LAKERS -vs- JAZZ - 10/7 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse... To borrow from legendary sports writer Grantland Rice:

"Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are..."

For Laker fans, the hope is that those names will be Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant. Prior to this game, they had never suited up together on the court...and images of league destruction danced in the heads of Laker fans.

Laker fans waited and waited and hoped to get a glimpse of the four on the floor at the same time. The Mythical Four still remain a myth. Pau played just briefly before tagging out for Bynum coming off the bench. Foiled again.

Big Drew was the story of the game. Laker fans hadn't seen him in action him since his injury in January.

"I'm a little bit rusty," Bynum said. "I got to get my timing back." That was evident on a few pass sequences, some turnovers and on defense. His power and finesse game showed more power and more touch from the perimeter. That will be a nice trend if it holds up.

The first preseason game is just that, the first preseason game. The Lakers lost 99-90. Not only is it too early to care about the score, it's too early to jump to conclusions. Bynum and Farmar both led the Lakers in scoring with 15 points. They played strong. The Triangle offense was typically ugly and usually functioning on a basic level. The lineups tonight were varied and awkward at times. And coaches were looking to ease players back into action, as well as get a look at some of the guys on the bubble.

But who knew ugly could be so beautiful? Glad to see the Lakers back in action.


Kobe -- -- With the level of intensity dialed down, Kobe took it easy, as he should. The coaches need to watch his minutes and keep the impact low in order to help reduce some of the mileage after playing until June in the NBA and winning the gold for the USA. This time last year, both he and Buss were talking about "basketball as a business" and Kobe was looking to move his services elsewhere. It was one of the low points in Laker basketball. That seems longer than 12 months ago. It seems ages. Kobe recently described his relationship with L.A. as like a family. The family no longer feels dysfunctional, thank goodness. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go wtih 5 baords, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 low-impact minutes. The Action: He hit Pau for a jumper after posting up and drawing a crowd. He swiped a pass to start the break. He was called for a travel while posting up. He missed a turnaround on the left baseline. He swiped a lob pass with some nice D. He missed a lefty jumphook. He found Farmar for an open jumper off a great cut and kickout. He swatted Collins from behind on help D (very nice). He didn't score on 0-2 shooting, but had 4 assists in the first half. Second Half: He sank a face-up wing jumper on iso on his first attempt of the half. He no-looked to Trevor trailing the break for FTs. He missed a long jumper trying to create. He attacked Brewer with some aggression, hung, drew the whistle and somehow flipped it over the rim for the And-1, he made the FT. He threw the ball away getting caught in the air trying to set up Bynum. He drew FTs on an offensive board, he made one. He missed a wing jumper. He went behind his back to Ariza for a score on the break. He blew past Korver and was fouled on the throwdown attempt, he made both FTs. He had 8 points in the third quarter and then sat.

Gasol -- -- Just a brief stint for Pau tonight trying to keep the mileage down after he, too, had a long summer of hoops (facing off against Kobe, of course, in the Olympic gold medal game). He started at the C spot while Bynum was on the bench. "I'm starting at center?" Gasol asked a reporter before the game. "I'm pretty sure that Andrew is going to be in the starting lineup during the year and probably during the preseason too." Pau got popped in the face on a pass and bled from the lip in the first quarter. They were planning on keeping his minutes low, so that was all we saw of him. While he was out there, his jumper looked smooth. He'll need that to be an effective weapon if/when he finally plays with Drew on the floor. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-3 shooting, had 1 assist and 1 foul in just 5 minutes. The Action: He swished a baseline jumper from Kobe on his first attempt. He fouled Brewer trying to contest under the hoop. He swished a wing face-up jumper. He was fouled on a pass-off in transition. He posted up Okur and swished a turnaround, just beating the shotclock. He had 6 points on 3-3 shooting in 5 minutes before leaving with the bloody lip. Second Half: Did not play, Drew started.

