WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 10/20 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Overreaction Jackson... Hat. Coat. Papers. Time for a road trip. Your destination, thankfully, is within walking distance. You flash your papers to the sentries and exit the perimeter defenses. As you head out, you pass numerous signs with arrows pointing in the direction from which you just came. They all say the same thing, "Sanctuary."

Your destination isn't far, but it seems to take forever. You pass some cat pushing a shopping cart. He immediately takes offense to you -- for what, you aren't sure. You tell Overreaction Jackson to shut his pie hole. He begins yelling for anyone who will hear him that he's been wronged. He mutters some threats when you're at a safe distance.

Finally, you make it to your destination. The old neighborhood isn't what it used to be. You've seen plenty of this post Apocalyptic landscape to be numb to the vacant ghost town of suburbia. Once again it's the lack of sound that is unnerving. Everyone's left, the neighborhood kids no longer run in the streets.

Your lawn is caked with ash and debris. Beneath it, you spot a red, ceramic hat shape trying to poke. You pull your lawn gnome free, dust it off and tuck him under your arm. A nice find, but what you really want is in the garage. With some difficulty, you manage to open the garage door. You're relieved to find her there in one piece. You yank the dust cover off the black 1970 Chevy Nova. You converted it into a '69 Chevy Yenko Nova a few years ago, and she served you well last year.

Time to start getting serious. You slide in the driver's seat and strap your lawn gnome securely in the passenger's side. Seconds later, you are out on the streets. Ahead in the road you spot a tipped over shopping cart. Overreaction Jackson is no where to be found, and there's a note taped to his cart. It's DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. There was no public trash talking, just a focus on winning the fight. They may not be a full force, but they appear to be a deep and effective one. Their skills are strong, their weapons are many.

I will continue to follow them.

Stephen Jackson can't help himself. He talks up quite a game, which has included such gems as taking Kobe Bryant in a fight, calling Kobe a dirty player to declaring himself an equal talent to No. 24. And the Lakers thought they signed Crazy to a contract this season.

All the talk amounted to a whole lot of nothing from Jackson. As for Kobe, "I let my play do the talking," he said. Despite getting stuck in traffic on the way to the arena, the Lakers took the 113-107 victory over the Warriors behind 21 points from Bryant and 20 from Andrew Bynum. Ron Artest led the team with 8 assists and continues to play selfless ball.

Artest is not playing a ball-dominant game, and that is quite the opposite of what many critics feared. Three trends have appeared in these early preseason games: Great passing from Ron Artest; The team's consistent efforts to get the ball to an effective Andrew Bynum; and a pretty fiesty battle among our reserve guard trio.

All of that speaks of an elevated pool of talent for the Lakers this season, something they are relying on right now. The Lakers aren't out-executing teams as much as just out-talenting them. That may be a trend for a while.

It's been difficult to build the kind of cohesiveness you need with the Lakers nursing injuries and integrating Artest. Slowly, they've made some strides. This should be the last of these patchwork games with long stretches of reserve ball and small lineups. The remaining games should to start to reflect a more focused, purposeful and integrated team.

Time to rev up the engine and get rolling.


Kobe -- -- He went right in the post against Stephen Jackson quickly. He was aggressive, looking to score on him early and did so. He hit his first three attempts before a missed goaltend call. On the other end, Jackson started slapping Kobe's forearm off again and whining to the refs. It wasn't the same fireworks that ended up taking a ton of money out of SJax's wallet, but Kobe still gave SJax the cold shoulder and treatment. He's going to look forward to this match up in the regular season. Kobe was excited about getting to the game late and not having the usual time to prep. He said it reminded him of AAU basketball as a kid. With that quick start, he certainly didn't look like he missed his warm-up routine. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-12 shooting (1-3 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He sank a 19-footer from the wing off the Artest kickout. He sank a jumper from a steep angle behind the backboard and fading out of bounds. He drained a step-back jumper over Jackson next time down. His layup was goaltended with no call. He outlet to Bynum who beat everyone down court for a dunk. He missed a long three (looked like a heat check). He attacked in transition, missed, got it back and drew FTs, he made both. He stripped SJax in a corner trap. He spotted Artest away from his man under the hoop for the layup. He missed a toe-on-the-three-line jumper. He airballed a baseline jumper. He attacked baseline, bumped knees and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a chuck in the lane off the glass. He posted up and swished the turnaround fade. He swiped the ball on the other end to ignite a break. He went behind his back to Fisher for a long jumper. With a smaller man on him, Kobe turned and shot a set shot, flat-footed, 20-footer right over him. He threw a pass away on the final possession of the half. He had 14 points on 5-10 shooting. Second Half: He drained a wing three on the kickout from Artest. He hesitated on the backdoor, then saw the pass coming and finished the oop. Bad two-man D and he gave up an easy dunk. He created off the dribble and was wrapped up for FTs, he made both. He did not play in the fourth.

