LAKERS -vs- KINGS - 10/15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Stay Thirsty, My Friends... Maybe it's just the beginning of the journey. Maybe it's the pace of things. You've been gone so long you just now realized how removed you were from the rest of the world. Call it post victory bliss.

In any event, the haze is starting to clear as your boat moves down river. The Apocalypse has brought devastation and unrest. The devastation you see all around you -- from the smoky-skied wastelands to the unchecked wilderness that is now reclaiming what man once took. The unrest, however, isn't seen but felt. You sense it a few feet just beyond the riverbanks. Eyes following you, watching your passage. Eyes taking notes on your movements, your weaknesses.

Occasionally, the boat will pass a vacant encampment -- survivors who tried to build some kind of life for themselves. Now these camps are empty, swept clean by some kind of savagery. At one such sand bank in the river, you tell the captain to stop. Tru Warier has been here.

There is a madness in the air that seems to scramble into the shadows as you step from the boat. The people have vanished. They were overcome by circumstance, and their fate consumed by him...then maggots and flies. Oh, yes, he took part in it. You see it in the horrific images written on walls. He has been here.

DancingBarry has been here, too. He left you a note pinned to a tree by a rusty machete:

The Horsemen were here. There was little to overcome, and what life remained in this camp was easily vanquished. They dropped like flies.

I will continue to follow them.

Ron Artest returned to the madness of one of his former teams, the Sacramento Kings. The brief glory days and rivalry with this franchise seem like generations ago. In the lifespan of basketball, perhaps it is.

The Kings are on one end of the spectrum, the Lakers on the other. As you might imagine, the Lakers handled their business by winning 98-92 despite extended deep bench play and injuries to Pau, Luke and now Lamar. None of the injuries seem serious, but resting players is a luxury in which the Lakers will indulge at this point of the season.

While Artest is feeling his way through the offense, Andrew Bynum seems to be seizing the day against these smaller opponents. He scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as the Lakers looked for him.

After the loss to the Warriors in the previous preseason game, the team called a players-only meeting. Bynum described it as "bringing a renewed focus." Player-only meetings after only the second preseason game? This team does not want to lose their edge. Stay thirsty, my friends.


Kobe -- -- You know it's preseason when Kobe tries to throw a bounce-pass alley-oop over a defender. That didn't work out, but the sweet between the legs bounce pass to a trailing LO for a dunk did. That was quite nice. There were no Stephen Jackson, getting-under-the-skin moments in this game. Defensively, Kobe roamed and was credited with 4 steals for his efforts. Offensively, he's looked relatively smooth, although he has missed a few in the first games that are normally automatic. He's worked the post and struggled a bit with his turnaround. Everything else looks strong. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-16 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 26 minutes. The Action: He got dribble penetration, drew a crowd and lobbed to Bynum for the dunk. He missed a step-back trying to post up Martin. He went between his legs to a trailing LO for the dunk, so sweet. He missed an up-and-under from the midpost. With the shotclock down, he pivoted twice and hit the 15-footer. He missed a 12-footer off the feed from Bynum out of the weakside of the triangle. He jammed off a half-court alley-oop pass from DFish. He posted up Udrih, drew a double team and FTs, he made both. He missed a 20-footer. He drained a wing three from the left. He missed a wing three from the other side. He drew FTs on a baseline turnaround, he made both. He no-looked to Bynum in transition for FTs. He tried to bounce an alley-oop pass over a defender to Drew on the break, but it was deflected. He had 10 points on 3-9 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He posted up, spun baseline and drew FTs, he made both. He backed his man down from the elbow, overpowered him and scored off the glass with his left. He busted out and dunked on the breakaway. He got tapped on an early offense three. He missed a wide open jumphook on the baseline. He missed a baseline turnaround. He dunked off the DFish steal and outlet.

