MAGIC -at- LAKERS - 6/7 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Be Water, My Friend... The Horsemen return to the thick sand, hoping to keep the pace of the battle in their favor. A red tide has the waters appearing tainted with blood. You aren't sure if this is a good or bad omen, but you're ready for anything.

Overlooking the battlefield on a bluff weathered by centuries of restless ocean, you see the monks -- The Association's keepers of Little Larry O'Brien. Somewhere among the many steel-barred carriages and the look-a-likes is the real Golden Child. It seems impossible to tell which is which, but he's up there, somewhere...and he's calling to you.

He's quoting Master Bruce over and over in your head: "Empty your mind. Be formless. Shapeless like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can creep or drip or crash. Be water, my friend."

You turn back to look at the ocean and ponder this, but the fight has started. The Horsemen orchestrate the battlefield like water. Unfortunately, it's not the liquid form. They aren't fluid, but clunky and their rhythm seems to be ice cold. Their defenses are like steam, building up pressure on their opponent, but giving way and vaporizing at critical moments.

The Horsemen are being pushed back. They are on the brink of disaster, and you fear they could lose this one. Angel screams next to you, hurling insults at the opponents and The Association. Cursing them all to damnation. Finally, you see it. The Horsemen become fluid like water, just briefly...but it's there at the end. Their attack begins to click, and they deliver a couple of decisive blows to the Magicians. And with that, the bells ring out once more and you count them ... one ... two ... and they stop. The Horsemen have won.

Angel collapses into the sands. You do, too. A seagull lands nearby and saunters over to you. You notice something on it's leg, a note. After getting pecked a couple times, you finally retrieve it. It's DancingBarry:

The Four Horsemen were here. Their opponent made adjustments, the Horsemen were slow to adapt. They were on the brink of disaster, but never broke ranks, never gave in. Late in the fight, Death, Pestilence and Famine all delivered. The Death Rider they call the Bulldog inflicted a number of deep wounds. The battles will only get tougher as they must leave the city and fight on their opponent's battlefield of choice.

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

Orlando had the Lakers where they wanted them -- a lead heading into the fourth on the road. They pull this off, get the split on the road, and they have control of the series if they can somehow run the table at home.

Both teams had chances to win it in the final seconds, but both failed to execute. As the game moved to overtime, the Lakers finally found their stride. They outscored the Magic 13-8 in OT and hung on to take the 101-96 victory.

There are probably a dozen little plays you could look at for either team that could have made the difference in regulation. A goaltend call that never came when Howard blocked a shot with his hand through the middle of the hoop. A phantom foul and bad call or two. Orlando missing 5-straight freethrows at one point. Courtney Lee with a chance to take the lead on a drive with 9 seconds left. Lee missing a lob at the end of regulation with 0.6 left.

The game was their for the taking, and the Lakers took it. They kept the pace in their favor most of the night. Both Pau and Kobe were able to get their points (Pau coming up with 7 in overtime), but Lamar Odom also chipped in with an efficient 19 points off the bench.

"I felt really comfortable and really confident in my shot this evening," LO said. They needed his impact with Bynum struggling with fouls. Lamar struggled himself defensively at times, but also had some sensational blocks in transition D.

"Lamar had an outstanding game," Phil said. "Pau was there again, as he is usually. We had other guys contribute as we went through."

While the Magic have found their point guard position suddenly falling apart, one of those other guys was the Lakers veteran point guard, DFish. He seems to have found his second wind. He made a number of plays on both ends and outplayed his counterparts.

Despite the win, the Lakers will need to make a series of adjustments to get the fluidity back in their game. "The offense has to flow," Phil said a number of times in the huddles. The Lakers are up 2-0. The Miami Heat came back from that deficit three years ago. Anything can happen. The Lakers can't let up. "We're about to kick it up," Kobe said. "You better believe it. We're close. This the Finals. We're going to be ready to go."