Lamar -- -- KCAL played an interview with Lamar prior to the game. He seemed to fight the concept of possibly coming off the bench, struggling to smoothly answer the question. He also said of his game, "I'm not going to say my performance in under-appreciated, but I think sometimes some of the things I bring to this team are overlooked." One of his best strengths is his versatility. He covered a variety of players on the defensive end tonight and moved from the post to the lead guard to the wing on offense at times. In a game like this, it is difficult make any statements about how he handled the various jobs. He had a couple moments of great play, some miscues and some sequences in the Triangle that can be exposed by a thinking team, if they wanted to. But again, it's preseason. Last year, Kobe was a disaster in preseason until we pulled the plug on his distributor role and the real season got his attention. We know how the Pau/Lamar or Bynum/Lamar lineup looks. Everyone wants to see how the Bynum/Pau/Lamar lineup looks. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: He got stripped in the lane in transition. He picked up a foul on a swat attempt under the hoop. He pushed up the break, drew the D and hit Trevor for the dunk (very nice feed). He traveled in transition. He didn't take a shot in the first half and had 1 assist in just 7:39 of action. Second Half: He missed a long jumper from the wing on his first attempt. He drew FTs on a handoff from Kobe, he made one. He fouled Korver on a sloppy close-out to contest a jumper. He hit a turnaround jumper over Korver from 16 feet out. He iso'd on the right side (playing SF with Mihm and Giles out there) and drew a foul on a drive right. Good cut with speed, but then he fumbled away the pass from Coby. He airballed a pull-up over Milsap from 14 feet out.

Fisher -- -- DFish teamed up with Bynum for the play of the game. Fish lost the ball in transition (pushing the break, not his strength), but went to the floor after it (hustle, heart are his strengths) and he came up with it. With eyes behind his head, he no-looked over his head to Bynum from the floor for a dunk. Brilliant pass. Fish played strong on both ends. He had his jumper going early, until it faded later on. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-9 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. The Action: He tossed a ball out of bounds in transition. He drained a top-of-the-key jumper after letting his man fly by and moving in for a closer look. He hit a long pull-up jumper, getting a nice bounce. He had his dribble deflected on the break, went to the floor to recover it, then no-looked over his head from the FT line to Bynum under the hoop for the dunk. Second Half: He drained a wing 18-footer, pulling up in transition. He sank an open baseline jumper off an Ariza swing pass. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a long wing jumper on the next play, forcing it a bit. He missed an open baseline jumper. He missed another baseline jumper. He set up Powell for FTs off the two-man game. He gave up an And-1 to Williams, undercutting him on a jumper. He missed a runner in the lane.

Ariza -- -- Trevor got some of the Phil love by getting the starting nod as Bynum came off the bench. He played more minutes than any other player and got into double digits in the scoring column. He showed some great off the ball cutting, a smooth jumper and some athleticism on D. Laker fans will keep a close eye on his perimeter shot this preseason. He was 1-2 from the perimeter tonight. The rest of his action coming around the rim. Good, active minutes from Trevor. Those types of games will definitely translate as the regular season approaches. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go wtih 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls. The Action: He dunked when Lamar spotted him in the lane in transition. He fouled on a reach in attempt. He gave up a dunk to Miles. He got caught in no-man's land on a drive and threw it away, leading to a dunk on the other end. He missed a wing three on a kickout from Heath. Second Half: Nice cut off Bynum, he took the handoff and stretched for an And-1 reverse layup, he made the FT. He drew FTs, fouled while trailing the break and collecting a pass, he made one FT. He just missed a tip-in of a Lamar missed FT. He swished a face-up jumper at the top of the key. He swiped a pass, gave it up, got it back and finished high over AK on the break. He blocked Korver on help D when Vlad got beat.

Bynum -- -- Bynum looks stronger, thicker and more capable of banging in the post, but it was is finesse game that shined early. He showed some nice touch on a variety of jumpers (turnaround, dropstep, catch and shoot). His strength worked well in tandem with his finesse game. He fought for better position. He dislodged opponents out of their spots. And looked like he will be a load. His overall game was still not there, as he acknowledged with some timing issues. You could see that in turnovers, missed lob sequences, lack of blocked shots and mis-timed anchor duties. Because of that, Bynum came off the bench for Pau to start. He started the second half, however. The coaches seemed make a point that they want to see the same two-way effort that he had just prior to his injury. In one game, it looked to me like simple timing and conditioning issues that will get better. Getting a few games under his belt and some better conditioning will go a long way toward that. He'll need to clean up the turnovers and keep the ball moving. His teammates did a good job of giving it to him quite a bit, and Bynum looked more like a go-to guy than he has. It's preseason, so the level of trust may be equal to the level of game intensity. But Bynum certainly looked like a better post target. Let's keep an eye on how this develops as the preseason progresses. The size of this write-up shows how much action he got. Drew will also need to do a better job of gathering himself and powering up. Bynum was taking shots with his left in pre-game warm-ups...always nice to see. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 1 assist, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls. The Action: He entered the game after 5 minutes when Pau had to sit with a bloody lip. He sank his first shot, popping from the weakside of the Tri off a Kobe screen and hitting the FT jumper (never hesitated, the kind of shot that the Lakers would normally set up for Pau). He got blocked from behind trying power up off the two-man game from Kobe. He dropstepped away from the double and sank a baseline 8-footer. He got early position in transition, ball faked and then hit the 9-foot And-1 from the mid-post, he made the FT. He tripped trying to spin backdoor and couldn't recover to get the lob dunk. He missed a little hook when the offense stalled with the ball in his hands and he had to create. He dunked when DFish went to the floor for a loose ball and no-looked over his head to Drew for the throwdown. Great first stint with 9 points, missing one shot. He got stripped trying to create in the post, a little slow developing. He couldn't power up over a double team in the post, missing a short one off balance. He finished the half with 9 points on 4-7 shooting with 4 boards and 3 turnovers. Second Half: He handed off to Trevor for a reverse layup (we could see a lot of that). He faced up from the left elbow, attacked off one dribble with a crowd around and hit a layup over Okur with his left (great two steps to finish, his power and finesse at display on one play). He kept an offensive board alive, but had his shot knocked away by AK. He was called for a reach in, looked like a clean strip. He backed his man down before getting the ball, took the entry pass off a ball reverse and hit the jumphook with his left after getting the good post position. He got stripped putting the ball on the floor as a guard quickly doubled. He took the post feed, attacked to his left, up-faked and drew a foul, he made both FTs. He was blocked on a long turnaround, looked like a foul.

Radmanovic -- -- Vlad played both the PF and SF spots in the game. He had some sloppy sequences and possessions, but also made a few plays. Vlad coming off the bench is where we need him. He'll give us some spark there and his up and down game won't hurt you as much. I would worry about those PF minutes, but Pau played 5...so it should be very rare that we see that. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. The Action: He came off the bench for LO at the PF spot, lost the ball right away. Good board, slapping it down away from Collins on the D end. He hit a rainbow from a steep angle on the edge of the right baselinebaseline. Nice bounce pass from the low post to Farmar cutting baseline for the layup (that play is all about Farmar's quick cut). He swished a catch-and-shoot three from the right wing, coming off a screen. He fumbled a pass away, just not looking it into his hands. Second Half: He missed an open three. He swiped a lob pass with some good anticipation on D.

Farmar -- -- A very well-rounded game from Farmar. He wasn't put in the grinder by Deron like he was in the playoffs, and he generally matched up with the smaller guards. So, his weaknesses in that regard were neither tested nor exposed. He made the most of it while out there. Some good D, jumping the passing lanes, contesting shots and causing trouble. Offensively, he drained a couple of threes and turned some of those steals into easy breakaway scores. Farmar's improvement will go a long way in the improvement of the team as a whole. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-8 shooting (2-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and no fouls in 22 minutes. The Action: He drained a three off a Kobe kickout on his first attempt shortly after entering the game. Bad read trying to lob to Bynum who wasn't rolling (Bynum messed up a few people on those). He scored a reverse with a strong cut on the baseline when the ball went into Vlad in the post. He missed a layup off the weakside attack, tried using his body against AK, but should have still finished it. He stole the pass on the other end and took it the distance on the next play for a layup. Excellent challenge on Price on the perimeter to force a bricked jumper. He had 7 points on 3-4 shooting in 10 minutes in the first half. Second Half: He drained a catch-and-shot wing three. He missed a 19-footer. He swiped a ball at midcourt, jumping the lane and pushing it up for another uncontested layup. He airballed a hurried catch-and-shoot jumper from the left side. He missed another long one, this time from the right wing and pulling up off the dribble. Nice drive, drawing contact, but he missed an easy And-1, he made both FTs. He couldn't connect with Giles for a lob dunk. He got tripped for FTs, made one.