Bynum -- -- The Lakers looked for him again and he responded. Although he was facing yet another team with a weak interior, there are things to take away from this game. Bynum showed what looks like an improved touch from the freethrow line and some good defensive mobility recovering on smaller defenders. He said he ran a lot of sprints, shooting freethrows after them, this offseason. The work he put in appears to be paying off. He was often in the thick of the transition action and he looked automatic from the line. Bynum said he wants to "keep working on my touch around the rim, keep trying be first up and down the court and grabbing the boards." Very good preseason start for Drew and he once again led the team in scoring. There were sequences where the ball stopped in his hands, but teammates were pretty much clearing out and standing around on some of those. Looked like they wanted him to go to work. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 7-13 shooting (10-12 from the line) to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 1 block and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. The Action: Nice recovery on Thompson to force a brick on a drive. He deflected a pass to cause a turnover. He missed a two-footer off the right block dropstep move. Next possession, he backed down Hawes and hit the short jumphook. He threw down an oop from Kobe. He grabbed an LO miss and hit the 9-footer in the lane. He swatted an Evans drive. He dunked off the transition lob from DFish (nice job running the floor). He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a layup putback. He missed a turnaround jumper with a man in his jersey. He missed a lob, got it back and drew FTs, making both. He throught he was called for a moving pick, but instead got the rewarded for FTs, he made both. More FTs when Morrison made an extra pass to him in the lane, Drew hit both. Bynum had 16 points on 5-8 shooting (6-6 from the line) in the first quarter. He worked the right block for a jumphook. Kobe set up him for FTs with a no-looker in transition, Drew made both. He led all scorers with 20 points on 6-9 shooting (8-8 from the line) to go with 4 boards. Second Half: He swatted Evans under the hoop. He held the ball, faced up, waited more, ball-faked to lose a double team, then attacked and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a turnaround while taking all kinds of contact with no call. He faced up and missed a 10-footer. He got tapped on an open elbow jumper. He posted up and had his jumphook goaltended off the rim. He was fouled on the perimeter and made one FT.

Lamar -- -- With Pau out, Lamar got the start in the first half, but sat in the second half. He banged shins (just below of the knee) at the end of the half and the team decided to rest him. He was limping badly when they tried to put him back in. While he was in there, he did a good job on the glass, pulling down 8 first half boards. He was a little sloppy with the handle and coughed the ball up a couple of times. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go wtih 8 boards, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He lost the ball on the dribble, turnover. He missed a drive to his left. He missed an elbow jumper. He dunked when Kobe hit him trailing the break with a pretty between-the-leg pass. Layup for LO when Morrison spotted him in transition. He scored an oop off the excellent backdoor feed from Artest. He lost the handle on the dribble for another turnover. Second Half: Had one brief stint on the court and limped badly before going to the locker room.

Artest -- -- Facing one of his former teams, Ron played a controlled game. He only got really aggressive when he was the lone impact baller asked to drive the offensive attack. His size and muscle were a load in the paint -- when he wanted a rebound, he seemed like he just took it. There was a brief encounter with Nocioni on one such sequence. With Pau out and Lamar going down, we saw Ron get a little time at the PF spot, showing his versatility. This stretch of games should help smooth out some of the wrinkles in the offense. Again, there were some moments of confusion out there, but Artest is really letting the game come to him right now. He's already drawn a few fouls this preseason just getting set to post up. The mere threat is causing some opponents issues. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (2 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 26 minutes. The Action: He threw a pass away on the pinch post. He drew a foul taking an offensive board from Hawes. He attacked from the right wing across he lane and scored a layup with his left. He hit Lamar on the weakside with a 27-foot pass for the oop. He sank a three, fading to his left. He missed a three next time down. Second Half: Interior feed to Powell for FTs in transition. He missed a wing jumper, fading left. He missed a wing three. He iso'd, attacked, missed, got it back with some muscle, missed again and DJ cleaned it up. He posted up and drew FTs on the entry pass, he made both. He planted himself in the lane, quickly threw a shot up, then drew a Nocioni tech when he flailed at Ron on the rebound.

Fisher -- -- Much better game from DFish after the turnover-prone clank fest of the last game. A lot of what was off in that last game was the team's timing, Fisher's included. That's to be expected this time of year. He had a sequence in the second half that showed some excellent defensive anticipation, getting back-to-back steals to ignite breakaways. Offensively, he fed teammates well and hit his shots. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal (wrong) and 1 foul in 18 minutes. The Action: He sank a baseline jumper in transition offense. He pushed up the break and hit Bynum with a lob for a dunk. He hit Kobe in stride for a half-court alley-oop. He missed a wing jumper. Second Half: He missed an early offense wing jumper. He attacked baseline and scored a layup. He swished a 21-footer from the right wing. He swiped a ball, cut off a defender and dished ahead to Kobe for the dunk. He swiped another pass next time down and fed Mbenga for FTs.

Brown -- -- With the size of the Kings guards, Brown was first off the bench at the 3:25 mark to match up with Evans. In those deep bench units where there is no one able to create or collapse the D, Brown's game suffered. He had to create or force a few shots. He's better when we've got more talent on the floor with him and can run our offense through others. Perhaps that's an obvious statement, but his tweener game and lack of true point skills is why he finally found a home here in the triangle versus with other teams. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a 21-footer off an inbounds pass. He iso'd on his man, attacked baseline, elevated and hit a floater. He drew FTs in transition, taking contact as he slashed, he made both. Second Half: He missed a sideline jumper. He missed a wing jumper off the pinch post. He attacked to his left, missed, but follow-tipped it in. He missed a pull-up three.

Vujacic -- -- In at lead guard for some run this game (Phil has been using him more there in practice) and Sasha put together a solid game. His shot was money. He didn't force anything. Has the Machine has returned? We see signs of a recharged battery, fewer memory leaks, and a new service pack for his operating system. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. The Action: Nice over-the-top entry pass to Bynum to get him FTs (Drew should have scored on the pass). He regained possession, crashing the offensive glass. Back-to-back fouls on his man to send him to the line at the end of the first quarter. He hit Powell off the two-man game for FTs. He hit a wing three off a swing pass. Next time down, he sank an And-1 wing jumper off the screens, he made the FT. Second Half: He sank a long wing jumper in early offense, standing on the three line. He attacked off the three line and hit a runner in the lane just before the shotclock could expire. Horribly soft perimeter pass, picked off for a layup the other way.

Farmar -- -- He came in 5 minutes into the second quarter and closed out the first half. He didn't try to do too much in that stint. In the second half, he looked a bit sloppier trying to drive the offense. To be fair, he was on some ugly lineups and really did need to do more. He's been fairly consistent so far this preseason, but he needs to watch those turnovers as that is what lost Phil's trust at one point last season. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 16 minutes. The Action: Nice D on Martin, keeping him in front of him and challenging jumpers. He attacked to his left, gave a little head fake then stretched out to flip in the layup. He worked the clock down, crossed over, attacked left and scored a layup with 2 seconds left in the half. Second Half: Poor pass on the two-man game and it was picked off. He attacked to his right and scored a layup off the controlled drive. He worked off the screen and missed the pull-up jumper. He kicked out right to a King.

Powell -- -- With our depleted power forward spot, Powell got some quality time in with some first line players. He couldn't connect on anything offensively, but was able to get to the line. He had moments of good hustle on the glass. He needs to keep that part of his game up. It seemed to disappear a little as the season went on last year. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 0-3 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists and 1 block in 16 minutes. The Action: He missed a jumphook a couple feet from the hoop. He drew FTs when Sasha set him up on the weakside, he made both. He missed a 19-footer. He kept an offensive board alive to Sasha. Second Half: He drew FTs in transition off an Artest feed and missed the Lakers first FT on their 20th attempt, he made the second. He missed an 18-footer.