Kobe -- -- This was the adjustment game for the Magic. Some of that went into overdrive when Kobe's defenders were in early foul trouble. This forced some big lineups from the Magic. "I'm not sure I've got another lineup to throw out there that you haven't seen," Van Gundy said afterward. Seeing this, the Lakers will make their own tweaks. "The thing I need to make an adjustment on is the turnovers," Kobe said, referring to his 7 miscues. The Magic put some height on Kobe with Hedo. This seemed to be more effective, but Kobe will have to work it like we did against Melo at times in the last series. With Lee on him, Kobe can shoot over him. With Pietrus, he has to work and try to draw fouls with Pietrus's aggressive D or work the screens. With Hedo, he needs to attack the paint and probably end up making the hockey assists as our off-ball movement has more purpose to it. Perhaps, more attacks from the top of the key and elbows versus the extreme wings. Kobe had 11 points in the fourth, getting to the line 8 times, but he also had 3 turnovers in that quarter. "I don't think he had a good game at all as far as his standards go," Phil said. Kobe agreed and said he had to make smarter decisions. The Magic packed it in more and were aggressive with their help. The two-man sequences will need to execute at a higher level to take advantage of this. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 10-22 shooting (1-4 from three, 8-10 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, 7 turnovers and 2 fouls in 49 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He was way short on a 20-footer, pulling up in early offense to start the game. Poor D not moving his feet, he gave up a layup on the other end. He kicked out to Ariza for three. He was fouled curling to the ball for FTs, he made one. He was stripped on a double team. With Hedo on him, he swished a wing jumper. He settled again and missed a jumper over Hedo. He missed a long three at the first quarter buzzer. He hit Ariza and Fisher for threes. He drained an open wing three on a kickout from Pau. He had 6 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from three) and 5 assists in 19 minutes. Second Half: He posted up, spun away from the double and hit the baseline jumper. He sank a pull-up, 16-footer with Lee all over him. He spun away from the double and hit the wing turnaround. He missed a wing jumper, took contact with no call before the shot. He had a ball poked away in the backcourt. He dunked in transition off the Trevor steal. He attacked into the heart of the D and couldn't hit the runner. He missed a step-back jumper. He drained a 17-footer off the Gasol screen. He missed a three next time down. He kicked out to Fish for a three. He missed a chuck from three at the third quarter buzzer. He crossed over Pietrus and drew FTs, he made both. He got caught in the air and threw the ball to where Brown was before he cut to the hoop, turnover. He sank a pinch-post wing jumper. He was called for stepping out of bounds (look like he lost it, got it back and tried to step inbounds then hit a three). He passed on a short jumper in the lane and threw it away, uggh (that's a shot he's got to take). He missed a force in traffic on the break. He attacked, hung and drew FTs getting hit on the arm by Pietrus, he made one with 3:35 left, trailing by 1. He was hit by Pietrus again on a jumper, fouling him out with 3 minutes left, Kobe made both FTs. He was tripped by Hedo taking an interior feed, he made both FTs with 2:40 left. He took contact on a drive with no call and missed. He attacked, hung, took contact and banked in a tough shot with a minute left to tie it (huge make). He was blocked from behind on a shot to win it (Lamar and Ariza were both open as three defenders swarmed him). Overtime: He stalled the offense and missed a chuck to start the overtime. He attacked from the wing and muscled in a tough fading runner. He worked the high screen with Pau, drew the D, fed him and Pau finished the And-1. He was called for the ball getting stripped off his leg with 42 seconds left...phantom call...absurd...huge possession for the Magic that they shouldn't have had.

