JAZZ -at- LAKERS - 5/4 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Win No. 5 - Rested and Ready... It's been about a week since we played and...yep...Kobe is still difficult to guard.

This isn't T-Mac, who the Jazz just went through. This is a multi-dimensional offensive force in a flexible offensive system. Flank him with a well-rounded team that can hit shots and make the extra pass and you've got trouble.

Kobe led the team in points (38) and assists (7) and made 21 freethrows on way to the 109-98 opening game win against the Jazz.

We saved the Kobe/Pau two-man game until the fourth when we needed hoops on key possessions. This is vintage Phil Jackson. He'll run the triangle for three quarters and then when the battle gets thick late in the game, he pull out the two-man game. The Jazz had not defended it all afternoon and were chewed apart.

Now they will have to make some adjustments. So do we. We gave up 25 offensive boards -- a ridiculous number. Boozer, Okur and Williams combined for 19 of those. We're missing our bigman in Bynum, but he's not coming anytime soon.

"We've got to get used to the way they crash the glass," Kobe said afterward.

When the Jazz didn't get second chances, we forced turnovers and got out on the break. We held them to 38 percent shooting as a team.

Phil seemed irked like most Laker fans at how the game was called. The Lakers had a number of phantom whistles or non-calls that went against them in the game. They got to the line a ton, which the Jazz will do to you, but there were several key calls at points in the game that seemed to hold the Lakers momentum in check. At one point we had a 19-point lead, but it was cut down to as low as 4. There were 76 freethrows shot, the Lakers got 46 of those attempts.



Kobe -- -- Kobe was an efficient scoring machine in the first half, scoring 24 points on 8 shots. In the second half, things bogged down a bit. Look for the Jazz to key in on that. Kobe didn't see any zone in this game, but the Jazz tried to send late doubles when Kobe attacked in the second half. He played into their hands on a few possessions, but when we went to the screen-rolls to draw those doubles, the Jazz defense was in trouble. Late in the game, Kobe moved from SG to SF as we had shooters in Fish and Sasha to help spread the floor. That lineup can put AK in no man's land defensively trying to D-up on Kobe. The Stats: He scored 38 points on 8-16 shooting (1-2 from three, 21-23 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. The Action: He hit Lamar off the two-man game for a dunk. He drained a 10-footer from the elbow area. He picked Boozer on help D and took it for an uncontested dunk. He drew FTs on Brewer getting him into the air on a pump-faked jumper, he made both. He attacked baseline, spun in the air and banked in a hanging reverse. He missed a long sideline jumper. He drew FTs on a wing swing-through move, he made both. He drew FTs on a perimeter loose ball foul, he made both. He hit a wing three as Luke was fouled away from the ball for a 4-point play. He missed a layup, taking some contact at the end of the quarter and didn't get the call. He had 15 points in the first quarter. He got back into the game, crossed over AK badly and scored the And-1 layup over him, he made the FT. He took the outlet from Lamar and attacked for a layup. After a mad scramble on both ends, he got the ball at the three line and lobbed to Pau for the dunk. He took an outlet and drew FTs against AK, he made both. He drew FTs getting held on an in-bounds pass with 3 seconds left, he made both. He had 24 points on 6-8 shooting (11-11 from the line) in the first half. Second Half: He posted up Brewer, spun baseline and drew FTs trying to power up, he made both. He attacked, drew the D and hit Lamar for a layup. He kicked out to Vlad for a corner three. He couldn't hit a high-archer from behind the board to beat a shotclock. He got stripped for points the other way. He was called for a charge in the post on the next possession. He didn't guard anyone off an offensive board and the Jazz scored a layup. He attacked Boozer on the mismatch for an easy layup. He hit Gasol for a layup. He blew past Brewer and earned FTs off the grab foul, he made both. Back in with 8:46 left in the fourth. He attacked off the screen and pulled up for the FT jumper. He missed a long pull-up badly. He iso'd on AK, drew contact in the lane and got to the line, he made both FTs (AK had to sit with 5). He missed a tough jumper in the lane. He forced another jumper in the lane (the Jazz were sending the second man and he was trying to shoot over them). He attacked in transition, took hard contact and fouled out Boozer with 3:28 left, he made one FT (his first miss from the line). He missed a jumper badly on the next possession (he went away from the screen-roll in the half court). He attacked off the screen, spun and missed a layup, but Gasol tipped it in. He bounced to Gasol off the high pinch post handoff and Gasol scored a layup. He drew FTs after he pulled down a ball that nearly froze on the rim, he made one. He pulled down another board and sent a long outlet to Gasol for the layup. He had a couple late freethrow attempts when the game was iced.