Powell -- -- Powell handled himself well in his 13 minutes. He entered the game at PF at the 8 minute mark of the second quarter and quickly made his presence felt on the glass. While he does not swat or anchor a defense like Ronny, he showed good lateral speed and a nose for the ball. His 2 offensive boards led the team in that category. This is something Phil wanted the team to make a better effort at. That one area could earn him some minutes. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (2-2 from the line), grabbed 6 boards, had 1 turnover and 2 fouls. The Action: AK shot an airball over him. He pulled down a brick from Vlad on the offensive glass and reset the offense. He flashed to the FT line and hit a jumper, working oout of the offense (that will be there for PFs a lot). He missed a turnaround jumper over Brewer. He hit Mbenga with a quick pass on the break for FTs. Good hustle to again pull down an offensive board off a miss from the perimeter. He had 2 points and 5 boards in the first half. Second Half: He missed a layup with his left in transition. He threw an inbounds away for a hoop. He missed another layup trying to power it over Milsap. He drew FTs when Fish set him up off the two-man game, he made both.

Karl -- -- Coby described fighting for a roster spot as a war. The opening salvos were traded. He started the second quarter in the other Kobe's spot, normally Sasha's role. He missed all three of his attempts, but he also managed to lead the team in assists. Heath and Giles also showed well. Crawford didn't do too much in this one. The Stats: He scored 1 points on 0-3 shooting (1-2 from the line), pulled down 2 boards, had 5 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. The Action: He missed an open three, a little long. Good challenge in transition to force a miss, he might have gotten a piece of that with his long wingspan. He was blocked trying to beat the shotclock on a tough jumper. Second Half: He missed a wing three to start the fourth. Good use of his body to draw contact in early offense on the break, he drew FTs making one. Poor foul tyring to close out on a bigman shooter with shotclock low and running into him.

Mbenga -- -- He came off the bench for Mihm late in the second half. Not much impact in his few minutes. Mihm vs. Mbenga is another small storyline in the preseason. Essentially, if Mihm is back to himself, he probably has the job. To me, that's what it looked like tonight. The Stats: He played 5 minutes, scoring 2 points on 0-1 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go wtih 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul. The Action: He was called for goaltending on a nice looking help D swat. He bricked a pull-up jumper with the shotclock low. He drew FTs on the break taking a feed from Powell, he made one FT. He telegraphed a pass badly for a turnover, then goaltended the shot on the other end. He drew FTs when Heath found him in the lane on a short pass, he made one.

Mihm -- -- He came in the game to start across Bynum as a PF in the second quarter. This was an odd lineup as he matched up with AK. I doubt we'd ever see this match up in a real game. Mihm played much smoother in his 14 minutes than he has looked in the past couple years. Granted, he still had foul issues, but some of those were on the match-up with AK. I'd expect him to still be foul prone as he was even at the top of his game (Chris Three Fouls at a Mihmimum). What we need to look for is how well he hits that offensive glass and if he can provide that occasional anchor D. The best part of his game in the past was going to the front of the rim and getting tip ins and boards. Keep an eye on that as a sign he's back. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-2 shooting (1-2 from the line), no boards and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. The Action: Good contest on a Korver reverse and we got the miss. He quickly picked up two fouls on AK's dribble penetration. He picked up his third foul shortly later contesting a drive. He finally got back on AK, overpowering him easily and hitting the jumphook. Second Half: He hit a wing jumper off the pick and pop. He was hit on a turnaround 10-footer in the lane for FTs, he made one.

Crawford -- -- Pretty good man D both on and off the ball. He's got a tough challenge to make the team. Heath is showing more activity, as is his game. Crawford plays quiet, but solid. Should be a good battle. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting in 6 minutes. The Action: He scored a layup when Heath pushed out an outlet and then found Crawford trailing.

Heath -- -- He played some PG and SG. Some decent man D, having to fight through a lot of screens but was able to challenge a few shots. I liked his overall activity. He's always been an aggressive player and his combo-guard game fits well in the Tri. Good showing in his first game. The stats don't really tell much of a story. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-1 shooting (2-4 from the line) grabbed 1 board, dished 1 assist, had 2 turnovers and no fouls in 9 minutes. The Action: He attacked baseline and kicked out to Trevor who missed. He hit Mbenga in a crowded lane for FTs after attacking off the dribble. He traveled on a weakside handoff and attack. He drew FTs on a cut off the ball with the Tri messed up, he made one FT. He spun after taking the pass, attacked aggressively in transition and dumped it off to Crawford for the layup. He missed an open wing jumper, pulling up with a few seconds left in the half. Second Half: He drew FTs setting a screen off the ball in the paint, he made one. He threw it right to a Jazz player on the periemter for a TO (looked like he thought that was a Laker).

Giles -- -- Giles showed well for himself in the first game. Some good sequences on both ends. His lankly arms and length came into play on a few sets. He displayed some good lateral speed at times. We are stacked in our bigman spot, so it will be tough for him to make it, but the battle has just started. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting, grabbed 2 boards, had 1 assist and 1 foul in 12 minutes. The Action: Didn't play in the first half. Second Half: Nice show and recover on D, but he got out of position on the glass and had to foul Milsap. Good display of length pulling down a D board on one end, on the other he took the entry pass, turned and quickly hit from the right side over Korver from 15 feet out. He took an entry pass, turned with good separation and hit the long jumphook. He missed a fade in the post. Nice challenge on Milsap in the paint, forcing an airball.

Rambis -- -- Kurt had to take over for Phil who was suffering from an alergic reaction to some medication he was taking. The Lakers are playing it safe considering Phil's age and history... Rambis said it was Phil's decision to have Bynum come off the bench. He said Bynum has to be ready to play both ends of the court -- all the time, not some of the time. It looked to me like Bynum still needed to get into game shape... Key players not playing in the game: Sasha Vujacic, Sun Yue, Luke Walton, Carlos Boozer, Matt Harpring... The Lakers had to mix up their rotation when Pau had to sit with a bloody lip. He was on fire and Bynum picked up right where he left off upon entering... The Lakers shot 12-16 to the Jazz 7-20 in the first quarter. The Lakers had 9 turnovers to their 2, however. The Lakers led 26-19... They started a Bynum, Mihm, Vlad, Coby, Farmar lineup at the beginning of the second quarter. Unique... The Lakers had 15 first-half turnovers, but still led 42-40. Their biggest lead was 10 points. They shot 58 percent to the Jazz 37 percent. The Lakers out-rebounded the Jazz by 10. The Lakers didn't hang out a the three line, shooting just 2-4 from three to the Jazz 1-7 in the half... The Lakers trailed 76-69 after three. The turnovers and mix-and-match lineups making it tough to stay in the game... The fourth quarter was mostly "garbage time" type of minutes. Pretty sloppy and ugly. Starters watching from the bench... The Lakers went 1-7 from three in the second half on their way to shooting 51 percent for the game. The team ended up with 23 turnovers, 10 more than the Jazz. They outrebounded the Jazz by 12...

[City_Dawg]

Well,well,well

Back in the saddle again i see, nice to see the emoticons again DB!
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*sighs*

!...

[mrdectown]

He's BAAAAAAACk!!! Thanks DB
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I guess i'm not a business suit wearin guy like you,I'm a gangsta i suppose. Avon Barksdale

[AllorNothing]

Heath is very active and seems to have pretty decent handles. Looks like Karl might have a real problem making the team this year.

[tw-lakbfan]

Goo to have the smilies back.

Powell, Bynum, Ariza, not bad.

Radman, same old.

[tony smith]

only now can we say the laker season has finally begun. stellar as always, DB.

[DancingBarry]

[LakerSanity]

Nice to be back reading some good ole DB. Thanks!
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[chubby_1_kenobi]

It's a shame that among the ones most likely to be cut, CJ Giles showed the most promise tonight.

It's a shame because the Lakers have too many players competing for the 4 and 5 positions already.
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Eighth grade key phrases are crucial tools for this type of subterfuge: "team player", "make teammates better", "ballhog", "selfish", "court vision": all dripping with sanctimony and defamation.

[Addicus]

Tonight I saw something that I thought the Celtics had beat out of us. I saw a lot of the guards ignore the post and jack up shots with 14 or so seconds on the shot clock from long range.

Me not happy with that at all.
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Stop crying and start doing.