Gasol -- -- Scrappy game from Pau. With Bynum only going limited minutes, Pau was in the cross hairs defensively. He tried forcing baseline, and the help D forced Howard into 7 turnovers. The Magic, however, were able to get a lot of inside-out possessions. "They're mixing it up on me...it's been frustrating me a little bit," Howard said. Sometimes, we probably ought to let him go iso and fake the doubles, too. This is better with Bynum out there. Offensively, the Kobe/Pau two-man game was a little clunky. "They finally found a way to come through at the end of the game on some of those plays," Phil said. Kobe hit him for a key And-1 in overtime. Kobe said they finally had it timed right with Pau running parallel to Kobe on the play when Howard came over. They will need to clean up the execution. The spacing on the floor was ugly at times, so hopefully they will finally be on the same page. Pau had 7 points in the OT period, a couple of his late-game scores tonight he just imposed his will. I'd like to see a little more iso against Howard. Pau had several scores on it (a face-up, a couple spins for reverses, a fade...) Excellent job from the line. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 7-14 shooting (10-11 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 3 fouls in 44 minutes. He was a +/- of 0. The Action: He was "blocked" on a reverse jam on a baseline drive, Howard went through the hoop to block it, should have been two points on a clear goaltend. He worked Lewis in the post and hit with his left. He swatted Howard. He posted up Lewis, drew the D and kicked to a cutting Lamar for a layup. Bad foul going for a long offensive board (FTs the other way), need to save those with Bynum picking up early ones. He missed an easy jumphook over Howard. Weak flip in the lane instead of attacking the rim. Nice challenge on Hedo's drive to force a miss. He missed an open baseline jumper. He drew a foul getting the ball down low in transition, he made one FT. He hit Kobe on a kickout for a three. He swished an elbow jumper. He threw down off an inbounds play. He had 7 points on 3-8 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He reached on Rashard's drive to give up FTs. He faced up on Howard and knocked down the jumper. He was hacked on a drive down the lane, he made both FTs. He was swatted on a jumphook. He spun on Howard and was hacked, he made both FTs. He missed a 15-footer. Phantom foul on a great block on Howard, two FTs for Dwight. He faced up, attacked to his right and hit a hanging fade. He poked a ball free from Howard in the post. Weak double on Rashard in the post and he gave up a bank shot. He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Fish in the final minute. Okay job helping on Lee's lob on the final play in regulation, if not maybe Lee doesn't blow that one, but Pau seemed to recognize it just a hair late. Overtime: He stripped Howard in the post. He drew FTs when Fisher set him up on a drive and dish, he made both. He worked the two-man with Kobe, took the return pass and muscled in an And-1, he made the FT to lead by 5 with 1:14. He was fouled with 28 seconds left on the defensive glass, he made both FTs to lead by 6.

Bynum -- -- Phil needs Bynum on the floor and he said so after the game. Drew has got to find a way to limit some of the fouls. Yes, a couple were bogus, but there were others he had to be careful on. "I think he'll learn as he goes along," Phil said. He highlighted Bynum's fifth foul going through a screen as not being a smart one. Defensively, we collapsed and helped quite a bit for Bynum. He had some excellent defensive plays early in the fourth, but we need his big body out there so we don't have to send help on Howard so much. If we can get that, the Magic will only have the pick and roll to run. Offensively, not a lot for Bynum. He got a few touches, but didn't have enough time to really get into a flow as a team. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 16 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He picked up a very weak touch foul to start the game. Bynum picked up his second foul at the 7:54 mark, again getting caught on the drop step by Howard. He missed a jumphook off the glass. He was called for 3 seconds trying to go to work in the post. Out of a timeout, he overpowered Gortat for an And-1 on the jumphook, he made the FT. He airballed a turnaround jumper. He flashed to the ball, faked one way and hit the jumphook the other way. He reached while trailing behind the play in transition and picked up his third foul. He was done for the half after playing 10 minutes. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting and no boards. Second Half: He picked up his fourth foul after three minutes and had to sit for Lamar. He couldn't finish a high oop from Lamar on the break. A couple great challenges in the paint to help get stops. He recovered on Gortat to get a stop at the rim from behind on another stand. He picked up his fifth away from the ball trying to run through a screen and had to sit. Overtime: Did not play.