Morrison -- -- With Luke down, Adam was thrown into a bigger role, playing the fourth most minutes on the night. Last time he was in Vegas was when he was working on his game in the Summer League. There would be no 20-point efforts nor the shots needed for that. He played serviceable minutes with some moments of good floor recognition and finding teammates, but he still seemed to fade into the background. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: Nice extra pass to Bynum under the hoop and Drew went to the line. He missed a wing three. He hit a pull-up 16-footer in transition. Excellent pass under the hoop to LO in transition for a layup. Second Half: He regained possession on an offensive board from the FT line. He made a tech FT. He missed a corner three. He missed a step-back jumper. He attacked baseline, took contact as a King tried to take a charge and was got blocked. Bad lob pass in a crowd to Bynum, it was easily picked off. He missed a wing three.

Mbenga -- -- Good to see Mbenga back on the floor. He showed some of that foul-prone play we see quite a bit from him. The help D fouls are okay, but the perimeter ones were the real mistakes. But he also had some flashes offensively. He looked confident in his jumper and even used his body well to seal a man on one occasion to manufacture a post score. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 3 offensive boards, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 15 minutes. The Action: Bad angle on his kickout pass and it was stolen for a layup the other way. He missed a 10-footer in the lane. He faced up on the baseline and quickly hit a jumper. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a jumphook, but got it back. Second Half: He sealed his man and scored a flat-footed layup after the entry pass. He drew FTs on the steal and dish from Fish, he made one. He pulled down an Artest miss and hit the short jumphook. He picked up back-to-back fouls to close the third. Then he gave up a layup to his man. Nice controlled swat on help D. More good help D to force the Kings to throw a pass away.

Gaffney -- -- His -12 in this game was largely due to the garbage-time nature of his minutes. That represented the Lakers fourth quarter as a whole. Not that he was making a positive impact, but the lineups out there were preseason-quality. He ended the game nicely with a rejection at the glass, but not much else worth going over. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover in 12 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He attacked to his left, then threw the ball away under pressure. He missed an 18-footer. He bricked a two-footer off the glass. He crashed the glass, hopped over a player and scored a layup. He swatted an Evans drive at the end of the game.

Kelati -- -- Not a lot of action in this game to make any kind of impact. Hard to make a splash in just 5 minutes, and it will be harder to get minutes as the season nears. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting, but grabbed 3 boards to go with 1 foul in 5:25 of action. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a jumper from the top of the key.

Phil -- -- Phil rested both Pau and Luke this game. Pau needs the rest, but has a tweaked hamstring they want to watch ("It's not too serious, I think," Pau said. He mentioned he felt a little mentally fatigued and was happy for the rest.) I wouldn't mind seeing him out a few more games. Luke has back issues... LO slid into the PF, Morrison got more run at the SF... Lakers looked for Bynum early and often. He finished the first quarter with 16 points (a number of alley-oops, but some good post work and running of the floor from him). Lakers led 28-23... Mbenga, Powell, Morrison, Sasha, Brown start the second quarter. Preaseason lineup. They promptly gave up the lead. Who is going to collapse the D offensively in that lineup?... Nice stretch by Sasha, then Phil went back to some starters in Bynum, LO and Artest to get some separation... The Lakers led 63-48 at the half, shooting 51 percent with only 5 turnovers. They were 17-17 from the line... Coaches wanted stops without fouling in the second half. They had 13 fouls in the first half (just 7 in the second half)... LO sat to start the second half, banging shins to close the half... Late in the third, Phil went to a Mbenga, Artest, Morrison, Brown, Farmar lineup. Artest getting some chance with that unit to be the focal point of the offense... The Lakers led 85-67 after three... He started a Mbenga, Gaffney, Morrison, Brown, Farmar lineup. They promptly got picked apart on a 13-2 run... They held on despite getting out-scored 25-13 in the fourth... Both teams shot 42 percent. The Lakers, however, made 26-30 from the line. The Kings just 14-24... Only 12 turnovers by the Lakers tonight...