Bynum -- -- The Lakers didn't establish the Bynum post or back-to-basket game quite like they had in previous games against the Warriors this preseason. It didn't prevent Bynum from still impressing against Biedrins and Turiaf. He displayed a variety of moves and footwork when he got the ball. He showed ability to get near the rim after getting the ball 15 feet away. He ran the floor well and was rewarded for it. All of that led to another good scoring night. Now throw Artest in the mix and Bynum benefits from another person who can draw doubles or create off the dribble. Efficient game from Bynum and he continues to hit from the line at a high clip. Defensively, he completely stopped any post game from the Warriors. They chose to attack him off screens instead. Bynum had a big ice pack over his right shoulder after the game. I don't recall noticing that before. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-11 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 9 boards (3 offensive), 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He was blocked trying to go up in traffic off an interior feed from DFish. He beat everyone down court and Kobe outlet to him for a dunk. He was swatted on a layup on the break trying to avoid a charge. Good position and he hit a short jumphook. He scored a layup off the steal and pass from Artest. He fought for a high entry, took it away and powered in a layup at the end of the first quarter. He attacked past Moore on the dribble and just missed an And-1, he made both FTs. He drew FTs when Artest set him up in the paint. He missed a leaning jumper on a two-man game (should have rolled instead of standing there). He scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting and had 6 boards. Second Half: He dropstepped, faked middle, then hit the short jumphook. He picked up a loose ball at the FT line, spun to change directions and finger rolled a layup (so nice). He didn't roll again on the two-man game and DFish bounced a pass where he thought Drew would be, turnover. He swatted Biedrins jumphook. He attacked and missed a layup. He drew FTs after pulling down a missed shot, he made both. He didn't play in the fourth.

Lamar -- -- Good to see LO back out there and running smoothly. They kept his minutes to just 22, but he managed to stuff some stats in that time. His jumper seems to look as smooth as where he ended the season. He usually doesn't look that good this time of the year. Hopefully, we can get everyone back on the floor in the next game because this team needs to work on that chemistry. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting (2-2 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He swished a three off the post kickout from Bynum. Nice help D in our strong-side overplay and he swiped the ball. He got picked from behind trying to push out the break. He missed a layup on a drive to his left. Nice pass deflection on one end, then a dunk on the other. Second Half: He scored a layup off the Artest interior feed. He missed an open wing jumper. He grabbed a loose ball, pushed up the break and drew FTs, he made both. He trailed the break, took the pass and contact on Ronny, then finished the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He iso'd on Ronny, worked the dribble and hit a step-back baseline jumper. He attacked, got body checked and hit in the head with no call and then a tech. In late for Gaffney, he drained a three from the top of the arc.

Artest -- -- Ron looked to more consistenly exploit the interior of the Warriors in this game. He sure worries a lot of defenders and team defenses when he does so. All the attention he was drawing led to good looks and easy scores for teammates. After three quarters of play, he led the team with 8 assists. He was one of the keys to a late third quarter run when he and Bynum imposed their game on the Warriors. Even though he scored just 6 points and only tallied 3 shots attempts, he was still engaged in the offense and fairly aggressive. He just never forced shots. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 29 minutes. The Action: He posted up and fed Kobe for the jumper. He missed an open three on the next trip down. He pushed up the break and hit Drew for the dunk. He got away from his man under the hoop and scored a layup off the Kobe feed. He swiped a pass in the backcourt then fed Drew for the layup. He posted up and was called for a double dribble. He attacked and set up Drew for FTs. He posted up and drew FTs on the post entry pass, he made one. He had 3 points, 5 assists and 2 steals in the first half. Second Half: He attacked and kicked to Kobe for a three. He posted up, drew a crowd and gave it to LO for the layup. He threw a perimeter pass out of bounds. He found LO trailing the break for an And-1. He posted up and hit Ammo cutting baseline for the dunk. He swished a long wing three on a kickout. He didn't play in the fourth.

