LAKERS -at- TWOLVES - 2/22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Playing With Fire... The beam from the flashlight cuts through the bitter night air as you scan the trail from side to side. The snow crunches beneath your feet. It's the only sound you hear until a lone howl breaks the silence. It's joined by two or three more ... a pack of wolves.

You recall the feral dogs that you've run into on other occasions. You're on the right trail. You pick up the pace and head in their direction. The closer you get to the sounds of snarling beasts and snorting horses, you start to look for some kind of weapon. What if the Horsemen don't win this battle? It dawns on you that, it might be possible. You grip the flashlight tighter.

You reach a clearing littered with trash, a small pile of it is burning in the middle and smoke rises from the ashes. Glowing cinders fall like reddish-orange snowflakes. You kneel down and look at the tracks in the snow. Horse hooves mixed with the prints of wolves. From all appearances, it looks like a close battle.

With no one around, you head over to the fire to warm up. You grab scraps of trash and throw it onto the flames. You kick a cardboard box into the fire. Your momma taught you not to play with fire, but your inner pyro gets the best of you sometimes. Things inside that box begin to pop and crackle. Perhaps, you should have opened that up and examined it.

Something whistles like a steam kettle, the box shakes and the pops get louder. You take a step back, wincing and turning away just in time. An explosion shreds the box, flaming debris cover you. Your coat catches on fire. You let out a startled, "Yeeshh!" Then jump to the ground and make snow angels as the flames go out with a sizzle.

You take a sign of relief and close your eyes, then hear growling from a tree next to you. One of the feral dogs slowly approaches from the shadows. It holds a paper in its teeth. "Nice puppy," you say. He snarls in reply. You're about to forget getting this note and back away, but the dog drops the paper next to you and trots off. You open it up. DancingBarry:

Three of the Four Horsemen were here. They tried to tame the beasts. They should have known better. The soft approach nearly cost them...but the battle ended as it should. The horsemen took it. Barely.

I will continue to follow them...

The Lakers have prepared fans for the inevitable close game against cellar-dwellers with previous soft performances. They play down to their opponents. Yes, it's playing with fire and has caused them a few burns, but it is what it is. It could cost them home court advantage, extra minutes for starters, but the intensity and focus they lack in these games won't be a problem on the playoff stage.

They never had a large lead to blow, but the Lakers pulled ahead late and hung on 111-108. Typically, their problems manifest themselves on the defensive end, where effort and intensity is key. Tonight was no different. Phil called the defense "pathetic." He highlighted a Telfair layup and Miller three down the stretch as some of the bigger breakdowns. (Luke and DFish getting caught on those plays.)

"They were on fire as a team," Lamar said of the TWolves. But as is usually the case, so are the Lakers. Both teams shot over 50 percent.

Offensively, the Lakers can kill opponents in a variety of ways, and, indeed, in the final few minutes just about every starter made some type of key offensive contribution. "That's the strength of our team is our depth. Anybody can step up at any given time," Lamar said.

The Lakers went to Kobe in the post throughout the game. He scored easily from there, but also drew extra defenders to create for others. "That liberated other guys on the floor," Phil said.

Kobe led the way with 28, while LO and Pau added 25 each. The Lakers improved their league leading record to 46-10.


