ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 5/12 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Smoke and Mirrors... Feeling confident, Angel tells you to meet her at a taco stand for a battlefront meal. "I see you got into some trouble," she says of your injuries by that wounded dog. "Good thing you took care of business before that. Never get over-confident. Never. Not when Little Larry is at stake." You make note of that as you place your taco order.

Blood red smoke begins to snake upward from the sewers and manhole covers, filling the streets with noxious fumes. Downtown turns red briefly as the colors reflect off the mirrored buildings and shop windows. The opponent is here.

Silhouettes take shape in the midst of the smoke. Lined side-by-side are the Four Horsemen -- Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. Tonight, they ride with purpose.

Angel is intense, too, cursing encouragement to the Four Horsmen with a stream of profanities that would make a sailor with Tourette's who just smashed his thumb with a hammer, blush. You like her this way.

The Horsemen thunder past you through the smoke. They disappear into a red fog bank. Moments later you hear screams. You see the tallest of Horsemen just above the smoke. They are aggressive, using their size to organize the battle. It's over quickly. The bells ring...seven...eight...nine...and stop. The Horsemen have won.

The taco man hands you your order. You peel off the paper and find they are wrapped in a note. It's from DancingBarry. You look up and the taco man is gone. The note reads:

The Four Horsemen were here. Still upset by their failure to take both road games, they went on the offensive. They attacked the soft interior. They used their height. They would not underestimate the heart of their opponent. Despite the smoke, they did no choke. They showed no mercy.

They will meet again. I will continue to track them...

You want adjustments? The Lakers got your adjustments. They pounded the Rockets and stepped on their necks. "This is our game to make our adjustments," Kobe said at the half. They never let up. In the friendly confines of Staples, they blew out the Rockets 118-78.

Offensively, the Lakers took advantage of their size. They attacked the Rockets interior. The perimeter players didn't settle as much, they looked to get into the paint and keep the pressure on. The Rockets were on their heels and didn't have the guns to respond. The Rockets didn't just lose. They tied their franchise worst loss for a playoff game. What's more impressive, the 118 against the Rockets or the 78 they held them to?

"Defensively, it's about eliminating what they can do, shortening their possibilities," Phil said. Those possibilities were few.

Asked what he could do to help his Rocket bigmen against the Lakers in the next game, Adelman replied, "Stretch them." Honestly, the last Rocket win was about the Lakers playing stupid and the Rockets playing their hearts out. The Rocket victory was more smoke and mirrors, than substance. Don't play stupid and you close this series out in Houston.

"We know winning on the road in the playoffs is always a tall order," Phil said.


Kobe -- -- Kobe is in full assassin mode right now. He's ready for the kill. You could see it all game. More imporantly, you could see it afterward. "We're not playing some chump team," he said after tonight's beatdown. "I don't care how many people they have out, this is a tough team. This is a team full of competitors. If we think they are just going to roll over, we've got another thing coming." That's the attitude you want. Offensively, it as much less perimeter oriented game from him. He still had plenty of outside looks, but he wasn't pounding the dribble and hoisting up tough jumper after tough jumper. Much easier game. Defensively, well, there was no Battier killing us from the start. That will be vital in the next game. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 10-19 shooting (1-3 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +30. The Action: He missed a long jumper standing on the three line. He was stripped for a layup the other way. He set up Bynum for a short bank. Horrible pass to Bynum, trying to bounce it low instead of lob it high, turnover. He sank a baseline jumper off the inbounds. He got a step on Battier with a hesitation move and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. He weaved down the lane in early offense and scored a layup. He iso'd on Artest, blew past him and scored a reverse. He attacked quick to his right and hit a 12-footer over Battier. He scooped up a bad pass and hit an elbow jumper in transition. He missed a leaner, pulling up from 14 feet out. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting in the first. He missed a long chuck in early offense. He posted up Battier next time down and drew FTs, he made one. He lost a dribble out of bounds trying to create past Artest. He scored a layup when Luke stole the ball and ignited the break. He fumbled the ball away, got it back and heaved up an airball from a difficult angle behind the board (should have reset the offense, still had time). Sweet turnaround J from 18 feet on the inbounds as the shotclock went off. He stuck a three in early offense next time down. He missed a heat-check three on his next attempt. He called off a screen, attacked past Artest, but missed a hanging shot in the paint at the end of the half. He had 20 points on 8-14 shooting, 2 assists and 3 turnovers. He was a +19. Second Half: He drained a wing jumper working off the Bynum screen. He didn't repost to Pau and got blocked on a forced jumper. He missed another wing jumper. He was called for a charge when Cook stepped in front of him in the paint. He drew FTs on contact from Artest on the perimeter, he made both. He swished an open 16-footer cutting off the Lamar screen. He was rejected when swarmed in the paint. He gave up a putback layup, not boxing out.

