LAKERS -at- THUNDER - 2/24 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Gunslingers... You stand in the middle of a dusty ghost town. For a moment, you pretend you're Clint Eastwood in a Spaghetti Western. You wince and try to look annoyed with everyone and everything.

To your right you hear what sounds like thunder, although the skies are perfectly clear and the sound isn't exactly impressive. It comes from within a saloon called "Durant's." A sign outside reads, "Harness your horses." That grabs your attention. As you approach the thunder is replaced by the hollow sound of horse hooves. Clippity-clop. Clippity-clop. You never imagined the Horsemen sounding like this.

You swing open the saloon door and stand there half-stunned. This is, indeed, a ghost town. The opaque occupants go about their business without even glancing in your direction. Several play cards and drink. Apparitions pound on a piano keyboard and pluck at guitar strings. There is no sound coming from their instruments. They've been silenced by someone. You side step them and follow the horse hooves. Clippity-clop. Clippity-clop. They are coming from a back room.

None of the floor boards -- actually none of the boards anywhere -- appear to be nailed down as you step gingerly on them and creep down the dark hallway. You can barely make out the images of young gunslingers on faded pictures hanging from the walls. Clippity-clop. Clippity-clop.

The sound is coming from a backroom. Your heart begins to race. Have you finally caught up to the Horsemen after all this time? The floor creaks too loudly under your weight. The sound of the horse hooves stops. A moment later, it is replaced by footsteps scampering in the backroom. They disappear. No! You dart for the door handle and open it. A window is open, the room is empty.

Empty, except for a large sheet of metal and two coconut shells gently rocking to a stop on the floor. You kneel down, pick them up and bang them together. Clippity-clop... clippity-clop. You toss them aside and lift up the sheet of metal, bending it back and forth brings the thunder sound. As you place it back down, you notice a poster that reads "Wanted Dead or Alive. DancingBarry." The rest of the poster has been scribbled out by DB and replaced with the following:

Three of the Four Horsemen were here. They went through the motions with what might call a half-assed effort. Death came late, but he silenced this ghost town quickly. In a battle of gunslingers, he was more than the young guns could handle.

I will continue to follow them...

P.S. Sorry about the coconuts. Couldn't resist. There's a few tracks out back if you're interested. Not much to look at, though.

Kobe Bryant returned to the game with just over 9 minutes left. He had watched the Laker lead fall to a single point, the Laker momentum disappear and the Thunder crowd starting to make more and more noise. He quickly went to work silencing them. He dropped 15 points in the remainder of the quarter as the Lakers pushed back out to a 107-93 win.

"It felt like the crowd got back into the game. I just wanted to take them out of it," Kobe said. The Lakers improved their league leading road record to 21-6. They haven't been as impressive against lesser foes lately, but they are still taking the wins.

Kevin Durant scored 32 points, but more damage was done on the glass. The Lakers didn't control the boards, getting out-rebounded 45-30. Most of that was from the 12-3 advantage the Thunder had on the offensive glass. Perhaps, it was a case of youthful energy working the boards in a big game, and some of the opposite for the Lakers. Again, against teams like this, there is not a whole lot to analyze here, although Phil said the difference in the fourth was getting "mature players on the floor."

Close wins against lesser teams allows him to preach. He spent time in the off day focusing on the pick and roll defense. He'll continue to have something to harp about as he fine tunes the team.