[Omar Little]

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

[Teamof2000]

second

[JTS1]

top 3?

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks for the recap DB!
Sloppy play most of the game, maybe because Pau and Luke were out for the game,
but Bynum showed what could happen this season.


BTW, can we have something more constructive about the game from those who comment than Heyo!, second and top 3?.
This is Lakersground, not BSPN or one of those other 'second rate' sports sites
_________________
"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.

[JerryMagicKobe]

I wonder if everyone realizes how good Bynum is going to be....

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! Sloppy game at the end but the first half was fun! Drew is a different center than he was at this time last year. I like the results so far from his workout regimen this past off-season. He's out of the gate with 30+ effective minutes.

[waterman40]

Bynum sounded good in the post game recap on Channel 9, didn't get to see much of the game though. Thanks for the recap.
_________________
LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[prisma8slg]

[Vishnu]

ninth

[limchrc]

thanks

[Tanlentueux]

Where is Gelabale ? is he cut ?

[DancingBarry]

[Omar Little]

[ecksor]

Thanks, DB!

first TnR thread i've read this season. great read, as usual
_________________
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

[BLP711]

Thanks DB

[StuLantz#1]

I know some people in the game thread have been wanting to see more out of Artest, but I personally love the role he's playing and hopes he continues to do exactly what he's doing. I know it's only been three preseason games, and he can always revert to his former self (which I don't think will happen unless one of our scorers get injured), I just can't believe he'd ever show this kind of restraint offensively. He can do the most for us by continuing to do all the little things. We're far better off he's deferring to Bynum offensively considering how much more efficient Bynum is.

While Artest has been passing up on shots, they usually lead to a higher percentage one, so I don't want him to show aggression until the opponent's defense completely forces him to. His jumper isn't incredibly reliable, so I really like when he bulldozes himself down the lane like a running back and scores it up close or hands it off to someone near the rim. With our bigs this team is so good when we attack the basket as opposed to turning into a jumpshooting team. I do think in the end though the competition will pick their poison, and Artest will ultimately find himself open from behind the arc a lot as defenses crowd the paint.

Kobe will go down as one of the greats no matter what, but I've always felt the most overlooked skill he has that most don't ever bother mentioning is his passing ability. I genuinely think he's one of the best passers in the entire NBA and could have been a great point guard, it's just not a skill that stands out since he has such a scorers mentality.

Shannon Brown commits some of the most exciting fouls you'll see. They're not dumb fouls, they're always attempts at amazing defensive plays. Seemed like Phil was testing him and Farmar at point with the same squad to see who ran the team better before pairing them up in the backcourt (which went bad yesterday, but I think they were out there with scrubs). Even though I still think Farmar has some usefull skill, I don't think it's AT ALL a hard decision who should be our backup point (until Brown ever gives us any reason not to give him the nod).

And I just know Bynum can be a better rebounder even if he's out there with other good Laker rebounders (and I do agree I've seen him let teammates grab boards other rebounding-centric players don't usually give up). I can't tell yet if it's a fundamentals thing, not getting good reads, or if he needs to be more aggressive hunting down boards. But either way his activity level is clearly up, and an active Bynum is really damn good.

[Burgundy]

Does anyone else realize that there is a 90% chance Morrison won't be in the league next year after his rookie contract runs out?

This is a guy who was the college player of the year, and #3 overall draft pick. Supposedly, the next Larry Bird.

He's a ghost out there, and he's so tentative, that when he does shoot, you can tell it's a miss the moment it leaves his hand.

He's completely broken as a player.

Very sad.

[JTS1]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Omar Little]

[JTS1]

[j-dawg]

Nice DB!

A Kings fan once told me that Bynum was overrated and that Spencer Hawes was better than him

[Omar Little]