Kobe -- -- Kobe passed Elgin Baylor to become third on the all-time Laker scoring list. He's now about a thousand points behind Kareem and another thousand after from catching West. "The Lakers have such a rich tradition of some and rich history of some of the top players ever to play," Kobe said. "To have my name mentioned among those greats is an awesome feel." Kobe worked the post relentlessly throughout the game. Foye was getting schooled. Doubles came and Kobe was trying to pick apart the D with the pass. Some sloppy, turnover sequences, but the Lakers fed off the Kobe post work offensively. Down the stretch, Kobe missed a point-blank layup, a three and a freethrow in the final minute. I don't recall him blowing a layup like that for a long time. He helped close the door with a couple FTs with 7.8 seconds. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 11-21 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-7 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 6 turnovers and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. The Action: He missed a turnaround over a double team. He ball-watched and it cost the Lakers a three. He traveled in the post. He sank an easy 14-foot turnaround. Same spot next time down and he hit it again. He hit Pau trailing the break for the easy score. He drop-stepped and went glass in the post for a score. He missed a hanging jumper in the lane. He shed his man when Pau gave him the high-low for a dunk. Back in the post, he hit the short turnaround in the lane. He posted up and hit LO for a score. He was called for an offensive foul posting up. He posted up and hit Pau for the score. He threw a pass away around the double team. He hit a turnaround in the paint. Second Half: He dunked off an outlet from Luke, getting ahead of the D on a turnover (he passed Elgin with that score). Again out on the break, he drew FTs, he made both. He scored a layup off the backdoor lob from LO. He missed a face-up jumper from about 17 feet. He missed a turnaround. He hit LO for a dunk (all kinds of contact on the pass off under the hoop). He missed a 21-footer. He swished an open wing jumper. He attacked and threw it away, layup the other way. He held the ball too long and we couldn't get a shot off at the end of the third. His turnaround jumper was blocked (looked like a goaltend). He bricked a wing three. He curled around the Pau screen and scored the And-1 layup off two long strides, he made the FT. He hit a baseline turnaround with 1:25 left. He choked a point-blank layup with a minute left. He missed a wing three next time down, but LO saved him with a tip in. He was fouled after grabbing the Gomes airball, he missed the first and made the second with 14.1 left to give the Lakers a 4-point lead. After a TWolves three, he was fouled on the in-bounds, he made both FTs with 7.8 seconds left to lead by 3.

Gasol -- -- Pau was a +8 tonight, showing once again the difficulty we are having while trying to survive without him as our center. Powell was a -5, Mbenga a -6 trying to fill those minutes. On the good side, Phil was able to hold Pau to 39 minutes. Pau was a little off on some late-game defensive challenges behind the three line. He and Lamar got totally confused on one, resulting in an open three attempt. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 9-13 shooting (7-10 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 39 minutes. The Action: He scored easily over Love in the post on his first attempt. He missed an easy one in the post, got it back, though. He busted out, took a long outlet and scored a layup on the fly. He scored a layup off the bullet pass from Kobe in transition. He hit Kobe on the high-low for a dunk. He blocked Gomes's layup. He posted up and drew FTs on a reach, he made one. He choked a layup set up by Farmar, should have dunked it. He hit a turnaround in the lane with high arch. He dunked off the no-looker from Farmar. He hit a jumphook off the Kobe post-up and dish. He dunked off the lob from Luke (double went early to Kobe, leaving Pau). He hit a FT jumper, getting hit with no call at the end of the half. Second Half: He missed an easy layup. He sealed Love and drew FTs, he made both. He was fouled under the hoop when Kobe hit him from the post, he made both FTs. He blocked Love under the hoop. He swished a FT jumper. He missed a baseline jumper in transition. He was fouled on the interior feed from Luke, he missed both FTs. He posted up, went to the dribble and drew FTs, he made both. He forced a pass to Luke under the hoop, picked off easily.

Lamar -- -- Lamar did a great job with some of his second-unit minutes while Pau was out in the fourth. He kept that unit afloat, then he stepped up with a critical tip in of a Kobe miss with 20 seconds left. He had 10 points and 5 rebounds in that fourth quarter. He continues to be aggressive, especially off the ball, but his shooting tonight was there for him. He drained a few jumpers and was solid from the line. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 10-14 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 14 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed a layup in transition. He gave up an And-1 on a jumper to Gomes. Good challenge on one end, he then hit the turnaround on the other. He nailed a catch-and-shoot 21-footer. He hit a pull-up in the corner working the two-man game. He scored a layup off the dive cut when Kobe was in the post. He bricked a tough catch-and-shoot, not squaring up. He missed a short jumphook at the front of the rim. He cut off Kobe's double, fumbled the pass, but eventually scored the layup. Second Half: He lobbed backdoor to Kobe for the score. He sealed and quickly scored a layup, looking for the And-1 that didn't come. Nice challenge on a short runner on help D to force a miss. He attacked off the pinch post with speed and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked and kicked to Luke for the jumper. He stole the ball in the backcourt from Love, hit Kobe, got it back and dunked. He scored an And-1 layup on an extra pass from Sasha, he made the FT. He was called for a charge trying to create off the dribble. He scored an And-1 layup off the Farmar steal, he made the FT. He airballed a runner. He drew FTs off another backcourt scramble and steal, he made both. He tipped in a Kobe miss with his right with 20 seconds left to give the Lakers a 3-point lead. He and Pau got confused on a switch and Gomes, thankfully, airballed a wide open three on the other end.

Luke -- -- Luke hit a huge crunch-time three out of a timeout, setting up on the sideline while Kobe and Pau worked the two-man game. Unfortunately, like the rest of the squad, he seemed to give it right back with some weak D on the other end. Still, some steady minutes from Luke. Glad he was able to drain those threes and stretch the floor. Hopefully, stringing some of these games together will help him gain confidence in his jumper and increase his effectiveness from the perimeter. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He swished a corner three on his first attempt. He lobbed to Pau for the dunk. Second Half: He missed a long jumper. He hit Kobe with the long outlet for a score. Poor angle on D and it led to a layup. He missed a pull-up in transition. He hit a baseline jumper off the kickout from Lamar. He missed a step-back off the glass. He missed a three from the left side. He drilled a sideline three with 2:30 left out of a timeout. He sagged off Miller on the other end and gave it right back.

Fisher -- -- DFish drew another charge and hit another three in crunch time. It wasn't as dramatic as the last game, but those are two of the things he does the best. He and Luke both hit big threes. Unfortunately, they both gave up big hoops. Fish gave up an uncontested layup that was a total breakdown by him and the team in the final minutes. Defensively, he seemed to also get caught ball-watching. There were a lot of switches where he would match up with someone else, but get stuck in no-man's land instead of staying with the switch. It resulted in several breakdowns. The team just wasn't on the same page throughout the game. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (2-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a three. He was tripped in the lane and drew FTs, he made one. He got hit on a jumper with no call. He drew a moving screen call. He sank a pull-up from 18 feet. He ball-watched and gave up a three. He missed a sideline jumper in early offense. Second Half: He missed a three. He ball-watched again and gave up a three. He was stripped, dunk the other way. He missed a sideline jumper. He got a kind bounce on a long three, but then was called for an And-1 blocking foul in transition to give it back up to Foye. Poor D not staying with a man on a switch and it gave up a layup. He drew a charge on Gomes with 2:47 and a 1-point lead. He swished a wing three with 1:44 left. He didn't switch with Lamar and LO's man hit the three. He gave up a layup, no help D anywhere.

Ariza -- -- His inconsistency may make him affordable this offseason. Some games he brings it, others he gets lost in the shuffle. Ariza seemed to be out of sync like everyone on D. Offensively, he got caught in a couple awkward spots trying to hit the Kobe-like shots (leaners, banks, a fallaway). Luke has been getting some of those closing minutes with some good play. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He dunked on the bustout when Farmar stole the ball. He missed a difficult leaner from the right side. Poor pass into the feet of Powell, turnover. He attacked the lane and scored off the glass. Second Half: He attacked from the wing and missed the short bank. Horrible transition D, letting Carney leak out for an uncontested score when they were standing next to each other watching the Lakers attack on the offensive end. He was swatted on a turnaround. He missed a corner three.

Farmar -- -- Farmar had some very active hands and feet tonight. He was getting into passing lanes, deflecting passes, poking balls away. That's the best part of his defensive game, but he has to be careful not to gamble too much. He did a good job reading the passes, but again he did a fairly poor job reacting to some dribble penetration. Still, he led the team with a career high 6 steals, well done. Offensively, he played poorly. Some bad passes trying to force the ball through traffic. He did make a big three in the middle of the fourth. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 6 steals, 4 turnovers and 1 foul. The Action: He took the handoff from Pau, attacked baseline, reached out at the front of the rim and flipped it in. He attacked and hit Pau for what should have been an easy score, but Pau blew it. Poor corner entry pass, turnover. He knocked a ball loose, pushed out the break and hit Ariza for the dunk. He deflected a couple balls on one defensive stand before finally grabbing the defensive board. He deflected another pass on help D, Ariza then outlet to him and Farmar drew FTs, he made one. He poked a ball loose in transition, but then threw it away. He cut down the lane, took the pass and back-handed a no-looker around a defender to Pau for a dunk. He missed a pull-up from 18 feet in transition. He swiped an in-bounds pass then quickly bricked the corner jumper. Second Half: Horrible D on the two-man game, giving up an easy layup. He poked a ball loose from Miller on a reach. He attacked and forced a bad pass to Pau, turnover, layup the other way. Another poor pass in transition right into Kobe's shins, turnover. He missed a pull-up jumper, short. He deflected and in-bounds pass and it led to an And-1 for LO the other way. He drained a three midway through the fourth on the Pau kickout (gave up a layup on the other end).

Vujacic -- -- Sasha's best sequences seemed to come when he made the pass off. If he has defenders running him off the three line or draws a switch coming off the screens, that's what he has to do. The Lakers gave him a short-term contract because they were worried about him able to bring it consistently. He hasn't done that this season. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 assists and 1 foul in 11 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He jump passed to Powell off the screen and Powell knocked down the jumper. Second Half: Nice extra pass to Lamar for the And-1. He missed a runner, not close. He bricked a three out of a timeout.

Powell -- -- Poor game from Powell. Again, he had some moments where you wonder what the heck he's thinking on the offensive end. Trying to create for himself is not what we want. We don't need him trying to attack off the dribble. The face-up jumpers, the catch-and-shoots, that's what we want. Defensively, some very poor sequences out there. Craig Smith seemed to score layup after layup when they matched up together. At one point Phil went to Mbenga in the first half. In the second half, we survived the second unit. The Stats: The Action: He hit the baseline jumper off the Sasha pass. He missed a face-up jumper from the wing. Second Half: He tried to create, facing up and dribbling in the lane, turnover, FTs the other way. He attacked off the dribble and missed with his left. He faced up and swished a jumper from the left. side. He swished an elbow jumper off the Sasha pass.

Mbenga -- -- With Powell playing poorly on D and picking up a couple fouls, Phil went to Mbenga midway through the second quarter to get Pau some rest. You could see the sub coming. Powell was hurting the team. It was a brief stint for Mbenga, but he played it well. The Lakers didn't have their act together during his stretch, but it would be nice to see him get a few more stints. He had a couple nice defensive sequences. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot, had 1 block and 1 foul in 3 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He tapped a defensive board away from a man. He rejected pentration from behind Lamar. He got a piece of a shot when Luke had fouled a man. He tripped a guard who tried to split the double team. Second Half: He did not play.

Phil -- -- The Lakers attacked from the post early, while the TWolves worked on the perimeter. The Lakers led 29-26 after the first quarter... The Lakers started the second quarter with Pau, Powell, Ariza, Sasha and Farmar. The team started to give up dribble penetration and layups... Powell played poorly. Evetually Phil went to Mbenga to get Pau a little rest... The Lakers led 54-50 at the half. The Lakers shot 63 percent in the first half. The coaches were fine with the offense, but not happy with the penetration the Lakers were giving up.... Phil went to Powell for LO with under 3 minutes left in the third. Smith immediately scored several layups... The Lakers gave up the lead with that Pau, Powell, Ariza, Kobe, Farmar lineup and trailed 80-78 after giving up 30 points in the third quarter... He started a Powell, Lamar, Ariza, Sasha, Farmar lineup. The unit struggled, but they managed to get the TWolves into the penalty after 4 minutes. They trailed just 89-88 when Kobe returned with Pau... Up by 4, the Lakers gave up a three with 11 seconds left to lead by 1. The TWolves couldn't repeat on their next attempt and the Lakers hung on... Both teams scored 52 points in the paint and both had similar stats across the board. The TWolves had 5 more turnovers to total 20 for the game, off which the Lakers scored 22 points... "Our intensity has to pick up," Phil said...

[mhan00]

wow, that was quick

[BK]

Thanks DB

[mefor3]

Can't believe Kobe missed that open layup ...I think he was surprised by how opened he was...

No D in the last 5 min, we got away with one...again

[bryants2hot2handle]

thank you once again

[StuLantz#1]

While this one of those harder to watch games where most of the team is sleepwalking, the effort Odom put in really stood out. Kobe and Gasol had great numbers again, but Odom especially looked like he was leaving everything on the court.

