to have to help Fish on the drives all series whenever we have that match up. Offensively, Fish struggled to get anything going, but didn't force it. The Nuggets may leave him a bit more in the next game, so he'll need to step up. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. The Action: He sank a wide open three. He missed a baseline jumper. He moved from Carter to AI defensively after Kobe picked up an offensive foul. He missed a three. He missed a FT jumper. He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting and had 4 assists. Second Half: He whipped a pass off Melo's beak, ouch, trying to thread the needle (Staples seemed to enjoy that). He missed a jumper with his toe on the three line. He gave up back-to-back layups to AI.

Radmanovic -- -- Defensively, he's got his hands full against Melo. Not much we can do about that but help when needed. Melo wasn't looking to set up others, so Vlad should be able to get more help D if that continues. He needs to play Kleiza better when matched up against him. Some nice extra passes from Vlad in this game. Since he was matched up at times against smaller players, this allowed us to put him in the post and collapse the D. That made things easier for guys like Gasol whose men were cheating off him to help. So, Vlad saw a lot more work as a hub in the offense or on low post sequences than he usually does. Vlad also drained a couple of long balls. It wasn't always pretty but it was a reasonably effective game from Vlad. His 6 assists were a career playoff high. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: He fouled on the first possession, then tipped away a pass. He posted up, took a pass from Pau and scored easily. He picked up his second foul when AI flopped and had to sit after three minutes. He stepped on the baseline on a drive. He missed a corner three. Second Half: He missed a layup in the post (but drew a double and Pau dunked back in the miss). He missed a long jumphook trying to post up again (but Lamar saved him this time). He flashed to the FT line, took the pass then hit Pau for a layup. He swished a three when Gasol's drive was blocked right to him. He gave up dunks to Kleiza on the break and to him curling in the half court. Nice interior feed to Pau for a dunk. He took the pass in the lane, attacked and hooked it to Pau for the uncontested dunk. He banged down a corner three on a two-for-one possession next time down. Weak foul in transition to give up an And-1 to AI late in the game.

Luke -- -- Difficult assignment on Melo defensively, but Luke was able to take advantage on the other end. We need a role player to step up every game, and Luke was the guy who did it today. He had a few mismatches like Vlad as the Nuggets looked to switch things up defensively against Kobe. Luke got into the paint and scored or drew the D and passed. Luke had a few good stands defensively, one drawing an offensive foul on AI and a couple other nice challenges on shots. Let's hope we don't have close games, however, because getting stops on iso against Melo are going to be tricky. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-8 shooting (1-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 27 minutes. The Action: He got blocked by Camby on the layup. He posted up AI and scored a layup on the next possession. He hit Pau cutting down the lane for a short jumphook. He hit Lamar for a dunk down the lane. He posted up Kleiza and scored a layup. He missed an early offense corner three (ideal shot from the Nuggets perspective). He sank a three from the top of the arc on a kickout from Pau. He drew FTs, made one, but got his miss back and swished a short elbow jumper. He scored a layup curling weakside off the screen and taking the pass from Pau. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting to go with 4 assists at the half. Second Half: Good challenge on Melo's drive to force a brick. He was then fouled hard for a flagrant by Smith on the other end, he made both. He dunked on a breakaway. He drew an offensive clear-out foul on AI in transition. He lobbed to Lamar on the break for a dunk.

Turiaf -- -- He barely got any run today as both Pau and Lamar were playing well and neither in foul trouble. Phil ran Pau 45 minutes, which is way more than we usually see. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-2 shooting, he grabbed 2 boards, had 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 3 minutes. The Action: He was fouled on the breakaway layup attempt, he made both FTs. He faced up and was stripped in the post. He missed a FT jumper. He missed a jumphook in the post. Second Half: He didn't play.

Farmar -- -- This AI matchup should allow Farmar to grow a bit. Very tough to D him up, so Farmar is going to have to be a student on the defensive end. Kobe was in his ear multiple times in the second half trying to give him some advice. Offensively, he nailed a couple of threes. I'd like to see him collapse the D a little more off the dribble, but with all the zone the Nuggets run he'll have to pick his spots with that. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. The Action: He missed back-to-back threes (one may have been just a long jumper) from the left side. Good challenge on AI on one end, then he drained a wide open three on the other. He missed another corner three from the left side. He was stripped off the pinch post drive. Second Half: He came in midway through the third for Fish who picked up foul trouble and he had to cover AI. He gave up a couple of hoops and Kobe was talking to him from the bench trying to help him. He drained a three at the end of the third quarter. Hard lob pass to Gasol that Pau couldn't gather, good idea off the dribble penetration, just couldn't connect.

Vujacic -- -- I'd like to see a little more of the Sasha/AI match up defensively. His length has occasionally given AI some problems. We wouldn't have to do it a lot, just mix it in with switches every now and then. You might get AI to stall the offense and chuck a little. I'd prefer Ariza's length off the bench as he had that shutdown quarter on AI earlier in the season, but we'll have to wait for that. (Bummer, because that's the heavy lifting Kobe has to do while worrying about foul trouble.) Offensively, if the Nuggets zone gets a little tighter, Sasha will need to drain some long balls to keep them honest. He connected on a couple today. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 21 minutes. The Action: He sank an open jumper off the in-bounds pass. He swished a corner three over the zone. He missed a corner three. He missed another three. Tough D on AI out on the perimeter, should have been a turnover as AI dribbled it off his foot into the back court, Sasha then blocked a Najera three attempt to close out the half. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting. Second Half: He lost the dribble, unforced error, trying to work the two-man game. He missed a wide open corner three. Good D holding AI to a jumper and challenging it well, unfortunately, AI still hit it. He swished a sideline three off a quick catch-and-shoot.

Phil -- -- The flexibility of the Triangle offense was on display at times today. The Nuggets gave us a couple different looks defensively and the offense had to make adjustments. A lot of those scores from Pau came from our forwards working the paint as the Tri adapted to mismatches... The Lakers were looking to take advantage of various mismatches as the Nuggets tried to have AI and Carter guard bigger players like Luke or Vlad. If we didn't score a layup, it would force a double which we'd pass out of for good looks... Staples was chanting "D-U-I" when Melo went to the line... The Lakers led 26-22 after the first quarter. They saw a lot of zone late in the quarter and they lost a 10-point lead... Phil started the second quarter with a Ronny, Lamar, Vlad, Sasha, Farmar unit... We gave up a dunk going for the full-court press (not a good idea against the Nuggets, only time I recall us running that during the game)... No one was guarding Kleiza and we gave up back-to-back threes, lost our lead and trailed 34-30. After a 12-4 run from the Nuggets to start the second, Phil called a timeout... Kleiza and Smith quickly combined for 20 points on 8-10 shooting midway through the second quarter... Phil left Kobe in with 2:51 in the half and three fouls. He pulled him with 35 seconds left... The Lakers led 58-56 at the half, giving up 34 points in the second quarter. Thankfully, the Nuggets shot 9-16 from the line in the half. We had 18 assists off our 24 makes. We kept the turnovers to just 4, but shot 4-14 from three, giving the Nuggets some long rebounds to push out on... The Lakers went on a 15-4 start in the first 4 minutes of the third quarter, forcing a Nuggets timeout... Phil sat both Fish and Kobe midway through the third quarter with an 11-point, both had foul issues. We extended to a 14-point lead forcing a Nugget timeout... The Lakers played a crushing 39-22 third quarter to have a 19-point lead heading into the fourth... "We have to keep the momentum going," Phil said at the fourth-quarter interview. He pointed out the number Kleiza and Smith had in the first half and wanted to put the clamps on there. We didn't keep the momentum going, but the Nuggets difficult at getting stops cost them... The Nuggets got into the penalty with 8 minutes left in the fourth... Kobe hit a couple shots, then picked up his fifth foul and Phil sat him with 7 minutes left and an 11-point lead. (He brought him back with 5:42 left and a 13-point lead)... We got in the penalty which allowed the Nuggets to stop the clock and score... We were still able to trade enough points with the Nuggets in the fourth to cruise to the win. We gave up 36 points in the fourth, but scored 31 ourselves... Phil is always pretty good at making adjustments from game-to-game in the playoffs. The team looked a little off for parts of this game. The long layoff could be to blame a little there. Our execution against the zone was better, but still weak at times. Defensively, I'm not sure he changes anything up, other than to tell the team to not foul as much. We will probably see the same type of game. He'll try to anticipate the Nuggets next move, but they will have to figure out how to stop us. Expect more zone and packing of the lane to force long shots... We shot 50 percent from the floor and 9-20 from three. The team went 27-32 from the line compared to the Nuggets 23-37. The Lakers had 33 assists...

[Critical Beatdown]

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Per 100 possessions, we're winning 118-102 with LO on the floor, and losing 109-111 without him. (updated: 4/1/09; source: 82games.com)

[LakerSanity]

Kobe's shot was off, Lakers played a mediocre defensive game, Iverson and Melo combined for 60, Klieza was on... yet still won by 14. We still have soooo much room to improve and the Nuggets can definitely play worse. The Nuggets should be scared.
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[KobeJaws]

third

[Addicus]

Do you guys even read the write up?

Great job DB. The team did such a great job of getting Pau easy shots until Kobe killed the offensive flow in the 4th.

Lamar is really enjoying playing basketball. He is finishing at the rim and attacking the boards on both ends. It is so great to watch.

I really think the Lakers can beat anyteam in the league in a 7 game series except for Boston and Portland.
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Stop crying and start doing.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

[LakerSanity]

[Vandal08]

6th
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"For we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are unseen. For the things seen are temporary and the things unseen are eternal"

[minorbravo]

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The only thing standing between me and greatness, is me.

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

it's so refreshing for the team to be able to pick up the slack when Kobe's shot isn't falling. I want to see Pau/Lamar/Luke this aggressive for the rest of the playoffs. and that room service quote by van gundy about Pau is hilarious...and so true
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"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."

[TheTalkOfTheArch]

luke and lamar were awesome tonight if they give u

16 4 5
17 14 6

then wow the next 3 games are going to be cake

and they'll get the shots playing against this team.

odom is having fun out there
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[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

Lamar and Pau were beasts in the paint. they made up for Kobe's poor shooting. GREAT WIN. I hate having to wait until Wednesday. props to Luke in the too. whats with Coach Karl's pregame ritual?

I didnt like the D.U.I. chants. I thought it was classless and L.A. is better than that.
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[rpadma12]

Odom has stepped up in the 2nd half of the season and on.. Gasol doing what he does best. Good way to start.

I like the idea of Sasha on AI.. I prefer him and Kobe to take turns.. AI was getting free against Fisher.

Kobe will adjust and hopefully have his midrange shot.

[rpadma12]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

[George W Buss]

The Machine with his very-quick-catch-turn-a-round-jumpshot is our poor man Reggie Miller

[dawglaker]

I thought it was pretty funny,

this is the playoffs if you can't take the insults then dont come on the court, simple.
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"I didn't mean to walk in the shower with him. Yeah, I walked in the shower. I'm not a homosexual, but Kobe - he had no clothes on." - Ron Artest

[DancingBarry]

[24KaratGold]

[lakerican]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

PIC OF KOBE FIRED UP
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[KBryantisclutch]

[rchanou]

What were Kobe and Kenyon jawing about?

[Lambda]

Thanks for the writeup!

I thoroughly enjoyed today's game. I agree that Kobe was settling for jumpers too much. I can understand him getting frustrated with his own game and wanted to forcibly play through it, but it would probably have been more effective for him to go to the basket and either draw the foul or create for his teammates. By the time Kobe got his 5th foul, I thought he was playing so badly that it would not have hurt to just sit him for the rest of the game. The Lamar/Pau tadem was playing really well, but Kobe's jumpers were hurting the flow of our offense.

With respect to the defense of AI, I'd like to see Sasha and Jordan get more minutes defending AI. Although they're both inexperienced compared to Derek, they're faster and I would like to see what they can do. In particular, I'm hoping that Sasha can get under AI's skin enough that he can force AI into silly fouls or technicals. Sasha's a pesky/annoying defender, and we should see if he can put that ability to good use.

[Sage_10]

Big win.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[hi_ma]

is there a site that breaks down players by half?

thanks for recap. joy to watch. our team is a second half juggernaut
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The lakers will get prince.