Gasol -- -- Feed the post. Feed the post. Feed the post. The first several touches from our bigmen in each half resulted in foul trouble for the Rocket bigs. The Rockets are down two centers, exploit it. Even though Pau didn't have huge numbers, the Lakers softened the interior with our size and good things happened. Later in the game, Pau had guys like Cook on him and he ripped them apart with ease. The Rockets only chance in the next game is to get Pau into foul trouble. The Lakers now understand what they have to do. Seemed like they figured that out in the fourth quarter of the last one. It's up to them to get the Rockets on their heels early by going right to the post. The Lakers had some nice movement from their bigs and some better iso sequences. Pau's length and versatility can beat the Rockets a variety of ways. Just don't go away from it. Please. "Right now, we have no room for error," Artest said after mentioning how Hayes got into foul trouble early on. Pau led the Lakers in +/- tonight. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-9 shooting (6-8 from the line) to go with 13 boards (5 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +32. The Action: He drew a Rocket foul on two offensive boards on the first play. He then hit Bynum on an interior lob for a dunk. He faced up and drew a foul on Hayes. He winged a Scola jumper with a nice close out. He swatted another shot on the next play. Next post touch, second foul on Hayes, he made one FT. Good hands to knock a pass loose in the lane. Scola scored on him on one end, Pau sealed, got the ball and dunked on the other. He iso'd on Cook and scored easly around him. Next possession, he drew FTs iso'ing against Cook, he made both. He sank a 12-footer off the interior feed from Luke. He missed a short hook, but Lamar cleaned it up. Strong attack to his right off the dribble to score over the Rockets with one hand. He had 11 points on 4-7 shooting and 8 boards. Second Half: He drew FTs, made both. He grabbed an offensive board, more FTs, he made one. He missed a baseline jumper. Easy lefty hook right over Cook.

Bynum -- -- With Lamar injured, Bynum was back in the starting lineup. He imposed his game on the under-sized Rockets. He was at the front of the rim more than the last two games combined and good things happened: And-1s, offensive boards, dunks and several fouls on Rocket bigmen. You have to go big and impose your size against the Rockets. Bynum and Pau must be used and exploited. Tonight, the Lakers did just that. Good to see Drew finally engaged in that end of the floor. Let's milk it and build it. "Drew was kind of amped up when we told him he was going to start," Phil said. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-6 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive) and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. The Action: He dunked off the interior feed from Pau. He banked off the two-man game with Kobe, stopping nicely to avoid a charge. He threw back down a missed three by Fish, Staples roared. Good job running the floor and he was rewarded with FTs ahead of the pack, he made both. He had 8 points on 3-3 shooting and 3 boards in 13 minutes. He was a +10. Second Half: He scored an And-1 when Fisher drew a double in the post, he made the FT. He grabbed a Kobe miss and powered up an And-1 layup (third foul he's drawn on three touches), he made the FT. He kept an offensive board alive to Pau for FTs. Nice challenge on Battier to force a miss.

Ariza -- -- Ariza has really fine-tuned his D on Ron since the first game at Staples. Ron also seemed to avoid the post, which helped the Lakers out. Ariza and Luke simply outplayed Artest. Ariza attacked in transition and off the three line, slashing and trying to get to the rim. This is what you want against the shorter Rockets. Put the pressure on their bigs, don't settle for perimeter jumpers. Get in the paint. Need to knock down those FTs, though. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +23. The Action: He drew FTs getting hacked on the break, he made one. He scooped up a bad pass and dunked the other way. He couldn't handle a Fisher outlet and threw it away (one bad pass leading to another). A couple nice challenges on Artest jumpers (especially one where he shaded him right, then challenged). He drained a wing three on a Farmar kickout. Second Half: He missed a layup out on the break. He attacked off the three line, slicing with a jumpstep and hitting an And-1 floater over the Rocket bigs, he made the FT. He attacked off the three line, up-faked Artest and drew FTs, he bricked both. He tripped and lost the ball out of bounds. He missed a sideline three. He swiped a ball in the backcourt, attacked and reversed (the ball circling the rim a couple times before dropping). He scored a layup when left alone by Wafer on the next possession.

Fisher -- -- The Lakers started the second half by going right to DFish in the post. It wasn't a pretty sequence, but it resulted in an And-1 for Bynum and showed our intention of getting the ball in the paint. This isn't exactly a weapon, but it put some pressure on Brooks. Again, if the Lakers wanted to go big against Brooks with a Kobe or Ariza, you could exploit this. Fish needs to make sure we feed our interior, seemed like he avoided that a little on some possessions. Also, while we want to attack the paint, I still think that means everyone but DFish who can't finish in there. On the other end of the court, our defensive schemes with the speedy Rocket guards rely a ton our bigman support. The difference between DFish and Farmar in this series is about a step. They're both doing similar things, but Farmar is able to recover and pressure better. That makes a difference. Out of the gates in the next game, the Lakers have to contain the dribble penetration. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 steal and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed a three, but Bynum cleaned it up. He got backdoored badly for a layup. Wild attack, we were lucky to get it back. He swished a wing jumper off the Bynum screen. He missed a jumphook over Brooks, good look, but not his strength working the post. Second Half: First play of the half, he went in the post, drew a double and hit Bynum for an And-1. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a layup on a baseline drive.

Lamar -- -- With a serverely bruised back, Lamar put a brace on and sat on the bench to start. When he entered the game with 4 minutes left and a tie score, the crowdgave a huge roar. He played with a heat pack on and looked stiff, but was still effective. "Lot of treatment, a lot of treatment," LO said of his back. Defensively, the size in our starting lineup neutralized Scola's effectiveness. When LO doesn't have to go against him in the post, the Rockets are going to have to work for every point. Phil said he will likely go with the Pau/Bynum lineup to start the next one. Lamar gave the Lakers a +31 in 19 minutes off the bench. That punch from our second unit killed the Rockets. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-3 shooting (1-1 from three, 5-6 from the line to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +31. The Action: He sank a three in front of the bench on the Farmar kickout. He drew FTs at the rim cutting behind Cook, he made both FTs. He cleaned up a miss by Pau. He had 7 points on 2-3 shooting and had 2 boards in 10 minutes. Second Half: Excellent screen, pinning Kobe's man to free him for an open elbow jumper. He drew FTs when Pau gave him an interior feed, he made one. He drew FTs out on the break (looking real stiff on that foul), he made both.

Luke -- -- Some excellent D not only on Artest, but also in the team help sequences. People both praise and mock his hoop IQ, but on the defensive end, he really plays smartly within our schemes. He's not athletic, but he usually takes good angles, bodies up without handcheck fouls and strips and jumps the lanes for steals. If the Lakers have Luke in the first game of this series, they might have taken away several easy hoops and closed this series out aready. So much has been made of his brick laying on the offensive end, but his put together a nice defensive series. If the Lakers close out in the next game, Luke's D on the wings against Melo will be put in the spotlight. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-2 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +17. The Action: He doubled Scola who was about to go to work on Lamar and stripped him. He swiped a pass and it led to a Kobe breakaway. He bricked a wing jumper badly. Second Half: He was called for a charge in transition. He worked the two-man game and set up Powell for a dunk. He drew FTs on the break, he made both. He backed Barry down and hit his fade.

Brown -- -- He is thriving in our system and when he gets those open looks for three. He just seems like money whenever it's a wide open look. The same can't be said for a lot of our perimeter players. Defensively, his athleticism seems to surprise players. That turns into steals, even rebounds that might have gone to the other team. Getting those steals/rebounds gets our up-tempo game going. Hopefully, Phil is gaining more and more trust in him. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 4 boards, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: Wide open on a wing three in transition, money. Up high for a rebound, he pushed it out and hit the elbow jumper. He got tapped on a 20-offooter on the next possession. He swiped the ball from Artest with a nice reach on help D. Second Half: He was blocked on a drive. He cut weak to strong, shed his man after taking a Powell pass and scored a layup. He missed a wing three.

Vujacic -- -- Shannon is money on wide open jumpers. Sasha is money found these days. It seems like a bonus when he knocks a shot down. He's only got one thing going for him in this series. Von Wafer is a mentally weak player. Always has been. Sasha has gotten into his head and taken him out of this series. No one gets into people's heads quite the way Sasha does. He did it to Korver this time last year. Looking at the minutes tonight, Sasha played the second lowest -- only Mbenga played less. Perhaps, Phil will reel those minutes in because Sasha and DFish's minutes are typically the Lakers worst. Tonight, Sasha had the worst +/- on the team. The Machine has to find his shot. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 block and 3 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He pressured Wafer into a turnover on the sideline. He blocked Wafer from the side, then busted out, took the outlet and dunked with both hands. He missed a hurried wing jumper. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He took an elbow to the back on a screen from Scola. He bricked a wide open three, wide left, just stone cold. He attacked and was smothered.

Farmar -- -- The Lakers quickly throttled up a 2-point lead to a 10-point the moment after Farmar entered for DFish. They never looked back after that. The Rockets only have a couple of advantages against us. Speedy guard penetration is one of them and that is more suited for Farmar and Brown, than Fish. The more we can shorten DFish's stints in this series, the better. Great game again by Farmar. He played under control, didn't compound his mistakes, collapsed the D on penetration and set up teammates. He even drained a couple threes, one coming at the end of a quarter. This continues to be Farmar's series and he's making the most of the good matchups. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-7 shooting (2-2 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +20. The Action: He hit Lamar for a three. He kicked out to Ariza for a three. He pushed up the inbounds and swished a 30-footer as the first quarter buzzer went off. He missed an open lob off the long wing pass over the D. He missed an open baseline jumper. Second Half: Excellent challenge on a Brooks jumper. He drained a corner three on the other end. He hit Ariza wide open under the hoop for the layup. He missed a bank. He spun to lose his man on the baseline, then hit a bank over a help defender. He set up Powell off the pick and pop. Quick step past his man on the pinch post and he drew FTs, making one. Nice bounce pass to Luke on the break, who then got hammered. Extra pass in the lane after cutting off ball and he set up Powell for the layup. He jumped a lane, swiped the pass and was fouled on the breakaway. Superb attack off the pinch post, he drew Mbenga's man on help when he collapsed the D and fed DJ for the dunk.

Powell -- -- Up 20, Phil brought him in for Lamar with 4 minutes left in the half. Given LO's health and the Lakers lead, get Powell some run. He would end up getting some extended PT later in real garbage time later. He played to his strengths well. Stuck to hitting jumpers or finishing when someone else set the table for him. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: Nice defensive stand against Artest, shading him baseline into a Bynum trap and then Luke picked off the pass. Second Half: He missed an open FT jumper. He hit the baseline jumper off the pick and pop with Farmar. He dunked when Luke found him open under the hoop. He drew FTs attacking across the lane, he made both. Nice look to a cutting Brown on the baseline for a layup. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. He scored a layup off the extra pass from Farmar. He missed a layup on the break, got it back and scored.

Mbenga -- -- With Bynum getting the start at C and LO's availability questionable, it seemed there might be a chance we saw Mbenga in this game. A 40-point lead pretty much made all that a mootpoint. He came in with half a quarter left for some garbage time run. He had a dunk and a swat and played the victory cigar role in satisfying fashion. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: Second Half: He blocked his man who tried to reverse around him. He missed a wild turnaround in the post. He dunked off the Farmar drive and dish. He airballed a baseline turnaround against the shotclock.

Phil -- -- Phil started Bynum and we looked to feed our bigmen early. We faded from that, but at least we drew fouls and got dunks. The fouls caused the Rockets D to fall apart. The size was too much for the Rockets on both ends... The Lakers extended a 2-point lead to an 11-point lead after Farmar entered the game for DFish (Farmar kicked out twice for threes and hit one at the buzzer)... The Lakers led 35-24 after the first quarter... Phil started a Pau, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup. Against Cook, Landry, Wafer, Lowry and Barry... The second unit pushed out to a 19-point lead, forcing a Rocket timeout... Phil went to a Pau, Lamar, Luke, Kobe, Brown lineup up by 14. They extended back to 19, forcing another timeout... They continued to steamroll the Rockets while Pau rested for the rest of the half for Bynum. The Lakers won the second quarter 29-15... The Lakers led 64-39 at half. Strong two-way game. The Rockets shot 31 percent (14-45, 3-15 from three), the Lakers shot 54.5 percent (24-44, 5-8 from three). The Laker scored 11 points off 9 Rocket turnovers... Pau and Bynum got the Lakers into the bonus shooting FTs at the 8 minute mark of the third. That was all she wrote. The Lakers pulled out to a 40-point lead... Phil went with Powell, Luke, Sasha, Brown and Farmar for extended fourth-quarter run. Later added in some Mbenga... Phil said one of the bigger differences in this game was the reserves. "Our bench really came out and established a game in the second period that really kind of opened a lead," Phil said... The Rockets shot 33 percent, the Lakers 51 percent. The Lakers kept the three shooting efficient, making 6-13. The Lakers scored 24 points off 18 Rocket turnovers... This was Phil's 200th playoff win...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The moment we went to the Laker bench...domination.

[Omar Little]

Heyo!
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[Phitenks]

I was glad to see Kobe drive more. Good things happen when he gets the ball inside. If he was saving himself for the playoffs, I think he knows now is the time to crank up the effort level.

Edit: I forgot to say thanks, DB! Your analysis of the games are always fair to the players. Good job.