[Luca Brasi]

it wasn't perfect effort. our defense was atrocious but we got the win, that's all that matters. as long as we keep winning it's hard to complain - we're 46-10 - that's pretty impressive, damn impressive if you ask me.
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"i was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine, but i'm climbin' up to the highlands, goin' to make that mountain mine" ~ Lakers, 2011

[Klone_dd]

Defense? Anyone? Bueller? It's just nerve-racking watching them win with an all-offense mindset. They could make it so much easier on themselves by playing some semblance of D.

LO played huge. He seems like a totally different player these days, so confident and comfortable.

[mhan00]

i've been getting extremely concerned about sasha. he just doesn't seem able to get any open looks and starts jacking up quick shots that he misses.

ariza has started to concern me a little bit too. he just hasn't really had the same impact nearly as often as he once did. luke has been outplaying him the last five games or so, and that is sad. i will say that i actually trust ariza more behind the 3 point arc than i do sasha now, though.

[LakerLanny]

How many games since Sasha has made at least half his shots?

He is brutal and needs to be excised from the rotation pronto.
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Love, Laker Lanny

[8750]

thnks, DB
every time i see our defensive strategy i become very skeptic... we have the worst weak side defense i ever saw, and always trying to switch and letting three pointers wide open is a sign of very low IQ from our coach... knowing his laziness and conservative attitude, i think that we'll not change strategy, and that looks like the biggest bump on the road to the championship...

[Raijin]

This team is scaring the (bleep) out of me. They're playing as if they want to lose each game. Seal the deal early and let the starters get some rest, so they can save their legs for the playoffs

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

pitiful win
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[TooCool]

Thanks DB as usual.
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[Shaber]

[Shaber]

Is it me or are the Lakers really tired?

At least Phil seems tired. Not by his looks, but by the way he does not react to the game again (it was more obvious in a game against Hornets, but this time was only slightly different).

Are we witnessing the impact of Drew? I mean we see the return of no-D-Lakers again...
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.

Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[AllorNothing]

I really want Sasha to big that spark plug off the bench like what he was last year. But seems to me he can't get open anymore possibly because they are defending him tighter than before.

He needs to step up.

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB! This quote makes me happy and sad about Ariza:

His inconsistency may make him affordable this offseason. Some games he brings it, others he gets lost in the shuffle.

Sad: He just doesn't seem like the Ariza that came out a blazing in the beginning of the year.

Happy: Price tag won't be too high so he can remain a Laker and develop into the player I hope he becomes.

"Bad" win but I'll take it!

[Texas_Pete]

Anybody see PJ's comments in LA Times about the T'Wolves nets?

[LakerSanity]

When Powell was a novelty and a luxury, it seemed cool to have a hustle player who could grab rebounds. Now that he's playing more minutes, you see why the guy has been a bench player his whole career. He doesn't play within himself and doesn't show a great basketball IQ out there. On offense, he too often ruins our offensive flow and on defense, he's often found out of position (not to mention is surprisingly not that great of an individual defender).

Ariza has also been disappointing of late in regards to his man D... which is the thing I most want from him.

With Powell and Pau's minutes, we're really starting to see how much we miss Bynum (and, in a lot of ways, how we miss Ronny as a back up PF/C).

That said, we're 46-10... LO is playing phenomenolly and Kobe is Kobe. Farmar looks to being playing better than he was before his injury, although Sasha needs to step it up a bit more (what happened to his shot this year?). Fisher has been super clutch and Luke actually seems to be playing better as time has gone on, looking like the Luke in early 2006-2008 that convinced us to give him this contract in the first place.
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[IPK]

^ awesome post. Very fair assessment.



And DB, what else can I say, but:

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

still can't believe kobe missed an open layup.
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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."

[limchrc]

I'm still happy to get the win.

[Sage_10]

Two games in a row the Lakers didn't deserve to 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

[ChefLinda]

And the Oscar for "Best Adapted Screenplay Describing a Sport Event" goes to....Dancing Barry!

I enjoyed Kobe's topical quote: "We were going for 'Best Drama."

Eh, I take these ugly wins with a grain of salt. It's February. I'm still glad we won.