NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 5/21 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Ray_Gonzoles · Star Player Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Posts: 2204

Bummer, this is a game the Lakers had in hand and let slip away.

On to Denver and regain HCA.

Thanks for the recap 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.

slippy · Star Player Joined: 02 Nov 2008 Posts: 5718

Doggy Dogg · Star Player Joined: 27 Sep 2008 Posts: 1304

8750 · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:45 am Post subject:

i think that SGH goes to the point: when phil jackson's body became slow and rigid, also his mind became slow and rigid... if you think that zen is about flexibility, nothing is more far from zen than our coach's attitude... from years he can't read what's happening on the floor, and he doesn't want to change his formula for no reason at all... we have a very senile coach...

BornAndBredLakersFan · Starting Rotation Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 344

Thanks DB
_________________
"These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess." -- Kobe Bryant

RhodyRay · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 1:00 am Post subject:

kups · Star Player Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 1716

Vandal08 · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 5:20 am Post subject:

well, I couldn't wait to get on this AM...

I am in agreement with most on here. This loss is on Phil. No question. I have read the comments on Bynum/pro and con. But the truth is, when he is in the game he dissuades forays to the basket on a regular basis. We were winning. Second, Farmar had a great stint...not from a scoring standpoint, but RUNNING THE OFFENSE. We were the most fluid in our offense when he was in. Afterwards things bogged down. Shannon did some good things, but made some boneheaded plays, but I can take those because he puts pressure on the defense with his ability to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket.

But ultimately, aside from the no call on the jump ball and subsequent foul on Ariza from Anthony...Phil tripped the f out. Bynum needed to play in that second half and Farmar was done dirty, plain and simple. Period.
_________________
"For we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are unseen. For the things seen are temporary and the things unseen are eternal"

8750 · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 5:50 am Post subject:

i'm not masochist, but i saw again the game now... two things: first, bynum was really lethargic in his defensive approach in third quarter... and then, in the last nine minutes of the game, kobe took only four shots, and made three: we desperatley need to put the ball much more in his hands in the final quarter of a game like this...

Stu Lantz is my Homeboy · Starting Rotation Joined: 05 Apr 2009 Posts: 266

DB, I cant understand your rating for a guy who scores 17 and 17 with only 8 shots....

Sage_10 · Star Player Joined: 24 Dec 2005 Posts: 6668

Unfortunately, we lost. But the Lakers played ok. It's not like when they folded against the Rockets.
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

pask · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 6:13 am Post subject:

A few toughts:

- D. Jones and JR Smith foul trouble was truly a bessing in disguise for the Nuggets. Kleiza was the player who turned the game around. Worst part of it is that George Karl now knows a new way to attack the Lakers.

- Starting unit (minus Bynum) lost the lead in the second. The only positive think about losing big leads is that this means this team is able to create them.

- When we were 7 down in the fourth, we came back due to Shannon Brown. Phil, if ain´t broken, don´t fix it. Brown was clearly outplaying Fisher. Keep him in the game.

- Say all you want about Bynum, but when he was on court Billups wasn´t killing our guards inside.

- Said with Houston and I´ll say it again. We can play 5 bigs if we want to (KB, Ariza, Lamar, Pau Andrew).
Against Houston the reason was to crush them inside.

With Denver playing without shooting guards and with the lineup of Billups, Carmelo, Kleiza plus two bigs, we HAVE to use that big lineup. Not Derek, neither Brown can stop Billups if he´s on and pounding them inside. Carmelo is also a nightmare down below in the offensive boards. The switches when Denver are playing that group are a real nigthmare. They get way too many easy shoots down low, Fisher can´t defend his pick.

Rick12322 · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 19164

The Lakers had a lot more problems than Bynum, who by the way, is still trying to figure out his rotations. Bynum puts forth 100% effort when he's sure he's doing things right, otherwise he just can't make decisions on what to do. It has nothing to do with laziness. That's what people don't understand about him. Also, his agility is not a 100% so he has problems covering the pnr.
.
Back to the Lakers problems, they are giving Denver players straight paths to the hoop, that's a coaching issue. The whole team's been doing it the entire series, they are working the wings too much leaving a runway open up the gut.

One other point, this team has been tentative offensively, especially regarding taking it to the hoop.

Last but not least, this game was fixed. billips and melo got way more love than they deserved from the refs. The officiating for our two home games has been a travesty of justice.