[ksmgf]

Thanks DB.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

These are the types of games that we, the Lakers fans expect from the team every game. Now on to Houston to finish this series off.

Thanks again for all the recaps DB!
_________________
"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.

[IPK]

[AllorNothing]

is it so hard to feed the post?

[Addicus]

Thanks DB. I would like to point out that Bynum had a good night because he gave effort. He kept his hands up and attacked the rebounds by jumping for the ball while reaching. He moved his feet and rotated well on defense. He played with his hands ready on both ends. He even sprinted down the middle of the floor in transition a few times. Andrew is too talented to not succeed if he gives effort.
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I loved the defensive adjustments and the accompanying energy with the guys in the passing lanes again and the fast rotations to close out on shooters.
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Offensively they feed the post and it was nice. I don't care who we play that should be the gameplan. I still want more Shannon Brown!
_________________
Stop crying and start doing.

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

[LakerEric]

Magnificent Effort!!! I followed online because I was at work. Listened on the radio when I got a chance. I just got home from work and I'm watching the game on DVR. We put the foot on the throat and kept it there!!!
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Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[TooCool]

Keep up the great work DB.

The games are so much easier to win when the ref actually calls fouls on the Rockets. Who knew!?
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[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB! Mbenga must have the highest blocks per minutes played percentage in league history - yet PJ refuses to use him.

[jim93]

What was up with that wide open airball by Sasha?

[LakerSanity]

It seems Phil finally received the memo that going big when Yao is out of the game gives us an advantage. Only took 5 games.
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Twitter: @DeleteThisPost

[MedRomLaker]

[Laker7]

Finally Phil used his head. Just like I said after the last game, feed the post and make Houston pay. That is all you have to do. They do not have an answer other than foul.

L7
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[A Mad Chinaman]

Thanks DB

Interesting Comments
During the TNT broadcast, somebody (Kenny the Jet or Sir Charles?!?!) stated that the Lakers are arrognant because they are so skilled and deep (translation: good).

Could this explain (not justify) the ups and downs of the team.

It was stated that if the Lakers are serious, these type of victoriies would be the result against teams like the Rockets - most times.

[Isaiah]

i was watching sasha closely and noticed his wide open shots are noticeably flat compared to last year. if he only put more arc on it, those'd be money.

[tw-lakbfan]

This victory is more like it. The Lakers should blow an Yao-less Rockets away.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB!
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB
_________________
"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."

[Rick12322]

Thanks DB!

Sir Charles made a comment I can actually agree with: he said Phil panicked after the 1st game by pulling Bynum, and said he believes we must get him going if we want to win a championship.

Anyways, the biggest difference between this game and Drew's past games is simply this, the refs didn't call level 1-3(out of 10) fouls on him. That's exactly what derailed him. They did call a level 1, if that when he was defending Scola. That was completely BS!!

I like Fisher and I'm sure no one wants to contribute more than him, but the reality is he's simply not effective against Aaron Brooks. Phil stubbornly played him because he either didn't want to hurt his ego, or is too proud to admit he has been wrong to play him. I can't think of any other reason.

Kobe was asked if the team played better with Bynum starting, bringing LO off the bench and he replied that he didn't think it made a difference. Kobe was clearly wrong, the reason we sometimes, (often) do better bringing LO off the bench is that he brings them much needed impact and unity. The second unit that killed earlier in the year was Pau/LO/Luke or ?/Kobe/Farmar. Now we have Shannon Brown to add to the mix.

I agree with you on Luke, he is a smart player, and was very effective last night. Some fans hate unathletic players, and fail to appreciate other finer aspects of the game. I've said this before, if Luke had a shot and athleticism, he'd be a superstar.

[wolfpaclaker]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

-40!
-welcome back andrew, phil still seemed to limit him though
-im puzzled to why phil brought L.O. "back" in when we were up 30???
-kobe "executed" well tonight
-we played the passing lanes the best ive seen all year
-trevor needs to work on leading a fastbreak and passing
-it was comical to see gasol abuse columbine cookie in the post
-some of sashas and d-fish's misses were troubling
-we need to find shannon some more minutes
-buzzer beatin' farmar is back (lets hope for good)
-i wish simers would have asked phil if he was embarassed by houstons effort
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Rick12322]

Wolf, think in terms of the units we put on the floor. When the second unit has Bynum as opposed to LO, it is much less effective. LO with his speed and versatility helps the second unit tremendously, and is a better match for Farmar's open court game. My point is about our rotations. When Kobe responded, he wasn't thinking in those terms, he was thinking in the terms you're thinking of. See what I'm saying?