Fisher -- -- Defensively, he gave up all kinds of penetration to his speedy Warrior counterpart. That caused numerous problems and easy hoops for the Warriors. There were just too many straight lines to the hoop and not enough footspeed. Offensively, he looked more like his self and was hitting from the perimeter. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-6 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: He sank a long pull-up jumper from the wing. He got tapped on a three. He swished a long three after returning. He was fouled while pushing up a break, he made one FT. He drained a sideline three (nope, DFish special with a toe on the line) off a behind-the-back feed from Kobe. He had 8 points on 3-4 shooting. Second Half: He gave up a layup to his man off the inbounds pass. Straight-line penetration for his man and Bynum picked up a foul. He missed an easy floater in the lane. Ellis spun around him and dished to Ronny for a dunk. He up-faked, moved in closer and hit the baseline jumper. He didn't play in the fourth.

Brown -- -- No highlight moments for him in this one. Phil had some really ugly lineups out there late in the game that forced Shannon to try to create with Farmar resting on the bench. Again, not what you want to see for Shannon. You'd rather him have those DFish kind of units. Defensively, he showed some active hands. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: He missed an open corner three. He pushed it up and missed in traffic. He missed a corner three. Poor pass in transition, out of bounds. Second Half: He missed a 17-footer in transition. He scored a layup off the backcourt steal and trap with Farmar. He missed a three. He attacked and fed Powell for a layup. He posted up his man and hit a 10-foot fallaway. Good hands on D to knock a ball loose.

Vujacic -- -- He mixed things up with the Warriors, fighting for loose balls and getting under their skin and later taking an elbow or forearm to the face for his efforts. Not a lot of run for Sasha, but he was fairly aggressive when out there. They tried to set him up off screens a few times. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 12 minutes. The Action: He threw a pass off the backboard and himself after getting smothered by three defenders. He faced up and drilled a baseline jumper. He was fouled before an inbounds pass and drew two FTs, he made both. Second Half: He hit Farmar under the hoop for a layup. He made a tech FT. He missed a wing jumper off a screen. He missed a three coming off the screens. Pressure D on Randolph and he took an elbow to the chops. He was blocked on a jumper.

Farmar -- -- Some good defensive challenges from Farmar in this game. He was also going after passes and stripping balls loose. Very nice activity on that side of the floor. When he combines disruptiveness on that end of the floor with smart play on the other end, he's balling the way you want to see. Two-way PG play is a nice sight, indeed. Offensively, he started out slow and had moments of compounding errors (where he comes up empty on back-to-back possessions trying to score or create). Those are the situations that got him in trouble last season. In the second half, he played a much better game and orchestrated the offense better. He putting together some nice minutes. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (0-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. The Action: He missed an open three, got it back and missed it again. Nice challenge on Ellis on one end, then he found Bynum under the hoop for a score at the end of the first (pass was a little low, but Bynum fought for it). He set up Powell off the two-man game for an open jumper. He missed a wing three with the shotclock low. He attacked on the next possession and was swatted (one of those compounding error sequences). Second Half: He swatted Ellis's drive off him and out of bounds, but the Warriors were still given the possession. He trapped Ellis in the backcourt and stripped him (Brown scored the layup). He drew FTs trying to create on our last possession of the third, he made both. He missed a wing three (we quickly gave up a three on the other end). He caught a pass from Sasha and reversed it in while still in the air. He jumped the passing lane, swiped the ball and earned a clear-path foul, he made one FT. He grabbed the rebound, pushed up the break, surveyed the floor and finished it himself. He hit Powell for a three on the pick and pop. He stripped his man on the sideline.

Powell -- -- There's that three range I was talking about a couple games back. Powell drained a wing three in the fourth quarter, working off the two-man game with Farmar. He's definitely showing consistent, extended range this preseason compared to last. Again, he has to watch those plays where he's forced to create off the dribble or off-balance. He led the team with 4 turnovers, but led the bench in scoring. Show me that three ball again, Josh. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. The Action: He sank a 20-footer on a catch and shoot. He up-faked, attacked off the dribble and charged. He sank a 17-footer off the two-man game with Farmar. Second Half: He threw a pass away when he was stuck in the corner. He sank a wing three on the pick and pop with Farmar. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed an elbow jumper. He attacked off the Farmar two-man sequence and drew FTs on the jumphook, he made one. He scored a layup off the scramble and dish from Brown. Excellent post entry to Gaffney who sealed and dunked.

Morrison -- -- Phil had him as the starting PF to open the fourth quarter. Talk about preseason lineups. Morrison was fairly aggressive again in this game. He missed a couple looks early, but he didn't shy away from the action. In the fourth quarter, he again had a couple nice scores to help those deep-bench units keep their opponent at bay. Keep stringing the quality minutes together. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. The Action: He missed a quick-trigger 19-footer. Nice D on SJax, forcing an airball. He missed a baseline jumper on a kickout. Second Half: He cut baseline off Artest, took the pass and dunked. He missed a baseline floater. He faced up and hit a 20-footer. He missed a three. He attacked on iso to his right and banked a one-hander off the glass.

Mbenga -- -- Not very good minutes from Mbenga this time. He again struggled with his passes. The Warriors were quite aware when he had the ball in his hands and seemed to encourage it. Defensively, he wasn't denying any penetration. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting, had 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 10:32 of action. He was a -6. The Action: He was doubled and threw a pass away. He had another pass picked up and it led to transition points. He couldn't stop dribble penetraton on a few sequences. Second Half: He was swatted for a jumpball on a post move. He scored a lefty layup off the Farmar feed.

Gaffney -- -- He came in with 7 minutes left at the PF spot and left 5 minutes later limping badly. He made a nice defensive play by tying up Moore under the hoop, but in the process and came down hard on his back. Pretty good minutes from Gaffney this preseason when you put them all together. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting, had 1 board and 1 block in 5 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He fumbled a baseline handoff not expecting it. He pushed up the dribble, spun in the lane and missed the 8-footer. Great seal, he took the post entry and dunked with both hands. He tied up Moore under the hoop as he was going up and Gaffney hit the floor hard. He had to come out of the game after the jumpball, limping painfully.

Kelati -- -- He came in with 6 minutes left. These are probably his last minutes as a Laker as they will likely trim their roster and tighten their rotations now. Not a lot to show for his last few games. He managed to get some freethrows off intentional late-game fouls and made those. He couldn't hit his jumper. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 0-2 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 1 board and 1 foul in 6 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He clanked a 22-footer. He missed an elbow jumper. He was called for a blocking foul trying to set up for a charge under the hoop. He was stripped on the sideline. He was purposely fouled a couple times for late-game FTs.

Phil -- -- The Lakers started on a 11-2 run despite their late arrival to the arena... They led 29-21 after the first, both Kobe and Bynum had 10 points each... Phil started a Mbenga, Powell, Morrison, Sasha, Farmar lineup to start the second. They gave up the lead after 6 minutes of run... Phil made wholesale changes, bringing it Bynum, Artest, Kobe, Brown and Fisher... The Lakers led 52-47 at the half. The Warriors shot 54 percent, but had 14 turnovers. The Lakers made just 2-11 from three and had 8 turnovers in the first half... Coaches wanted the Lakers to play at our pace. slow the game down, work the ball inside... The Warriors took a brief lead, but some spirited play by the second unit with Drew and Artest gave them an 84-79 lead heading into the fourth. They had an another 11-2 run during part of that stretch... Phil started a Mbenga, Morrison, Sasha, Brown, Farmar lineup to start the fourth... Up by 6 with half a quarter to go, Phil ran a Powell, Gaffney, Morrison, Kelati, Brown lineup. That unit quickly lost the lead in a minute and a half. They battled back, however, with an 11-4 run after the game was tied with just over 4 minutes left... Both teams shot 51 percent for the game. The Lakers sank 27-32 FTs, the Warriors 16-24. The Lakers made 4-8 from three in the second half... The Warriors had 23 turnovers, the Lakers 18...