Mr. EiGhTy-OnE · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 7:01 am Post subject:

-phil's loyalty to d-fish is killing this team
-phil! call a damn timeout and protect the early lead
-LO kept leaving kmart and giving up dunks
-bynum did look alittle slow but was having a pretty good game. no excuse for him not to be out there in the 4th.
-smh @ fish. 1-9, 5 fouls, 2 turnovers, missed layups, leaving billups to help out
-2nd unit needs to feed pau everytime. he barely had a touch during that early part of the 2nd Qtr
-luke kept leaving kleiza, giving him those open 3s
-refs were pretty good until they swallowed their whistles twice on that jump ball
-what the hell was that lineup phil went to when he sat kobe in the 4th?
-also, no reason to sit kobe, 4 fouls or not
-luke allowed melo to heat up. LEAVE ARIZA IN THERE!!!!!
-once again pau misses both free throws late in the 4th. he was getting tossed around like a rag doll. fish would have been WIDE OPEN for that final 3 if pau had contained nene for 2 more seconds.
-shannon brown should have finished the game.
-what the hell happened to sasha's shot?????
-kobes foul on melo was BS. melo lost his balance trying to rip the ball out.
I BLAME PHIL!!!!!!!!!

CALL A (bleep) TIMEOUT!

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

limchrc · Franchise Player Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 11477

I hope we win the next one.

Hawkins · Star Player Joined: 14 May 2003 Posts: 1171

My very first time I ever bet on the Lakers game to be Lakers (SAS fan) ...Lakers by 2 for $50.00. I knew it was a sure thing. I was sure that LA was going to stay focused, maintain home court and send a message to Denver/East especially after the lessons of the Houston series. Are they aware this is the WCF's? Where's the trademark playoff-killer instinct?
Hint: it's not a good idea to still be figuring out roles in the Conference finals. Poor Kobe. Hello Phil? Enjoy your drama and flip your switch.

I learned my lesson. Never again.

ThePageDude · Star Player Joined: 25 Jul 2002 Posts: 2606

My 2 cents.

A lot of fans are going crazy over tactical happenstances (missed calls etc.) The big trends, that some posters here have alluded to, IMO are:

- Melo is killing us on the offensive glass. People are blaming Pao/Drew/Odom for this but this is simplistic, they're busy holding off Nene/KMart/Birdman who are all ferocious rebounders; Melo is just too strong for Ariza/Kobe.

- Denver has superb mid/long-distance shooters setup by an awesome Billups. The Lakers designated shooters (Fisher/Vujacic) are AWOL. This allows Denver to narrow down LA's choices (pack in the paint, overplay Kobe, deny Gasol). Comparatively, Denver actually has more options available on offense. The only reason our offense looks as good as it does is because of Kobe's brilliance - otherwise we'd be dead meat.

- The Laker interior is charmin-soft pretty much like last year. Yeah Gasol is slightly better, but the success of this team was really predicated on Bynum clogging up the paint. He isn't doing it and people can debate ad-infinitum about whether thats him or PJ.

Our 2 advantages (Kobe's brilliance, Gasol's all-star skills) are being more than overcome by the 3 big disadvantages: softness, shooting, melo. In order to win, we need to overcome at least 2, and/or find something else to exploit.

RCS926 · Franchise Player Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 16824

- Fish's 1st lay-up attempt in the 2nd half was a huge momentum killer. The Lakers were up 7 and had the opportunity to go up by 9, but Fish's bricked floater led to a fastbreak on Denver's end that resulted in a 4 point switch. It was even more frustrating to see Fish drive two more times not too long after that in heavy traffic. After all these years, Fish still doesn't know how to play within his limits.

- I love Pau's effort on the glass over the 1st two games, but he isn't a reliable go-to guy. It seemed like every time we went to him in the 2nd half resulted in a turnover, bad shot or bad possession. It isn't just this series either. Throughout the regular season Pau was unable to anchor the 2nd unit, which is a big reason why our 2nd unit lost so many big leads. Kobe really needed someone to step up and take some of the load off him, and Pau simply didn't rise to the challenge again. Also, missing two freethrows in the clutch again is inexcusable. Pau definitely experiences shrinkage when the going gets tough.

- Kobe has been a complete warrior for us in this series, but I don't know who else to count on. Kobe was clearly gassed in the 4th, but at the same time, his teammates didn't try hard enough to get him the ball. These guys need to know where their bread is buttered, and if they are going to take things into their own hands, then they had better deliver.

No. 17 · Star Player Joined: 29 Dec 2007 Posts: 7040 Location: L.A

hoopschick29 · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 9:16 am Post subject:

Sister Golden Hair · Franchise Player Joined: 01 May 2001 Posts: 15872

Arizona · Star Player Joined: 11 Oct 2007 Posts: 3177 Location: PHX

prisma8slg · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 10:13 am Post subject:

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."

nikehair · Starting Rotation Joined: 12 May 2004 Posts: 692

Linus Kleiza did what Sasha should be doing for us...Sasha has been garbage and if he continues sucking while Bynum does nothing, no way we win the series.

PushingtheLimit · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 11:21 am Post subject: