NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 4/9 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Return of the Fourth Horseman... It was in Nuggetville where you first ran into the Four Horsemen on this journey, and it is in this wasteland where you come across the tracks of all four once again.

You kneel down in the dusty road and look at the hoof prints -- all four ride together again. It puts a smile on your face. You stand and a flood of memories returns to you as you look around. You remember this town, the empty swings that swayed slowly in the breeze, the weeds that grew unchecked in the sidewalks and streets. This town has cleaned up its act.

The Horsemen, of course, don't care. Still, you feel a fondness for this place. It was here where you first came across the signs that led you to follow the Horsemen. You weren't sure of their motive or purpose then, but now you wish nothing more than to follow them into battle. You feel that time is coming near.

A piece of paper blows up against your leg. You pick it up and have a deja vu moment. It's written by that hack DancingBarry. It describes the events that have wreaked more carnage upon poor Nuggetville:

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were here. Once again, their names: Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death...or Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant. They were followed on pale horses by the Death Riders. With the return of Destruction, they imposed their strength and size on their opponent. And, again, Nuggetville had no answer.

I will continue to track them...

The return of Andrew Bynum has been a long time coming, but the impact may have a rippling effect for the Lakers.

Big Drew got the start, sending Lamar Odom back to the bench. And for a night, all was well once again for the first and second units. Sure, there appear to be some issues, but the Lakers can get a little more rest and recharge their batteries while they work on the chemistry in the remaining few games of the regular season.

Staples was treated to 75 freethrows, the Lakers drawing 46 of those. Their size gave the Nuggets issues as Pau dropped 27 points and 19 boards. Bynum went for 16 points and boards in 21 minutes.

"It feels great to be back and playing, seriously," Bynum said in the Times. "I was a little sluggish. My lateral movement's a little bit slow, but I'm going to feel it out the more time I get out there on the floor."

Kobe looked more like Kobe, scoring 33 points on 19 shots as the Lakers took control of the fourth quarter behind his play. They cruised from their to the 116-102 win.


Kobe -- -- Very smooth game from No. 24. He had it working inside and out. His energy in the fourth quarter helped the Lakers take control of the game for good. Defensively, he also seemed to step up late in the game with some aggressive effort. Kobe and the team looked a little flat-footed in the second quarter, especially near the end of the half, but they had the jump in their step in the fourth. Kobe will be able to get some extended stretches of rest with Bynum back. Hopefully, this will translate to even more effective play late in games. When he gets tired, our offense stagnates and he settles for tough jumpers. Look for Kobe to rebuild that chemistry with Bynum. He was very effective at putting the ball up high for Bynum to go get at the front of the rim. That wasn't in play tonight and seems to take a few games before they start clicking like that. The Stats: He scored 33 points on 11-19 shooting (2-5 from three, 9-10 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He attacked and set up Pau for the easy score. He sank an early offense three. He missed a wide open wing three, taking time to measure it. He blew past his man from the wing and scored a layup. He crashed the boards and drew Billups' second foul, he made both FTs. He swiped a pass and flipped it to Pau in the backcourt for FTs. He drew FTs at midcourt when the Nuggets tried to trap, he made one. He missed a difficult running chuck from the sideline at the first quarter buzzer. He swished a wing jumper. He missed a turnaround bank from the right side. He quickly stepped past his man and scored a layup. He made a tech FT. He lost his man with a behind-the-back pass to Gasol for a give-and-go and he made the baseline jumper. Bad pass trying to find Ariza in a crowd, the ball went right out of bounds. He worked off the high screen, found a seam and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. He had 17 points on 5-8 shooting (6-7 from the line). Second Half: He missed an early offense three. He sank a jab-step wing three. He missed an awkward chuck from the wing expecting the foul. He attacked to his left, got stripped, got it back and scored the layup. Sweet spin to lose his man on the right block, but he couldn't finish the layup. He drew FTs trailing Luke on the break, he made both. He hit the And-1 iso jumper over Balkman, he made the FT. He slithered into the lane and hit the runner over another defender. He tried to draw an And-1 with the swing-through on Billups, no whistle, but he banked in the tough jumper anyway (those two plays forced a Nugget timeout). He spun on Carter, tip-toed the baseline and slipped in a reverse layup. He missed a three. He split a double and fed Pau with an interior feed for a layup.