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

[MedRomLaker]

Glad to see the chief back in action, great write up DB, wasn't to sure if I would see one for this game, glad to see you back in regular season form.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[Mation]

Thanks DB! This always makes reading much, much more fun.

Farmar looks like he picked up some speed in the off-season. Just a blur on the screen. Powell looks perfect for this team. So unselfish and a board-crasher. He'll soak up the triangle like a sponge. Bynum and Pau impressive on their own. Can't wait to see them together! Mihm not bad himself.

A little too much dunks for the Jazz. Hope we see a lot less of that as the pre-season goes on.

[KingKobe20]

FInnally !!! We are offically kicking off the season

Everyone looks okay.

We still need to start Bynum and Pau on the court together!!!!

[LongtimeLakerLover]

Thanks DB, 'cause my FIOS was and still is out!
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I love LA........WE LOVE IT!

[IPK]

[Tanlentueux]

thanks man. nice to have you back!

[waterman40]

Thanks, hopefully the wifey understands.
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LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[KGBTRIO]

ariza looks good. i'm also excited to see his performance vs lamar this year, as they are essentially playing for a long term deal next summer as the lakers starting 3.

[michaelchua7]

awesome! just a little mistake. bynum didn't get 4 blocks, he got 4 fouls. haha.

lovely writeup, havent read one of these since the boston massacre..

good job db!

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. Looking at the box score (I missed the game ), I see Karl tied Bryant for a team high 5 assists. Looks like he understands the triangle more even though his shot was off.

Great to hear about Drew hitting perimeter shots. He should compliment Pau well in the reg season.

[wolfpaclaker]

Since it's preseason, it's not fair to judge them on team execution.

I will say that I agree on Bynum being looking better. While his timing was way off, and it showed moreso on the defensive end, the best thing was that he showed great touch around the rim with his short jumpers. This is something that he needed to develop to become a 20 ppg scorer on a good/great team. He needs to be extremely aggressive in the low post because while Phil disagrees I think this team will greatly benefit from a 2nd player who is very aggressive in scoring the ball.

Defensively, I thought Bynum was very poor for his standards, but it will come. Bynum looked about the same last year in his preseason, with slightly less confidence on the offensive end. IMO his defense will come with time.

Not impressed by any of the scrubs - and pretty much everyone else looks the same.

Kobe - looks like he's still Kobe ... one of the best in the game on O, and very good at anticipating on D.
Pau - studly on offense ... still a skill player than a power player.
LO - his timing looked off, but his passing, dribbling skills, rebounding .. still his three biggest strengths. LO was coasting though, I think he needs to play harder.
Fish - knocked down those jumpers per usual. Still ignores pass options because he's a shoot first, pass second guard.
Ariza - looked good, but tends to go for too many steals IMO too much gambling. Not a 3 point shooting threat, but his jumper from inside the arc looks solid. Like his ball anticipation a lot.
Farmar - seems the same, only thing he needs to do is improve decision making which in his case isn't going to be that tough. Take it to hole more Jordan, and you'll be exactly what we need off the bench.
Radmanovic - foul magnet on D and still a good shooter, his only strength and asset to this team. I like Rad at 3, more than 4 though. Think playing him at 4 will be a mistake against most teams.
Mihm - still a foul machine, post moves looked better, needs to play C not PF. Definitely a 3rd string C behind AB + Pau.

I think outside of AB, no one really looked any different. They all seem about the same. Which really isn't a bad thing considering the talent off the team. Am I the only one who thought that?

One concern I have is team chemistry. While it's very, very early, Phil does need to figure out what to do with Bynum and Odom. Bynum seems a lot better individually, but can improve a lot in the team aspect. But if he sets his mind on scoring, we need to go to him more in the low post. Odom will not fare well with the cloud of being benched hanging over his head. Phil needs to define to both, where they stand. I can see some issues if their roles aren't ironed out quickly.

[limchrc]

Thanks.

[prisma8slg]

Thanks DB

As expected, they looked sloppy at times. But the more they play together, the better they're gonna get.

I liked what I saw from Powell.
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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."

[Sage_10]

Glad to hear about Bynum's play.
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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

[moonriver24]

I am just glad that everyone was not in bad mood after this loss.
No screaming. No ruh ruh ruh.
What's the secret?
Keep it this way folks.

Kudos to DB for a great recap as always.
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