[Omar Little]

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

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

vey...


Thanks DB!!!

The Nova returns!

Really enjoyed seeing the bench hold its own. That Gaffney fall had me scared for half the discs in his back, but it seems that fired up the other Lakers on the floor, and Lamar was ready to answer the bell too. I really like how they responded as a team.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recaps DB!

Three games in a row Farmar has shown he wants the Guard position.

Bynum rounding into season form with a 20 pt 9 board game.

Morrison still looked a little lost in the offense, but maybe his hidden
talent is rebounding (4 boards).

Too bad Gaffney and Kelati will be cut later this week. Gaffney looks like he is NBA material.
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"Just show up ready to work, ready to play, Have your big boy pants on, leave your diaper at home." Kobe Bryant
Anything less than a championship is a failure. Period.

[Omar Little]

That's two firsts in 6 games. I'm already in mid-season form! As is DB, I might add...
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[DancingBarry]

[chilake24]

thanks,DB,did not watch it. looks like a great game,can't wait to go to the hilight thread

[LakerSanity]

Bynum's Stats So Far in Pre-Season: 30.2 min., 20.0 PPG (57.5%), 7.0 RPG, 0.8 APG, 1.3 BPG

The scoring comes naturally, it's the rebounds and the blocks which seem to come later with him. However, in his last two games he's not had 13 rebounds and 9 rebounds plus 2 blocks in both. He seems to be rebounding in to form (don't forgive the pun). Of course, he hasn't had to compete with Odom or Gasol for those boards really the last 3 games either, so that may have something to do with it.
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[Dr. Laker]

Thx, DB!
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[Dr. Laker]

[Laker7]

I am loving Ron Ron in the assist mode. He really looked to get others their shot (especially Bynum) and it payed off for the Lakers. Having worked with other bigs who can score (Yao in Houston, Miller in Sactown, J O'Neal in Indy) in the past allows Ron Ron to know when and where to get the ball to. And he delivered last night.

Awful, awful night from MBenga (and I am a big fan of his). IMO Phil pulled him the last couple of minutes due to his poor play rather than lineup experimentation.

Props to LO for coming in for Gaffney and contributing the last couple of minutes. LO was icing down on the bench (ice bags on knees) when Gaffney got hurt. LO came in cold (literally) and hit a big bucket that helped seal the game.
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[IPK]

[Tanlentueux]

thanks for the recap. Farmar is much improved now !

[limchrc]

Thanks

[pokoy]

DB, how do you think Artest is doing defensively so far?

[ocho]

Ron looks to be playing fabulously in the offense. He's playing within it and not trying to take over at all which is a giant "uh-oh" for the rest of the league. He does look awfully slow footed though. He easily got beat on a loose ball last night and looked like he was running in molasses. Loved him running to the post last night, calling for the ball, waiting for the collapse and kicking it out to Kobe for a J. That's something Trev couldn't do. He's really using the pre-season to showcase his passing ability.

Drew is just beastly. He's running hard, getting down the court and punishing opponents inside. If Bynum can play like this and other teams have to deal with him AND Kobe AND Pau Gasol AND Ron Artest with some Lamar Odom sprinkled in? Man that's just tough to beat.
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14-5-3-12

[pokoy]

[yanyon]

xie xie again DB....

[ocho]

[pokoy]

[10scott10]

[Vishnu]

nice work DB

[Luca Brasi]

the only slight area of concern now - beyond health, of course - is playing defense without fouling - and cleaning up some of the defensive rotations, we look a little slow to recover out to shooters on the 3 point line. other than that, everything looks peachy. i think this team will average more assists as team than they did last year, and that's saying something considering last year's team was one of the best assist teams in the league.
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"i was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine, but i'm climbin' up to the highlands, goin' to make that mountain mine" ~ Lakers, 2011

[RCS926]

[pokoy]