Kobe -- -- As mentioned, with the lead down to just 1 point in the fourth, Kobe returned to the floor and went to work, scoring 15 points and taking control of the game. Until that point, it was an average game from Kobe. He was sticking on the perimeter quite a bit in the first half and settling for jumpers. He did probe and pass off, but most his own shots were coming on iso pull-up jumpers. In the fourth, he mixed in a bit of everything and took defenders to school. Defensively, some weak rotations and effort at times. He dared his men to shoot for the most part. He passed Adrian Dantley for 19th on the all-time scoring list. He tweaked his foot off one drive and stayed a little later after the game to receive treatement. "It was my ankle, but I’ve got ankle insurance,” he said to the AP. “I’m fine.” The Stats: He scored 36 points on 13-21 shooting (0-3 from three, 10-13 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and no fouls in 33:47. He was a +17. The Action: He attacked and kicked to Luke for a three. He sank an elbow pull-up jumper. He kicked to LO for the corner three. He missed a pull-up 18-footer. He missed a baseline turnaround. He missed another turnaround over Thabo. He reverse jammed on the outlet from Pau. He sank a jab-step jumper from the right wing. He set up too far behind the three line and came up short on the open three when Pau kicked it out. He drained a wing jumper with his heels on the three line. He forced a jumper over Durant and bricked badly. He created space and hit the elbow jumper. He missed another jumper on iso. He kicked out to Fish for a three. He missed a three at the buzzer. Second Half: Quick first step on iso and he finally got to the line with an attack, he made one FT. He cut down the lane and drew FTs on the pass from Pau, he made both FTs. He swished a step-back wing jumper (passed Dantley on that shot). He lost Durant with a change-of-pace dribble (or fumble, hard to tell) in transtion to score a short jumper. He was called for a rare 5-second post-up call (looked like the ball was knocked loose and he then recovered it). He drained a hanging baseline fade after a cut down the lane. He was called for a travel in transition. Not even playing D on the other end on his man, giving up an open jumper. He attacked the lane and got hit on the jumper (fouled about three times that play), he made both FTs. Right off the bench in the fourth and he swished a sideline jumper. He pumped Weaver into the air and drew FTs, he made both. Next time down, another pumpfake on a spin, this time he swished the tough And-1 from the right side, he missed the FT. He lost his man with the step-through and flipped in the layup over a help defender. He swished a sideline jumper after crossing over, this forced a timeout midway through the fourth. He jump passed to Farmar under the hoop for a layup. He drew a foul off the ball and made both FTs. He missed a wing three, but we got it back. He turned the corner with speed and was drilled from the side to get back to the line (jammed his foot a little on this play), he made one FT. He fumbled a dribble out of bounds. He worked off the Powell screen, attacked with speed and scored the layup.

Gasol -- -- Phil was a little irked with how poorly we utilized Pau in this game. He certainly didn't look like the Western Conference Player of the Week. We seemed to struggle to establish any kind of a post game. The Lakers eventually lost the points-in-the-paint battle 34-30. Pau didn't bring his A game or A effort, either. Despite sitting the last couple of minutes, he still played a team-high 41:37 of action. Kobe went just 34 minutes. We might be able to cheat a few more minutes with Kobe on the second unit to keep them afloat and get Pau a little more rest if he looks like he's dragging. (Kobe tends to use Powell well on the two-man sequences. So more minutes of rest for Pau could be had there.) A blowout, however, would have been a better solution tonight. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 4-11 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls. He was a +10. The Action: He missed a turnaround jumper. He missed a jumphook off the glass, Luke got it back and Pau hit him for the layup. He kicked out to Fish for the three. He was fouled on a dunk attempt, he made both FTs. He outlet to Kobe who leaked out for the dunk. He scooped up a loose ball and scored with the jumphook. He threw a pass away, dunk the other way. He swished a long turnaround, taking some contact with no call. Second Half: He scored a reverse after grabbing an off-the-mark lob. He missed an open wing jumper. He was hit on a spin and hook with his left to earn FTs, he made both. He missed a tough turnaround in the lane. He missed a 21-footer trying to beat the clock. He spun off the Ariza pass and scored the layup. He missed a face-up jumper. He was foulded on the drive and dish from LO, he made both FTs. He missed a runner in the lane.