Gasol -- -- Does Pau like having that other bigman out there? Just look at the domination on the offensive glass. With someone else doing heavy lifting for him and drawing the strongest defender, Pau killed. He's been putting up career numbers on the offensive boards all season, but tonight was a career-high in offensive boards (11) and a career high in total boards (19). Offensively, he didn't have to work the post as much in this game, he fed off the garbage. Missed shots, drives and dishes, manufacturing FTs, he took it to the Nuggets interior. He even managed to work the high-low to Bynum, too. Those two have to develop that chemistry again, but they looked effective tonight. Defensively, there were times when the Nuggets looked eager to get into the paint. That's not always the case when Bynum is in there. But the two of them have to get back to establishing that no-fly zone. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 9-19 shooting (9-11 from the line) to go with 19 boards (11 offensive), 3 assists, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He missed a good look at a bank in the post. He biffed a layup, but tipped it in on the follow. He dunked when we stole the ball in transition. He missed an 18-footer straight away, front rimmed it. He scored a layup when Brown set him up in transition with the no-looker. He cleaned up the Bynum miss in the post. He gambled for a steal in the post, came up dry and gave up a dunk. He spotted LO in the paint and he helped draw FTs with the nice pass. He missed a bank under the hoop. Good effort on the offensive glass and he drew FTs, he made both. Kobe stole the ball in the backcourt and Pau pumpfaked the Birdman into flight for two more FTs, he made both. He took a pass from LO, missed, got it back and scored. He had 14 points and 9 boards in the first quarter (5 offensive). Back in after a long rest, he drew FTs away from the ball, he made both. He had just 2 points and 1 board in his 5 second-quarter minutes. Second Half: He hit Bynum for the And-1 off the high-low. Pressure D on Petro on the perimeter to force a travel. He missed a tip in, but Bynum dunked it. He was shoved on the defensive glass, FTs the other way, he made one. He leaked out after a challenge and dunked when Brown flung the ball to him. He got body-checked by Melo on the perimeter, more FTs, he made one. He missed a baseline hook. He tipped an LO miss, got it back and scored a layup trailing the break. He missed a tip then was called for a weak foul trying to power up. He picked up another offensive foul away from the ball and sat with his fourth a couple mintues into the fourth. He cleaned up a Sasha missed three with an And-1 putback, he made the FT. He scored a layup off the Kobe drive and dish.

Bynum -- -- At last, Andrew Bynum returned to the lineup, bringing not only some buzz to the game, but the kind of length and strength that puts teams on their heels. Phil gave him the start and put Lamar on the bench. "Don't worry about scoring," Phil said to Bynum on the sideline early on. "Play defense and rebound." His timing was off a little on the rebounding, some defensive reads, and a pass or two, but he looked much better than rusty. "I have no pain," he said at halftime. "Everything is feeling good right now." He looked to get some quality post position throughout his stints. That was one of the keys to his early season success and one of the main signs I was looking for. He imposed his size and scored a number of easy hoops. How nice is it to dump it to a bigman for the two or three foot jumphook? That makes life so much easier. Bynum has stated on several occasions that his wind is the toughest thing to get back right now, but he ran the floor well. A lot of that low position was a result of his center sprint work. He didn't quite have that jump in his step and spark to his game when he was at his peak, but he gave the Laker fans some quality minutes from start to finish. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-11 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Nice low post position, he drop-stepped but missed the power bank. Excellent challenge in the paint on penetration (lucky shot went in, but Bynum got up well). He shed his man in the post, but airballed, Pau cleaned it up. He sat after 6:31 of action. He couldn't get the lob out of the imteout and ended up traveling trying to score from under the hoop. Poor footwork and he gave up an And-1 to Nene on the other end. Good job getting down the floor, he took on a couple bigs with low position, got the pass and drew FTs, he made one. More low position in transition, Luke fed him and Bynum hit the short jumphook. He had 3 points on 1-3 shooting and 4 boards in 12 minutes. Second Half: He got tapped on a jumphook off the glass, got it back and scored over the Nugget bigmen. He took the high-low from Pau and powered up an And-1, he missed the FT. He stuffed back down an And-1 off the Pau missed tip, he made the FT. Low position and he hit the short jumphook off the glass. Great low position on Nene and he made the two-foot jumphook over him. He missed badly with his left off the glass. He got a long board and hit the 15-footer. He then picked up his fifth foul on the perimeter on the other end.