Ariza -- -- After Lewis had killed us in the second quarter, Hedo had 14 points on 5-6 shooting in the third quarter. The high screen-roll was causing the Lakers all kinds of trouble. He was killing us during stretches. We were trying to help off others and the Magic offense was clicking. This allowed the Magic to run without a point guard. We've got to find a way to defend it better because the Magic are going to milk this like mad in the next game. They worked harder in OT to help make life for difficult for him. Offensively, he seemed to take a few too many pull-up jumpers which aren't his strength. I'd like to see him attack, draw the D and dish more. Also, cut off the three line more instead of looking for kickouts. Keep the D honest. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-13 shooting (2-6 from three) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He drained a three on a kickout from Kobe. He bricked a drive off the Pau handoff. He missed an open three, should have attacked the wide open lane. He missed a pull-up jumper on the break, rarely see him take those. He missed a long three against the shotclock. He swished an open three trailing the play. He had 6 points on 2-6 shooting. Second Half: He missed an elbow jumper to start the second half. He attacked from the wing, got a screen from Pau on Howard and he scored the layup. He missed a pull-up jumper badly. On the other end, he stole a post entry to Howard on a switch, then hit Kobe with a touch pass for a dunk on the other end. He missed a three. He swiped a bad kickout pass. He missed a force layup attempt under the hoop in traffic. He missed a reverse. He was called on a strip on Howard on a reach, he couldn't believe it, neither could Staples. He pointed the clear out that Hedo was getting away with to Javie, then 10 second later it happened again and he got the call (well done, sir). Overtime: He stripped a ball off Hedo's leg and out of bounds. He missed a wing three.

Fisher -- -- How huge was DFish? This was his best game of the playoffs. Some heady plays on both ends, some major clutch ball. He set up Pau for some big shots, came up some huge stops on the defensive end. Wow. Van Gundy went to Redick at their point late in this game. With Alston getting colder by the game as we leave him open and Van Gundy not trusting Nelson to make a difference, the move helped the Magic get some shooting in the game. The Lakers did a pretty good job driving him off the three line, but we couldn't leave to help on Howard as easily. Offensively, you want your PG to be able to take advantage of that matchup on the other again. Fisher is not the type of guard who can do that with ease. DFish did have some great drives and dishes, however, in crunch time. Some excellent leadership by DFish in this game. The Laker vets really pushed through when the pressure was on. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-9 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He stalled the offense and bricked a 20-footer. He drew an easy charge on Pietrus to erase a breakaway. He missed a sideline jumper. Great hustle to a loose ball he created and he drew another foul on Pietrus (his second of the first quarter). He drained an open 18-footer in early offense. He picked up a moving screen call on Howard fighting over the top. He drained a corner three in transition. He missed a midrange jumper. he had 5 points on 2-5 shooting. Second Half: He missed a layup on a drive. Wow, cheap foul, giving up FTs just moving his feet with his hands in the air. He drained a wing three off a Kobe kickout. He attacked off the three line and somehow made a layup in traffic. He missed a wide open three. He scooped a loose ball and was stripped on the other end, but we got it back (could have been a foul). He attacked and hit Pau for a layup. Overtime: He attacked off the three line and dished to Pau for FTs. He swiped a pass under the hoop to save a sure hoop, then bulldogged it all the way to the other end for FTs, he made both with 1:53 in OT.

Lamar -- -- Where to start? The Lakers were up by 3 points with 22 seconds left in the game. Lamar was fouled and knocked down two clutch ones to keep the Magic just out of striking distance. Big makes, huge makes. Asked by Vic the Brick what was going through his mind on those, Lamar said, "Nothing." Vic, in Zen bliss: "That's perfect." Lamar also came out in the fourth quarter and got the Magic on their heels with some aggressive work on the offensive end. He had several makes and 8 points in that quarter, a critical stretch of ball. His shot was looking great, just missing once on the night (he was open on that final play of regulation, too, if Kobe would have kicked). You'd like to see Lamar in the post a little more against Rashard. Got to make Rashard work more when he is in foul trouble early on, but we didn't. Defensively, Lamar did a poor job closing out on the perimeter, not getting his hands up on a few shots, losing sight of Rashard on others. He did play some great D around the rim with a couple of shots to save layups in transition. When possessions are at a premium, those are huge hustle-play stops. Lamar picked up his fifth foul with several minutes left in the game, but avoided the foul out...that could have been a disaster. Lamar said his back feels a lot better in general and he can be more mobile on the court, but after the game he said it was still tight. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-9 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 46 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He was called for three seconds. He scored a layup off the no-looker by Pau in the lane. He took an interior feed and drew Lewis's second foul of the first quarter, he made one FT. He swished a face-up jumper on iso against Gortat. He missed a corner three next time down. He sank a 19-footer behind a Bynum screen. He swatted Redick in transition, great hustle. He lost the ball in the post against Lewis. No hands up on Lewis and he gave up a baseline jumper and a three. He gave up another three to Lewis, sagging too much. He left Lewis wide open, getting lost for another three (Kobe should have rotated to him, too against our zone). He had 7 points on 3-4 shooting and 5 boards. Second Half: He tied up Howard with a block for a jumpball, he didn't win it. He sank a face-up baseline jumper over Gortat. He picked up his third foul, pulling down a man on an offensive board (FTs the other way). He attacked Gortat with speed for a layup. He pushed out the break, but couldn't connect with Bynum on a high lob. He attacked down the lane, hit a runner and screamed at the ref for no call. He fumbled a pass from Luke, got it back and hit the jumper in the lane. He mis-timed a defensive board and Orlando capitalized. He drained a 22-footer with the shotclock low. He picked up his fifth foul when Lewis swung through on him. Hedo swished a jumper over him with 47 seconds left to take a 2-point lead. Good challenge on Lee on help D and he secured the board with 9 seconds left. Overtime: He was fouled with 22 seconds left, he made the first FT ... and the second.

Luke -- -- Luke didn't get to dominate like he had in the past game against smaller defenders. The Magic were in their big lineups in the first half when Luke came in. He had to D-up against Rashard at the SF and this isn't a good matchup. Then his other minutes were against Hedo. Defensively, he picked up a couple fouls against Rashard, one was cheap. With foul trouble on both teams, we might see this matchup again. Hopefully, Luke will be allowed to body up and keep Rashard from low position. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot, had 2 boards and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He picked up a couple weak fouls trying to body up Lewis. Second Half: He got caught in the air, giving up FTs on Hedo. Overtime: He did not play.

Brown -- -- He came in for Farmar this time to start the fourth. Farmar got a little shot happy in the first half. Brown has a very difficult role to play, thrown into the fire for the first time at a critical stage. If we don't want Sasha hoisting up threes, then we should probably get Shannon some first half minutes, too. Jeff Van Gundy gave him props for having a great attitude about his role. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot and had 1 foul in 6 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He cut to the hoop and Kobe threw the ball to the corner where Brown was...Kobe gives him a lob and that's probably a throwdown for Brown if Kobe had been looking. Overtime: He did not play.

Vujacic -- -- He had one stint in the first half and didn't return. When he and Farmar are shooting back-to-back threes when we're trying to keep the pace down, there's a reason both ended up getting benched in the second half. Think midrange, Sasha. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting from three to go with 1 board and no fouls in 5 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He drew a moving screen on Gortat. He bricked an open corner three. Second Half: He did not play. Overtime: He did not play.

Farmar -- -- He hit his first two shots, then was feeling himself and missed several after that. When you're a bench player pulling up in transition for a three in this series, you are going to get in trouble. That's a greedy shot. Farmar needs to stick with the game plan. His indulgence saw him riding the pine in the second half for Brown. It's a shame because he hit a couple of midrange jumpers to start then got a little careless with our possessions. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He sank an open 18-footer off the Bynum screen. He stripped a big under the hoop. He sank an elbow jumper after losing Nelson. He missed an early offense three (if you are going to take that, you better hit it). He airballed a reverse, got it back and barely hit rim on a missed turnaround. Second Half: He did not play. Overtime: He did not play.

Phil -- -- Bynum picked up early foul trouble (cheap first foul) and the Lakers were off to a clunky start... The Magic slid Lewis to the 3 and Hedo to the 2 to cover Kobe when Kobe's men had 4 fouls. Lewis picked up another foul, so the Magic brought in Redick on Kobe... They trailed 12-11 when Nelson came in and Luke for Trevor with 3 minutes left... The Lakers shot 6-20, the Magic 4-14 in the first quarter. The teams were tied 15-15. Ugly... Phil started a Bynum, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar lineup to open the second quarter... The Magic had a 5-1 advantage on the offensive glass early on. They had 10 turnovers, however... The Lakers led 24-21 when Kobe returned for Sasha... Some very weak D on Lewis (Lamar not getting a hand up or sagging off him). Also not attacking him on the other end like we should have with foul trouble. Rashard had 18 points in the second quarter... Despite not getting into a rhythm, the Lakers won the second quarter 25-20. They led 40-35 at the half, shooting 42 percent (16-38, 4-9 from three, 4-7 from the line). The Magic shot 32 percent (12-37, 5-16 from three, 6-8 from the line). The Magic won the offensive boards 7-2. They had 11 turnovers to the Lakers 5... The Lakers struggled to get going offensively. Not a lot of Kobe two-man game. They needed to get their rhythm to start the third quarter... The Lakers gave up three easy shots to start the second half. Orlando dictating everything... Kobe started dictating back with more aggression offensively... With Bynum in early foul trouble again, the Lakers were doubling the post everytime on Howard. The Magic exploited it to take the third quarter 30-23... They trailed 65-63 going into the fourth. The Magic were right where they wanted to be in this game, and if the Lakers don't play better two-way ball in this fourth, the Magic will be right where they want to be in this series. Huge moment in this series... Phil started the fourth with a Bynum, Lamar, Luke, Kobe, Brown lineup... Lamar with a strong start to the fourth, giving the Lakers some life... The Magic took the lead back by working the high screen with Hedo ball handling. Rashard hit another three and Phil took a timeout, trailing 77-75 midway through the quarter... Kobe fouled out Pietrus with 3 minutes left, trailing by 1. Van Gundy went to Lee... Out of a timeout, up by 1 with 2:42 left, Phil got the ball to Kobe for FTs... Down 2 with 47 seconds left and Hedo covering Kobe, Phil got the ball to Kobe, who kicked to Fish, who attacked and fed Pau for a layup... With the game tied with 9 seconds left, Phil called another timeout. Get the ball to Kobe, right? They took the ball out full court, Kobe got the ball after Lamar brought it up. He attacked, was swarmed and was blocked from behind. Looked like we had both Lamar and Ariza open if Kobe could have kicked it out. Phil wanted Kobe to get the ball earlier and attack an open court with speed... Overtime: Down by 1 midway through OT, the Lakers went on a 7-0 run. They led 97-91 with 1:14 in OT... They led by 6 with 28 seconds left, but gave up a catch-and-shoot three on the inbounds. The Lakers led by 3 with 26.2 second left... Lakers took the ball in the backcourt, Lamar got a return feed from Fish with 22 seconds left. He's probably our fourth or fifth option on the court, but LO stuck both clutch ones. Ball game... The Magic made 10-30 from three and shot 42 percent overall for the game. They made 20-27 FTs. The Lakers made 24-28 from the line, that made the difference... Orlando had 20 turnovers to the Lakers 12. The Magic won the offensive glass 10-4...

Game Flow -- LINK -- Very up and down, back and forth game. Interestingly, none of the Lakers had a negative on the +/-. Each team had three impact players, but DFish and Trevor Ariza each gave a little more than the Magic role players.

[Vishnu]

1st

edit: YEAH! I got it this time

Thanks DB

[SoCaLjAy]

Thanks DB!

[Corto Maltese]

Tans DB!

[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB.

Defense is gonna have to be sharper next game.Offense as well. Lets take game three
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*sighs*

!...

[RhodyRay]

DB nice Bruce Lee reference! It was quite appropriate for this game too. Lakers played crapped defense but got the stops when they needed it most. The door is closing on the Magic. Lakers NEED to go and get game 3 to put the nail in the Magic's coffin. I do hope they can end this thing on Orlando's court. We shall see. The Lakers need to play 100% better on the road.
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Let them HATE so long as they FEAR!

[Laker7]

Just a couple of notes:

Phil needs Bynum to stay on the floor BAD. Was it me or did Lewis do most of his damage with Lamar on him and Pau on Howard? Lewis seemed a lot less effective when Pau guarding him. And if Bynum is going to be on the floor, he has to REBOUND!

SVG designed a beautiful out of bounds play and if Peitrus had not fouled out and was out there instead of Lee, we could be looking at at 1-1 series.

Lamar has come up HUGE for us right now. A lot of teams have got to be looking at him to see if they can sign or do a sign and trade for him. Getting him on the cheap may be harder than many of us thought.

Phil with the hook on Farmar may teach him a lesson. You are a point guard. Distribute, don't jack up shots!

L7
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[8750]

thanks, DB
this win is about intensity and character -especially lamar!- but in my opinion our game plan was once again really bad...
those three pointers from the corners almost killed us, with our defense overhelping and having very bad rotations
we almost never -wonderful exception in overtime- played p&r with kobe and pau... that's the best solution to open their defense...
can you explain why with few seconds to go they press and we don't play some screens for kobe?

[LakerFan1972]

Another great writeup DB.

[DancingBarry]

[Addicus]

2 more bells DB.
I thought this game was all about Lamar Odom. He played great offense, hit the boards well and played great interior and transition defense. Yet he kept the Magic in the game by playing poor perimeter defense on Lewis and Hedo. Why was his defene poor - hands down on great jump shooters. That is a gigantic no no.
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Stop crying and start doing.

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

[LakerSanity]

In the 4th and overtime with Hedo on Kobe, I would have liked to have seen Luke in there to take advantage of Lee instead of Ariza. That's how we played Luke in game 1 when they put Turkoglu on Kobe and it really paid dividends with Luke's post up game.

We need to help less on Howard in general... and if we help, we need to help off of Nelson, Alston, and Lee as we did in the 1st game... not Lewis. The magic made that more by loading up both Howard and Lewis on the strongside instead of Howard and Alston or Nelson. They also had Hedo spot up at the top of the arch instead of the weakside corner 3. In other words, they are putting their best shooters closer to Howard where he can make passes to them realizing that Howard isn't finding them in the more difficult zones.

I don't mind making Howard a bit of a scorer as well if it means we limit Hedo and Lewis' open shots. I also think that when we do help, we need to be more patient - Howard was looking for the pass a lot in this game and we bit on that first Howard dribble too quickly. We need to let him get into his move a little bit more before we help, if we do help at all.

I also don't know why we failed to go into Bynum in the post early in the game like in game 1. Bynum is our best bet to get some easy fouls on Howard, so, if we know Bynum might face foul trouble, we need to take advantage of that fact when we still can.

Regarding Kobe's play... the Magic made a concerted effort to double Kobe in this game instead of the one on one coverage he mostly received in game 1. Kobe adapted, but he can and will do much better if they continue with that strategy.

Lastly, we blew tons of 3pt coverages. We also didn't hustle or close out nearly as well as we did in game 1. That said, I think we need to adjust our schemes a bit to protect the corner 3. That's the best jumpshot in basketball and too often we rotate to the wing 3 1st before the corner 3... I think it should be the other way around, particularly if Hedo or Lewis are sitting in that corner.
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[LakerSanity]

[DancingBarry]

[Sister Golden Hair]

I honestly don't see why Sasha gets ANY minutes these days. That ship has sailed in everyone's eyes but PJ's. I had problems with Farmar's minutes because I thought he was playing selfishly -- like a guy auditioning for a new contract. It hurt the team. Shannon needs to get more minutes at the expense of both of these guys. If I have to choose between Farmar or Sasha, however, I play Farmar limited minutes as long as he plays under control, and unselfishly. I don't think Sasha adds anything and insteda hurts the team even in limited minutes.