Lamar -- -- "I can't say half-assed on TV, can I?" LO asked Ireland in the postgame TV interview. That's how he described some of the play tonight. That certainly described some parts of his game, too. There was still some good effort from Lamar at times, though, especially in transition D. He was also active on the glass, but had some length in Green to battle. Unfortunately, few others were helping out in those areas, too. Offensively, however, LO tended to camp out. Not very aggressive except for the occasional sequence. He brought the ball up court and hung out on the perimeter quite a bit. Not getting to the line is usually a sign of LO not playing an aggressive offensive game. LO was a +21 in 40 minutes. The Lakers were -7 in those 8 minutes he wasn't out there. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-7 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 8 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 40 minutes. He led the team with a +21. The Action: He bricked an early offense corner step back. He sank a corner three on a kickout from Kobe. He threw a pass away, layup the other way. He picked up a foul on a nice shotblock attempt trying to help. He cut off Luke's post attack and threw down the huge dunk. Second Half: He attacked with speed and missed a layup, but kept it alive. He threw a pass away in transition, points the other way. He set up Pau for FTs off a drive. He couldn't finish a throwdown attempt on a drive to his left. He swished a late three on our final shot attempt.

Luke -- -- Another pretty good game from Luke. Defensively, he had to deal with Durant who is a tough cover at times. We did better in that matchup when we stayed tight on him. Anytime our attention got distracted, Durant was able to get open for scores. On most of the iso sequences, Luke was decent. It was on those scrambles and transition sequences where Durant seemed to make a living. Offensively, Luke's shot continues to look smooth. Again, he got off a quick start with several early hoops. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-7 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls. He was +11. The Action: He sank a good looking three from the right side when Kobe kicked out. He slapped a pass away from Durant and took it the distance for a layup. He blocked a man from behind on help D. He hustled for an offensive board, went to the floor after it and passed to Pau, who gave him a pass back for a layup. Soft kickout and Durant stole it, points the other way. He attacked his man on iso, spotted LO cutting and dished to him for the throwdown. He got tapped on a bank attempt trying to beat the shotclock. Second Half: He bricked a leaner on the attack and then fouled. He drained a quick catch-and-shoot jumper from the top of the key. He was called for a flagrant trying to take a foul in transition (lame call). He missed a short hook with his left after sealing his man under the hoop. He scored a layup trailing the break.

Fisher -- -- "I think everyone knows, you leave Fish, you're going to pay for it," Phil said after the game. Wearing the gold headband tonight, DFish put together a steady game. He has been hitting big fourth quarter shots for several games now. He came in the fourth tonight and promptly drained a couple. They weren't in the pressure cooker like the last two, but they kept the Thunder at bay. After a bad first defensive stand to start, he didn't have many other major issues with the opposing PGs. Having more rest lately seems to have helped a lot. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He ball-watched and got backdoored on the first play of the game. He sank a wing jumper after taking a dribble to his right. He swished a sideline three on the inside-out with Pau. He forced up a bad shot in early offense, layup the other way. He missed a sideline three. Bad pass in transition, dunk the other way. He missed a pull-up jumper. He swished the open sideline three on the Kobe kickout. Second Half: He missed a three. Back in, late in the fourth after a long stint from Farmar, he helped finish the Thunder off. He had his toe on the line on a three-pointer and sank the jumper. He then stole the in-bounds pass. He drained a wing jumper off the handoff from Luke.

Ariza -- -- Some feisty minutes from Ariza. Seemed like he had that aggressive activity going on both ends that usually leads to good games from him. His D against Durant in the fourth quarter had its moments, but he eventually picked up a tech after his fifth foul and had to sit. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He scored a layup, slashing off the Pau handoff. He traveled before passing it off. He scored a layup trailing the break. Second Half: He missed a difficult runner on an attack. He threw a pass away. He shoved Durant down on the offensive board, FTs the other way. He airballed a sideline jumper. He attacked baseline, twisted and flipped in a layup. He swiped a pass on the other end, was wrapped up from behind, but still managed to power in the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He was blocked on a drive. He gave up FTs to Durant, fouling him on a swing through. He then picked up a tech and Phil sent him to the bench.

Farmar -- -- The second unit looked in control and like they were attacking with purpose. Farmar looked more like a floor general than he has of late. He cut down one some of the wild forays and used Powell much better. Defensively, he got in on a couple nice steals and had a few good challenges. Looked like he had only one gamble that got him into trouble. Solid two-way game from Jordan. More of this, please. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 2 steals, no turnovers and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. The Action: He swished a corner jumper on the two-man sequence. He swished a catch and shoot three on the kickout. He hit Ariza trailing the break for the layup. He hit Powell on the pick and pop for a jumper (that's how you use him). He blindsided Collison on the other end for a steal. He swished a wing jumper working the two-man with Powell. Great help D to swipe the ball from Collison in a scramble under the hoop, he then pushed it out and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a tough runner off the glass in transition. He missed an 18-footer next time down. Second Half: He missed an open wing jumper. He scored a layup when Kobe jump passed to find him under the hoop.

Vujacic -- -- His one make was a bank job on a three. He continues his struggles and the moment Phil subbed him out for Kobe in the fourth, the momentum changed. A lot of that, of course, is Kobe...but Sasha had some weak moments. Best part of his game tonight was working a pick and pop with Powell. That's about it. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He banked in a three-pointer and winced back down court. He made a tech FT. He missed a corner three. He set up Powell on the pick and pop for a score. Second Half: He missed a 17-footer. Bad D on a shooter, undercutting him for and And-1 jumper. After an OC pass on the other end, Phil benched him.

Powell -- -- This game is how you use Powell. You don't dump to him to create for himself, you set the table for him. Great job working the two-man game in his first stint with the second unit. They used him on those screens much better, playing to our strengths and making the defense pay. He didn't score a lot, but the fact the offense played with purpose made for some stronger minutes by the bench. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting, grabbed 1 board, had 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and no fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed an elbow jumper. He drew a defensive three call when posting up (I'll take it). He sank an 18-footer off the two-man game with Farmar. He swished a wing jumper on the pick and pop with Sasha. Second Half: He missed an elbow jumper. In for Pau late, he drew a charge on Westbrook on an early offense attack. He took a long outlet, pulled it out, but then spotted Luke for the layup. He tried to create and missed the jumper.

Phil -- -- The Lakers opened up a quick 10-point lead off a 14-4 run. The lead was trimmed a bit after some sloppy passing by the Lakers and poor hustle in transition D. This forced Phil to call a timeout... He brought in the Farmar/Ariza duo after the timeout. Both got in on some scores and the Lakers led 32-22 after the first quarter... We started the second quarter with the Pau, Powell, Ariza, Sasha, Farmar lineup. Later swapped LO and Pau. They went on a 10-0 run at one point... They pulled out to an 18-point lead, but it was cut back to 13 with 5 minutes left, so Phil called timeout and went back to starters... They led 56-44 at the half, getting 20 points from the bench. Very controlled Lakers second unit. They finally played with some purpose. The Lakers shot 56 percent to the Thunder's 42 percent. The Lakers were out-scored 24-14 on points in the paint... The coaches were irritated with the poor shot selection and turnovers leading to fastbreaks... Phil went to Powell for Lamar at the 4:45 mark of the third. The lead was cut to 10 shortly later and Phil called a timeout. He then went with our full second unit lineup that started the second quarter... Poor close to the third and the Lakers led just 75-68 heading into the fourth... Phil brought in LO for Powell to start the fourth. The Thunder pulled to within 1 on a 15-2 run... Phil benched Sasha for Kobe after a couple bonehead plays. Kobe on what was going through his head while the lead disappeared in the fourth: “If I don’t check in within the next 2 minutes, I’m just not going to sleep very well tonight,” Bryant said. “It’s about time for me to go in and do what they ask me to do.” The Lakers went on a run after he returned to take control. They won the fourth quarter 32-25... The Lakers shot 53 percent to the Thunder's 42 percent...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The moment Kobe returns in the fourth the Lakers went on a 10-2 run. Phil ran Pau 21 straight minutes in the second half.