Gasol -- -- He suffered from some early foul trouble that affected his game and our rotations. When he was on the floor, the Lakers were +16. The highest +/- for anyone in the game. Late in the fourth, he and Kobe took it to the Jazz on a number of possessions. So, while he struggled to score (missing a lot of chippies), he closed out strong with 8 points in the fourth. At the end of the game, he had his numbers. Defensively, he and Lamar have to do a better job at getting us one-and-out possessions. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-13 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 10 boards (4 offensive), 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 37 minutes. The Action: He missed an awkward hook in his first attempt. He dunked off the drive and dish from Fish. He scored a layup off another two-man sequence by Fish. Boozer attacked off the dribble, used his off arm to grab Gasol's arm as he tried to block it and he drew a phantom foul, Pau had to sit midway through the first quarter. He swatted Harpring's drive. Kobe lobbed to Pau for an alley-oop dunk. He missed a wing jumper. He had 6 points and 6 boards in the first half. Second Half: He got picked in the post. He missed in the post, got it back and hit Vlad, who pulled it out for a three. He scored a layup on the baseline drive and dish from Fish (good hands on the tight interior feed). He missed a layup off the two-man game with Kobe, he should have had that. He missed another easy look in the post. He scored on the next two-man game with Kobe. Great turnaround jump pass to Luke under the hoop for a score. Total flop by Korver under the basket as he and Gasol were going for a rebound and it resulted in FTs for Korver (4-point switch). He hit Lamar for an And-1 off the two-man game with Kobe out of the timeout (Phil set that up to get us going on our late-game bread and butter). He couldn't hold the hard pass from Kobe off the two-man game, would have been a dunk. He tipped in a Kobe drive with a nice follow. He cut off the high pinch post with Kobe, took the bounce pass and scored a layup with under 2 minutes left. Great effort on the D end and he drew FTs hustling for the board, he missed both, however, with an 8-point lead. He challenged a three shooter, busted out and scored the layup off the Kobe outlet. He hit a couple late FTs.

Lamar -- -- He's got his hands full defensively. Whether he matches up with Okur or Boozer, he's got to keep them off the glass. Of course, neither one of them can match up with Lamar offensively. The most effective sequences were when Lamar would attack with speed after taking the weakside handoff. Boozer doesn't have the speed to handle Lamar in those situations. I'd like to see us exploit that a little more. It's an easy way to get to the line and get the Jazz players into foul trouble. If Lamar can pull down more defensive boards, he can push out the break and leave Okur and Boozer behind him. Hopefully, we see more of that in the next one. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-12 shooting (6-9 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 6 fouls. The Action: He threw down off the two-man game with Kobe. He drew FTs getting out in transition, he made one. He got blocked in transition by AK. He didn't hit rim on a jumper. Great recovery on his man to swat his drive. He was blocked by AK on a drive, then he missed a layup a few seconds later. He banked on an interior feed in the lane from Ronny. He dug out a loose ball and quickly outlet to Kobe for a breakaway score. He drew FTs on Boozer, working the offensive glass, he made one. He had 6 points on 2-6 shooting and just 2 boards (Okur had 6 offensive). Second Half: He missed a jumper. He took the drive and dish from Kobe and scored a layup on the baseline. He attacked with speed off the weakside pinch post and drew FTs on Boozer, he made both. Great help D to swat Williams' drive. Boozer scored an easy layup on him. He missed a layup, and then tried to tear down the rim with his putback jam. He got robbed of FTs at the end of the third quarter when he got a long outlet and was mugged as he shot. He was called for a charge trying to go over Boozer off the dribble (go around him with speed). Finally, a loose ball push-off foul on Boozer against Lamar under the glass (Boozer's fifth). He drew FTs pushing the ball up off the rebound, he made both. Out of the timeout, Kobe and Pau worked the two-man game, Lamar cut weakside and scored an And-1 over a help defender, he missed the FT. Great challenge on Boozer's post shot to force a miss. Lamar fouled out with 44 seconds left and received a standing O from the crowd.

Fisher -- -- Fisher's impact was on the D end of this game. Deron Williams nearly had a triple-double, but we contained him pretty well. Fish went over the top of screens and got help. It looks like we're keying in on Williams and willing to give up some shots for others. At the end of the day, Deron scored 14 points on 5-18 shooting. We'll win most games when we can get that from him. So, props to Fish for always staying on his shoulder defensively. Fish was also hustling for steals and loose balls with a lot of success. He had a game-high 6 steals. That's disruption at its best. Well done. Deron was able to get 5 offensive boards, so we need to tighten that up. Offensively, DFish wasn't hitting his perimeter shot well. He did, however, manage to set up a number of others and was surprisingly effective when he got into the paint. The Stats: The Action: He missed a wing jumper in transition. He attacked the lane and bounced to Gasol for a dunk. He drew the D off the dribble and hit Gasol again for a layup. He missed a three in transition. He missed a baseline jumper. Poor shooting first stint from Fish, but he did manage to get a couple steals on the D end. Back in, he swished a long wing jumper. He attacked in transition on the next sequence and banked a runner. He got stripped on the perimeter. He hit Vlad on the break for a layup. He had 4 points on 2-5 shooting, 4 assists and 4 steals in the first half. Williams had 4 points on 2-9 shooting. Second Half: He drew the D on a drive and dished to Pau for the layup. He was fouled on a baseline jumper, he made one FT. He missed a baseline jumper. Great hustle to hit the floor and pull out a loose ball from a crowd and call timeout.

Radmanovic -- -- Up and down game from Vlad. When he hits his threes in this series, he's going to cause a lot of trouble. If AK is matched up with him and wants to roam, Vlad has to make him pay. Vlad was able to connect on a couple threes in the third and that's when we were clicking. Trying to do anything else head-to-head against AK is not the best use of Vlad's skills...as he found out on a few occasions. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. The Action: He didn't hit rim on a wide open three. He got blocked on a sad looking baseline drive. Poor first stint from Vlad. Back in, great job in transition D to snag a long outlet pass and quickly turn it up the floor to set up a score. He dunked down the middle of the lane in transition. He threw a pass away after getting in the lane. He missed a sideline three. He scored a layup on the break. Second Half: He pulled the ball out and hit a corner three. He drained a three from the other corner on a drive and dish from Kobe. He got swatted on a soft attempt in the post over AK.

Luke -- -- Luke wasn't the impact player he had been in the last series. He matched up with Harpring a lot. Some off the ball fouls between those two as they battled. I think that's how Phil is going to prefer to play Luke, but Vlad doesn't always make that possible. Late in the game, Kobe was our SF. Luke had an upper respiratory infection (I think I've got the same). The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-2 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 13 minutes. The Action: He got tapped on a layup off a weakside cut. He traveled trying to finish a two-on-one break. He was fouled away from the ball as Kobe hit a three, he made the FT to convert a 4-point play. Second Half: He and Harpring exchanged fouls in the painted area, Luke made both his FTs. Nice bounce pass to a cutting Ronny for the throwdown. He scored a layup when Pau found him under the hoop. He threw a pass away in transition, careless possession.

Turiaf -- -- He came off the bench midway through the first quarter for Pau who picked up a cheap second foul and had to sit. Good to see Ronny back in the mix. He gave us some extra shotblocking (4 in the game), especially when he and Pau played together. He didn't do much to help our problems on the glass, though, as he didn't pull down a defensive board. Offensively, his jumper was off. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting to go with just 1 offensive board, 1 assists, 4 blocks and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He missed a 19-footer in early offense. He crashed the boards to grab a miss by Luke and reset the offense. He blocked a shot on one end, then made an interior feed to Lamar for a score on the other. He missed another open jumper. He rejected Williams who tried to throw down on him at the rim. He missed a layup, trying to power it in. Second Half: He dunked, cutting off Luke in the post and taking the pass. He forced a jumper in the lane and missed badly. He erased a Harpring layup with a swat.

Farmar -- -- Not much run for Farmar. When he was out there, he didn't get much done either. Defensively, he was solid enough. Offensively, he couldn't hit anything. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-5 shooting (0-1 from three), he pulled down 2 boards, had 1 steal and 1 foul in 9 minutes. The Action: He couldn't connect on a couple attempts after getting into the interior. He swiped a baseline pass, dropping to the level of the ball. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He missed a layup in the lane.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha came out smoking, Sick Jumpers of Death raining from the perimeter. Phil kept him in all fourth quarter as a result. Defensively, he continues to hound Korver like he did in the regular season. He was able to get a number of good challenges on jumpers and keep him from generally having open looks. I think Phil is aware of how Kobe will leave a shooter to roam and made sure Sasha was the man on Korver. Look for Sasha to move into Korver's head sometime during this series. Sasha had a couple of fourth-quarter fouls that didn't help defensively, but other than that a good effort. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 4-6 shooting (2-2 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: He attacked from the wing, ball-faked in traffic and hit the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He drained a three on a kickout from Pau on his next touch. He sank an open sideline three on the next possession. Good challenge on Korver's three for a miss. He missed a long wing jumper set up for him out of the timeout. He stepped on the sideline as he attacked for a turnover. He had 9 points on 3-4 shooting in just 4 minutes. Second Half: Another good challenge on Korver's jumper for a miss. A few fouls in the fourth from Sasha to help the Jazz into the bonus. He swished a baseline jumper off the screen. He was blocked on a reverse layup out of a timeout. He hit a couple late FTs. He hit a couple more.