Despite Lamar's good offensive game, I thought he played poorly on D, especially in the 2nd quarter. He just went into a fog and lost track of his assignment (Rashard), and it cost the Lakers big. The Magic were using Rashard to pass into the post, and whenever the lakers collapsed to help Pau against Howard, they got good looks when Howard passed the ball out. I'd rather the doubles come from the other side of the court, off of Lee or ALston -- anyone but Hedo or Rashard. Also, I heard Craig Hodges say in a post-game interview that the Lakers can live with rashard getting his points like tonite as long as Howard doesn't get his points on dunks. (This is basically the credo they've lived by most of the year.) Apparently, the Magic thrive emotionally when Howard gets them dunks. I disagree. I think the Magic thrive emotionally off the three ball. I know it's coaching dogma that it's better to hold down scoring inside and to let three-point shooters bomb away if you have to, but I think Orlando is the wrong team to play orthodox against. Because Howard is so raw inside, I think it's best to play him with single coverage, and make him a scorer and finisher. I don't think his skill level is where it needs to be yet. You can still double intermittently to break up a rhythm, or when the orlando personnel allows you to double off of relatively poor shooters like Alston.

Because Orlando is so proficient shooting threes, doubling the middle plays right into their hands. That tactic almost cost the lakers tonight.

I also noticed that the lakers were doing a poor job of challenging the passes into the post. They were laying off of guys like Hedo, Lewis, and Reddick. Not sure why. You want to make Orlando use up a lot of time before geting the ball inside so that the shot clock winds down as Howard has to make a play. You want him to have to make decisions under duress. They need to crowd the perimeter guys a bit more.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!!

14 Down, 2 To Go!!!


Great writeup as always.

I also hope to see Drew out there more than 20 minutes next game.

ABC = Amazingly Biased Commentary.

Huge props to the entire starting lineup plus LO.

Now it's time for the Lakers to show why they are the best road team in the league!

[DancingBarry]

[John O]

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB.

I missed most of the first half. We held the Magic to 2 2nd quarter points. 2!! Problem for us, we let Shard go off for 18. We lock him down and this was a blowout.

I am loving the defensive possiblities of this team. To hold them under 100 points in an OT game is huge. Just I suspected: Howard would not get off cleanly against us. His hustle, energy and strength is allowing him to still rebound, but he is hardly looking like Superman against us.

Bynum: please be smart with your fouls. Howard can't do much with you unless he is bailed out by the refs.

LO: he is indeed our X-factor. Defensively. Offensively. He's doing it all. Only complaint is a few mental lapses in the 2nd quarter leading to 3pt bombs by Shard.

We'll win at least one in Orlando. If we outrebound them in game 3, the next game in Staples will be in November.

2 more to go!

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB! Big W by the lakers but they truly did need a little luck to get this one.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[Magic'sSon]

[targetman]

Bynum seems to have problems with his body control. Some of the fouls he did commit were clumsy and off balance. And he needs to keep his arms straight up when he defends--there is a ref with a whistle watching to see if he moves them down even just a little.
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[twoface723]

I would love to see Brown get the minutes Farmar is getting..

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB. I was proud of LO, he played like a champion.

Pau is looking much stronger this year than last, he's holding his own much better than I expected against D-12. I'm proud of him too.

Kobe reminded me of Magic Johnson a little bit, he almost had that Deer in the headlights look when Magic faced Boston in the championship. I remember, Magic wanted to win so bad that I thought he was being a little tentative at times with his offense. That's when big game James stepped up and filled up that vacuum, like Pau and LO are stepping up here.