[zalltime]

nicely done

[kobay]

good recap.

for as much crap we give luke, he had a great game out there tonight.
_________________
"In my opinion, I always agreed that Kwame was and would always be better than Bynum. The kid is a defensive stud and has some real potential. Bynum will be good, but Kwame has 25/15 potential."
-anonymous

[LOGoods7]

great job

[mefor3]

"I can't say half-assed on TV, can I?" that was hillarious

thanks DB !

[Dr. Laker]

I thought Powell was hurting the team tonight.
_________________
On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[10scott10]

Luke has really been starting to play well recently.

He looks like the guy who signed the contract, not the guy who has been limping around since then

[IPK]

Good T&R DB! ( @the p.s--COCONUTS!!!) It definitely wasn't half-assed. Wait.....can I say that?
_________________
Our tribute to Phil, the man behind LG

[Spirit]

Love those introductory write-ups, DB. You really should think about getting a fictional novel published.

[DancingBarry]

[lakersfreak]

DB

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[IPK]

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

Great to see Kobe with a good FG percentage tonight. Amazing how one man can silence a crowd. If/when OKC becomes a playoff team, they will have an outstanding arena supporting them. I was surprised how loud it got for a team with that type of record.

[limchrc]

Nice win. Nice closeout by Kobe.

[prisma8slg]

[1hu2ren3dui4]

but dont say it again.
_________________
-Most people learn by saying mother, numb, horse, angry... I learned mine by saying Lakers, add gas. - HRD.

[joeblow]

Kobe's 4th quarter was insane. Sounds cliche, but I'll miss his greatness when he's gone. No other Laker on the team has the ability to come in and single-handedly put a tight game away like that.

[lakerfn4lfe]

DB,

You're part of the reason newspapers have declining readers. I enjoy your articles more than I do the Los Angeles Times or LA Daily News. In fact, I wonder why I continue to subscribe to newspapers when I can get all the information I need from sites like this.

Oh well, I guess I have to have a vice of some kind. Reading seems to be mine.

[Addicus]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

fun game to watch. now lets beat phx x2
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Klone_dd]

It's really amazing to see a player with so much competitive fire enter a game and just take control. Kobe did it with such methodical precision, not with any kind of head-down, barrel-into-the-lane force, but pure knowledge of the situation, knowing where to attack, who's in what position and what's the outcome. Defending MVP-like.

Good support by Fish and Luke.

[Burgundy]

As always, fantastic write-up DancingBarry! I really look forward to your game reviews because they always provide something that most stories don't: the nuts and bolts of the action. Plus, I've thoroughly enjoyed your intro write-ups this season (the coconuts was a nice touch).

I feel like Phil needs to start mixing up the line-ups a little more. That second unit lineup of Farmar, Sasha, Ariza, Powell, and Pau is absolute death. It never plays well together because all of those guys are shoot first type players.

As you said, last night, we saw a little improvement in the way they used Powell (who's a good pick and pop player, but not a player who you can dump the ball into and expect to create his own shot), but we also saw the careless, sloppy, one on one garbage rear it's ugly head in the late third/early fourth.

I feel like Lamar is a better fit with those guys than Pau. Pau is an excellent passer, but ultimately, he has a scorer's mentality. If you're making good cuts, and your off-the-ball movement is good, he can find you (as with Kobe, Fish, Walton, & Odom), but none of the second unit guys (Farmar, Sasha, Powell, or Ariza) are particularly adept at moving without the ball to create shot opportunities for themselves. A player like Lamar, who can focus his game on passing, would at least help keep the offense from stalling.

I've noted this in a couple of other threads, but the biggest culprit has to be Farmar for the second unit's woes. He's too focussed on getting his own shot. And when he does pass, he usually doesn't put guys in situations where they have a high degree of a successful outcome.

The second unit needs a pass-first point guard (who, hopefully, could play a little D).

Sasha has been terrible, too, but that's because he's not being used correctly. Farmar isn't getting him the ball in good spots, and when the ball is in the post, Farmar keeps screwing up the spacing, preventing Sasha from getting good looks on kick-outs. The point guard should be one of the smartest guys on the floor, and that's just not the case with Farmar.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]