Mbenga -- -- The Lakers held the Jazz to under 100. Mbenga didn't get but a quick stint, although he might have helped on the defensive glass. The Stats: No stats. The Action: He got in for the final 3 seconds of the first half to guard the in-bounds passer.

Phil -- -- The Lakers had to survive the first quarter without Gasol for 6 minutes as he picked up a phantom second foul. Turiaf anchored the D well and Fish got a few steals. Offensively, Kobe and Lamar steadied things. We led 25-24 after the first... Both Kobe and Lamar sat to start the second. We went with a Pau, Ronny, Luke, Sasha, Jordan lineup. (Some nice swats on the interior and Sasha was lighting it up on the other end)... The Lakers were getting into transition and pulled out to a 13-point lead, forcing a Jazz timeout... We were having some trouble on the defensive glass, but we were still able to avoid some scores in the first half... After a 29-17 second quarter, we led 54-41. We had 9 steals in the first half. The Jazz had 13 offensive boards in the first half, but only shot 39 percent. The Jazz were 1-10 from three in the half. We won the break 15-2 in that first half... "You've got to generate the energy," Phil said in the locker room before we headed out. He wanted to win the first 5 minutes... We pulled out to a 19-point lead, but the Jazz got a number of second-chance points again and we were turning the ball over. They chipped it down to 10. It looked like Phil had some words to the refs about the Jazz pushing off on the glass... We led only 79-72 going into the fourth (Williams hit a three and Lamar was fouled with no call at the end of the quarter). We gave up 31 points to the Jazz in the third, while scoring 25... Phil didn't like the officiating, said it was uneven at the end of the third. And he wanted the Lakers to control their glass better... The Jazz got in the bonus with 9 minutes left in the fourth... The Lakers went with a Pau, Ronny, Kobe, Sasha, Fisher lineup. Then swapped out Ronny for LO a minute later... Phil called a timeout when the lead was cut to 4 in the fourth. Kobe had forced several jumpers over tough D and our offense was stalling. Phil recognized the Jazz overplaying him. Out of the timeout, Kobe drew the double on the screen, he fed Pau, and Pau hit Lamar for the And-1... The Lakers only shot 5-10 from three for the game. They looked to get into the interior with consistency... The only quarter the Lakers lost was the third...

Game Flow -- LINK -- A lot of Laker runs in the first half, but we couldn't put them together in the second half.

[AndrewBynum17]

great win
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www.andrewbynum.com

[lakefan24]

Lakers are on fire.

[JTS]

oooooh...3rd in the famous dancing barry game recap thread.

other than the lakers forgot how to get to the boards, they did pretty well.

nice win.





they do NEED to fix the lack of rebounding or it will bite them later!
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That said, everything is looking pretty rosy for the Lakers, which brings up the question of whether some of their younger players might find complacency in success.

"Not at all," Bryant said, smiling. "I won't let that happen. I crack the whip."

[Cardom]

Lakers need to go up 2-0 and try to take these guys out in 4-5 games.
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1) DO WHATEVER IT TAKES
2) DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!
3) TRADE ODOM, WALTON AND VLAD

No rebounds.... No rings - Pat Riley

We have to get some players that have that kind of aggressiveness that we need. - Phil Jackson

[VujacicFan]

Wooo, sick jumpers of death!!!!

[DancingBarry]

[sec 110]

Dirty win against a dirty team

[IamaLaker]

awesome Thoughts and Ratings as usual DB!

question: you wrote "we'll win most games we can get that from him."

did you mean to write "we'll win most games if we can get that from him."

also, can you PLEASE force flo'z out of retirement? can't you just tell'em that you'll sic the machine, with his "jumpers of death" on him or that you'll ban him if he doesn't comply and do more lakers music NOW, like a round 2 game 1 recap??

thanx (in advance)

~i'm sure it will work!

GET WELL SOON DB!!!