Ariza -- -- Some weak D in his second stint and Phil ended up subbing him out for Luke. That's not a good sign when Luke is an improvement defensively. Trevor showed some brief pulse with a couple deflections of passes, but other than that he couldn't keep his man in front of him or stay on shooters. Offensively, he went to the Machine brick mode and clanked a number of perimeter jumpers. He will be put more to the test from the outside with Bynum and Pau forcing defenses to collapse. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-8 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 block and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper to start the game. Athletic twist in the air in transition to avoid a charge and score a tricky layup. He missed a three, just beating the shotclock. He missed a wing jumper trying to work the two-man game. Second Half: He missed a runner, but drew a foul trying to get it back. He missed an open corner three. He missed another open wing three. He nearly stole a pass, but deflected it off a Nugget. He attacked and didn't get rim on a drive. He drew FTs hustling for a loose ball on the D end, he made both.

Fisher -- -- Poor first half, picking up a couple fouls and sitting early, then never getting into the game later. The second half seemed to be a repeat performance. He couldn't buy a shot from the perimeter. Ugly game on both ends. Late in the contest, he had a couple drives for scores. Go figure. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-3 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He picked up two fouls after 3 minutes and had to sit. He missed a three in transition. He turned the ball over probing the baseline. He was a -9 in 8 minutes. Second Half: He picked up his fourth foul at the 8-minute mark of the third quarter. He missed an open corner three. He missed another open three from the other side. Poor job sagging into the paint for no reason and he gave up an open three. He ran off the three line on the other end and finally made a baseline runner. He pushed out the break and had his And-1 layup attempt goaltended (ha ha, better odds letting those go), he missed the FT. He then had to laugh at another perimeter foul he picked up on the other end.

Lamar -- -- Very slow, sluggish game from Lamar. He looked like he had tunnel vision on defense at times and forgot to work off the ball on offense. He lost his aggressiveness and that's not what the Lakers want to see. With Bynum back, he's got to coninue to bring that aggressive attitude. That doesn't mean settling for perimeter jumpers. Remember that Lamar that was going for 18, 19, 20 boards? That Lamar was locked in and imposing his will and energy. He was constantly moving and slashing. That's what we want. When he's with the second unit, we need him to get in the paint and go to work. He had the same minutes he gets as a starter, but didn't have the same focus. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: Off the bench midway through the first and he drained a wing three on his first attempt. He rejected Nene's throwdown attempt. He then missed a jumper from the corner. He sealed his man after a cut under the hoop and drew FTs, he made both. He grabbed an offensive board and missed a jumphook. Second Half: He missed a layup on the break. He scored a layup when Luke posted up, drew the D and found him. He missed a long wing jumper in early offense, not squaring up. He missed a three from the top of the key. He forced Melo into an airball with a good challenge on the perimeter.

Luke -- -- Luke struggled with his shot, but he was still able to contribute. The question that may be bouncing around in Phil's head right now might be whether to go back to Ariza with that bench unit or to keep him with the starters. Whichever SF we go with, he is likely going to have to knock down some perimeter shots or learn not to get stuck with men sagging off of him. With Pau and Bynum both playing, there will be more of an emphasis to stretch the floor. Both Ariza and Luke struggled with that tonight. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed an open corner three. Strong cut off the ball and he drew FTs before the pass, he made both. He missed a jumphook in the post. He missed an open elbow jumper. He posted up a smaller man and scored easily. He swiped a pass on the other end, then spotted Bynum with low position for a score. He fumbled away a ball in the post. Second Half: He attacked Smith, spun and drew FTs, he made both. He swiped Melo's pass, pushed out the break and dumped it to Kobe for FTs. He missed a chuck at a three to beat the shotclock. He missed a layup. He missed another layup in the post. He posted up Carter, attacked and fed LO for the layup.

Farmar -- -- I think Phil will likely go back to Farmar as the first guard off the bench. He probably made that sub for Brown tonight because of Brown's strength and better D. Still, it wouldn't bother me to see more of that with the lack of quality ball from Jordan. With two impact players back into the second unit, that will take a lot of the pressure off Farmar to do too much. At least it should. He didn't seem to force anything too much. He now has LO, Pau/Bynum or Luke to dump the ball to instead of just one impact player and Powell. That will make the second unit more rock steady. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 0-2 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 assists and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a wing three. He pushed out in transition, cut between defenders, hung to get contact and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked, hung and found Sasha for three. Poor D, hand checking the bigger Melo on a perimeter switch (use your feet). Second Half: He hit the rim on a long chuck from three, just beating the third quarter shotclock. Somehow he missed what looked like an easy And-1 layup, he made one FT(looked too stiff on his second attempt). He fouled a big on the perimeter for FTs, then was benched for DFish.

Vujacic -- -- Man, how many open threes a decent looks did he have? He's got to knock those down. We don't have a shooter at the SF spot. If we slide Kobe to the 3 during the playoffs because teams are sagging off Luke or Ariza, Sasha needs be that shooter who will spread the floor. Aside from Smith hitting that long three at the half on him, Sasha played some decent D. Smith was causing problems for some of our other defenders and Sasha, at least, held it together. He also came up with a few steals. Of course, Sasha still managed one of those bonehead perimeter fouls. Every perimeter foul Sasha is called for takes a week off Phil's life. I'm sure of it. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-7 shooting (1-6 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a corner three. He leaked out and took the outlet for a layup. Good challenge on Smith's jumper to force a miss. He bricked a three, way short, not getting squared up even though he was open. He poked a ball loose to get a steal, then threw it away on the other end. He drained a corner three on the kickout from Farmar. Second Half: He missed a wing three. Stupid foul 35 feet from the hoop with 16 seconds left in the third giving up FTs. He drew a leg foul on a three-pointer, he made all three FTs. He drew a charge on Melo on help D. He missed a corner three. He bricked an open wing three, but stole it back. He drew an off-the-ball foul, he made one FT.

Brown -- -- This is precisely why he needs to get these minutes. Picture this as a playoff game. With Fisher in early foul trouble, Phil went to Brown as the first PG off the bench. Brown's a much physically stronger player than Farmar. Billups knows that and would have immediately taken advantage of it. Instead, Brown made Billups work. He played some solid D, especially on the pick and roll. He ran the offense fluidly, never stalling it and he even drained a three. While Bynum will rightly steal the spotlight in this game, these minutes for Brown show Phil with some trust for one of his new weapons. It's vital to build this before the playoffs. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-2 shooting (1-1 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He was fouled on a three by Billups, he made two of the three FTs. He probed in transition and no looked to Pau for the layup. Second Half: Back in midway through the third and he immediately swished a three from the top of the key. He hit Pau with an outlet for a dunk. He fumbled the ball away, trying to pull up on a drive. He gave Billups a straight line to the hoop for an And-1. He stripped Billups on a drive to ignite a break the other way. He missed a wing jumper, short.

Powell -- -- These will be the types of spot minutes Powell will get with Bynum's return. The second unit will be better for it. They will be able to have two impact bigmen on the court at all times. That's huge. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting in 2 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He came in for a few seconds at the end of the half. Second Half: He swished a baseline jumper to just beat the shotclock.

Phil -- -- Fish got two quick fouls and Phil went to Brown against the stronger Billups 3 minutes into the game... The Lakers were up 24-19 when Farmar and Luke came in at the end of the quarter... The Lakers killed the Nuggets at the line during the first quarter. The Lakers had a 15-4 advantage in FTAs and 7-2 on the offensive glass. They led 33-25 after the first... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup. No Pau or Powell, which would be our usual pattern sans Bynum. Neither Bynum nor Lamar got the ball on the offensive end in the paint. Phil called a timeout after a couple minutes... The Lakers played a sluggish second quarter. The starters seemed a step slow defensively. The Nuggets went on a 9-2 run to tie the score at the half. The Lakers were out-rebounded 6-0 on the offensive glass in the second quarter... The Lakers lost the second quarter 31-23. They were tied 56-56, the Lakers shooting 41 percent (16-39) to the Nuggets 47 percent (21-45)... The Lakers got into the bonus early again in the third quarter, so did the Nuggets. Phil wanted them to deny penetration better... Phil subbed in Brown for Fisher and the Lakers went on an 8-0 run, forcing a Nugget timeout... The Lakers won the third 32-25 and led 88-81 going into the fourth... Phil started the Pau, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup... The Lakers were in the penalty with 7:16 left in the fourth... Kobe sparked the team to a 14-point lead with 5 minutes left, forcing a Nugget timeout... They controlled the game from there... The two teams combined for a ridiculous 75 freethrows. The Lakers owned the offensive glass in the second half, 11-2... Phil will take the Portland game off. The team will try to rally in his absence in an environment that has been their road nemesis for a while. With HCA on the line and a possible future match up against the Blazers, let's hope they come together...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The Lakers changed gears well in the second half. One run after starters left, one after some returned.

[MedRomLaker]

I wanna Rock ROCK!!! Man I am Hyped now's the time.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

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

[fsc401]

Thx as usual

[mefor3]

3rd! ) my best season ranking!

great review! awesome win, I was really scared of this game. Good to see Andrew moving well.

One of the most important games of the year tomorrow in Portland. Jackson knows it, Kobe knows it...do the rest of the Lakers know it?

Cavs have two pretty hard games left, one with Boston at home and a road game with Pacers. They will lose one of these games. WIN TOMORROW LAKERS!!!

[uberzev]

Fourth!
Thanks DB!




SOCKS!
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Lakers Gonna Lake

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recaps DB.

Full squad - full speed to the Championship.
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"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[Socks]

Thanks DB - and welcome back Socks!

[Mation]

Thanks DB!

Bynum looked impressive and surprising in his first game back. Didn't expect him to put up those numbers on the offensive end. He reduces Pau's minutes, adds depth to the bench, but hopefully others can adjust as well.

[J.C. Smith]

And just when I thought I'd seen it all, DB busts out the green soldier bananas. I thought Bynum looked pretty good out there for his first game back. Shannon Brown also played pretty well. I didn't think that LO was particularly poor though tonight. When he came in he was very aggressive, with a three pointer and a block right away. He didn't maintain the aggressiveness, but I didn't think it was a poor game from him either.

[ishi331]

Hopefully the bench gets their spark back with Bynum bumping Odom back to the 2nd unit. I would like to see the Bynum-Odom-Ariza-Sasha-Farmar lineup before the season is over to see if they can do something again.

[EHL_2]

Nice summary, wtg.

[ecksor]

Great to see the return of the 4th.. thanks, DB
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We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire... Give us the tools and we will finish the job.
- Winston Churchill

Who is my avatar? Kharunisia

[Laker_Leo]

Great Read.

Thanks DB
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And always remember my brother, one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, knick knack, paddy whack, give a dog a bone, two thousand, zero, zero, party, oops out of time. My bacon smellin' fine.

[Rek]

Bynum looked solid. It was great to see him back out there.

That little no-look pass from Brown to Gasol was a nice surprise. I hope our FO locks him up beyond this year so we can see if he can develop further.

[Lou!s053]

bynum in = mbenga not in the squad, i don't like!!

yes bynum is better, but it isn't playoff time:s, give him some minutes phil

[Critical Beatdown]

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

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB!

That's a hell of a debut for a 21 year old coming off an injury and missing so many games. I was worried about his psyche but not after tonight. He seemed to have some early jitters offensively then found his groove in the 3rd quarter. This was after the Nuggets made their charge right before halftime to tie the game. That is key to be able to go to him and have him deliver like that. Denver really didn't have an answer for him. My only question is how will he do tomorrow on a back to back? Defense and rebound should be his mindset until his offense comes back fully.

Shannon Brown had a really good game considering he is in his infancy in the triangle. Strong defense against a very game Billups. People tend to forget that he was Finals' MVP against us in the Finals. We haven't really had an answer for him ever since. Tonight he didn't look as strong against us because we have multiple defenders to throw at him like Ariza, Kobe, and now Shannon. I'm hoping that Shannon takes full advantage of this opportunity he has with the Lakers. Farmar should be worried.

LO had the monster block on a dunk attempt by a much stronger Nene'. I can't believe the defense he is playing this year. He had a couple bone headed mistakes tonight but I appreciate his effort on defense. Offensively we need him to be assertive when he has a midget on him in the post.

Kobe Bryant is the real MVP - not LBJ.

Now let's exercise some NorthWest deamons tomorrow night in the Rose Garden!

[kobe0825]

[sonimala]

Bynum...Abomb.....Bynumite....whatever

Thanks for the Dancer.... The journey/quest is getting seroius!

[Nobody]

Horrible three point shooting. And a good portion of those were wide open. I hope that trend doesn't continue in the Playoffs... 2004 Finals clankfest is still fresh in my mind.

[limchrc]

Thanks, nice win.

[Andre2K]

I don't have much to complain about in this game, but watching Trevor, Luke and Sasha brick open shots after open shots just makes me miss the space-cadet even more.
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My Dream Starting 5 next Season

Pg Lonzo
Sg Kawhi
Sf Ingram
Pf Lebron
C Dedmon

Bench: Caruso, Hart, Bullock, Kuzma, McGee etc

[melo061]

[Dr. Laker]