[Arizona]

I was a little worried they would be too rusty this game but they pulled it out. Refs were ridiculous, but we overcame that too. I'm glad they didn't get any T's over it. Lots of poise and a pretty efficient game from most of our key guys. Ridiculous no calls at the end of both the 1st and 3rd quarters when Kobe and LO clearly got fouled. Hope we're a little sharper for game two. And that we hit the glass. Loved the fire I saw from LO and Kobe.
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“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

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB. it's always a good sign when Sasha gets the dancing tomato.

it's not that we played poorly, we just didn't play at our best and we were still able to pull out the win.
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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."

[A Mad Chinaman]

To repeat

"The Sick Jumpers of Death" from "The Machine!"

As described by the totally sick (translated: great!) breakdown.

DB
What adjustments do you think that the Jazz will do to address the Lakers' strategy of having DFish go over the top of screens with another Laker giving help. Could Sloan put another shooter to limit the effectiveness - if so, what lineup would it be?

[ChefLinda]

Thanks, DB. Gotta love the dancing tomato.

Did anybody else crack up when Kobe was interviewed by Michele Tafoya and he called Sasha "The Machine"?

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

[hi_ma]

Thanks DB. i wish we would push more on made baskets.
Pau late was great.
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The lakers will get prince.

[Dr. Laker]

Great job, as usual, DB.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[20,000]

If the Lakers could have cut down on the Jazz offensive rebounds and limit their own turnovers, this would have been a blowout from beginning to end.

These are keys and what they need to address for Game 2.

And if things go as planned, Kobe will be presented with the MVP trophy before Game 2. How much more pumped will Utah be to 1) beat the Lakers on their home court, and 2) beat Kobe right after he receives his MVP award?

I hope whoever is airing that game shows the whole thing so we see Kobe receiving the trophy from Stern.

SAAAWEEEEEEEEEET!
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Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[20,000]

Did anyone read this quote from Fisher?

[A Mad Chinaman]

[10scott10]

one of the things that pissed me off was the end game fouls from the jazz. i mean you're down ten with 30 seconds left. and you keep fouling. seriously, let it go and prepare for the next game. seriously, i counted 8 trips to the foul line from them foulign at the end. that is 16 shots,, which is the difference in attempts.

[20,000]

[Capote80]

I liked our defense, except for the offensive rebounding. A lot of that is timing and horrible boxing out on all our players. But a lot of those Jazz shots were long shots....long shot=long rebounds. Our defense held them to 38% shooting...we kept pushing them further and further away from the basket. I loved our quick hands on the defensive end, Fish had 6 steals, Kobe had a few of them. For all the muscle and brute that Boozer has, he gets the ball stripped from him quite a bit. He had 7 turnovers today.

I think the Kobe to Pau connection on the give n go needs to be performed ad nauseum in Game 2. The Jazz showed they don't know how to guard it. Pau missed at least 3 layups, so it would be wise of him to convert them next time.

Sasha played great off the bench...Ronny, Luke and Jordan...not so much. They gotta step it up. MBenga should get some time since the Jazz are so physical. I did like that we didn't whine too much on some of the non-calls from the refs. Kobe needs to stay in attack mode all series...he isn't T-Mac, Kobe is relentless. I think we can take Game 2 as well. Even though the Jazz made a comeback, I never once feared the Lakers were going to lose this game.

[LakerSince72]

The officiating sooooo pissed me off during this game. Don't you love how both Kobe AND LO get no calls at the buzzer. And here I thought a foul was a foul. The Jazz where getting away with so many pushes and elbows under the basket as well. That has to account for at least 10 rebounds this game. How about early in the 1st quarter when Pau was grabbed on Boozer's layup and called for the foul!!! So many others. It just tells me how much of a better team the Lakers are then the Jazz because we still won.

You all heard it from me now. I'm PREDICTING ANOTHER SWEEP!!!!
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I <3 Basketball!

[Klone_dd]

The Utes really mucked up the game with all their fouling. I know it's their style, but it really bogs the game down. I'm sure it's part of their plan, grind the game down and then it becomes a matter of who executes better. At some point, the refs get tired of blowing their whistles and begin to let a few through. All of a sudden it's a physical game where over-the-backs, a lot of touchy, grabby stuff and inevitably blatant calls are ignored.

Props to DFish for some quick hands and anticipation steals. Knowing the Jazz playbook really came in handy. Double props to Sasha who's SJOD gave the team some separation in that big 2nd Q. Kobe gets the long overdue MVP title, so he doesn't need props from me (He was very good).

[AllorNothing]

I think our defense is improving rapidly on a game to game basis. Great rotations and help defense all around. Very active hands in getting TO's. We can make stops but just need to get the rebounds.