MAVS -at- LAKERS - 10/30 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Mojo... You trade two cans of pineapple for a much needed shot of whiskey. You're not sure whether you got a good deal considering the vagueness of exchange rates in post apocalyptic barter. Before you can contemplate it further, you recognize someone staring at you from the corner. He's got one of those Flowbee haircuts that all billionaires seem to master, and he sticks out badly in a seedy bar like this. He greets you with a disingenuous smile.

"What's crack-a-lackin'?" you ask. He makes a mistake of trying to pay for a drink in cash. "You're money's no good here. In fact, it's no good anywhere these days. Hope you invested in canned goods ... or, like, beef jerky or something."

He stuffs the giant wad of cash back into the pocket of his sleeveless shirt vest. "There's revolution in the air," he replies like he's just listened to some Dylan.

"Thanks, but the revolution or, uh, revelation has already happened in case you hadn't noticed."

"You had a good run last year. I just wanted to tell you what a fantastic addition I think Tru Warier is," he says with a smirk. "In fact, I couldn't think of anything better. This is going to be great."

"You talk too much," you say, finishing off the last of your drink.

"I had Little Larry once, you know," he says, looking down to conceal a painful memory. "He was in my grasp, but they took him away."

"Who took him away? The Association? Or did you make choking an art form?"

"I'd rather not go into it." He's quiet for a moment, but can't help himself and like church bells he begins clanging again. "Fine, yes. The Association. You open your mouth too much, they will shut it for you. I had Larry in my grasp and right when I was celebrating, they snatched him from me."

"Maybe you should learn not to celebrate before you've done anything...like tonight, for instance." You look at your cocktail napkin and see the word "Mojo" written in familiar writing. You flip it over and find a message from DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. They missed one of their biggest of warriors, and their attack became scattered and disjointed. They were neither a blunt instrument nor a sharp weapon, just soft, ineffective and prone to error. They must find their mojo.

I will continue to track them.

Without Pau Gasol for yet another game, the Lakers struggled to establish their post game, achieve floor spacing or find any flow in their offense. Throw in the unforced errors on ball handling, fumbled passes and constant whistle for offensive fouls and it ends up one ugly, ugly 94-80 loss.

All of the Laker impact players struggled with foul trouble at some point in the game. Ron Artest had three of his fouls on the offensive end and picked up a tech for one (a bogus call after a great defensive play to swipe the ball). Mark Cuban was probably feeling pretty smug about himself around this point in the game. He had made public comments earlier in the season about believing Artest would kill the team.

Artest continues to struggle with his shot, even missing his only two freethrows in the middle of a rally. He wasn't alone, however. The triangle was completely out of focus. The Lakers settled for a lot of threes, making 7-23 that they took. "We tried to do things with one pass," Phil said, "just dump it in somebody's lap and hope you beat somebody one on one rather than playing team ball on the offensive end."

The Lakers missed Pau's ability to get easy points in the paint or spread the floor for Kobe off the two-man game. He would have made a world of difference tonight.

Brown provided some spark off the bench with 10 points in the first half and later a two-handed putback jam that brought some life to Staples. Unfortunately, he was one of the only bright spots of the night.


Kobe -- -- A lot of players put together some sloppy ball tonight, but it's still surprising when you see Kobe missing easy layups, potential dunks or losing the ball out of bounds. He probably left 10 points from situations he's normally money on. Aside from two freethrow makes by Bynum, Kobe was the only Laker to knock down any FTs in the game. We didn't get to the whistle with any consistency until he started working off the Powell screens early in the fourth. That gave the Lakers some spacing and softened up the Mavs D. (This is one of the areas we really missed Pau.) Neither Bynum, Artest, nor LO established a post game. Kobe didn't either (another area we missed Pau). The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-19 shooting (1-4 from three, 7-9 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -20. The Action: He missed a face-up jumper from the right side after pulling down a board. He hesitated on a baseline jumper, then missed it. He attacked from the wing and drew FTs, he made one. He scored a reverse when Artest found him under the hoop. He sealed Ross under the hoop, took a post entry and scored the layup. He wrapped a pass around a man to Lamar, who hit Bynum for a dunk. He stripped Dampier in the backcourt to regain possession. He tipped the ball several times to regain a possession off a miss. He picked up his second foul, slapping a handcheck away. He lost the handle getting ready to fake. He missed a 21-footer. He had a pass stripped off him for another turnover. He bricked off the side of the glass. He faced up from the wing and banked over Kidd. He picked up his first tech of the season when the officials choked an out-of-bounds call that should have gone to the Lakers. He attacked down the lane, spun and hit the short one-hander. He attacked with speed at the end of the half and drew FTs (Humphries blocked his shot after the play and tried saying something), Kobe let him have it "We're going to see," repeating that several times. He had 11 points on 4-9 shooting and 3 offensive boards. Second Half: He missed a wing three, short. He got tapped on a layup that rattled in and out. He missed what looked like a sure dunk. He missed a face-up three. He was stripped on a drive, got it back, attacked and missed. Upset now, he faced up on Ross, attacked left and hit the And-1 floater, he missed the FT. Kobe started the fourth attacking off the Powell screens. He hit him for a reverse layup after drawing two fouls. Next time down, FTs off the Powell screen, he made both. He slapped a ball off Kidd on the sideline. He missed a three. He missed a baseline turnaround out of a timeout. He pushed out a rebound, attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He swished a wing three. He was stripped by Dirk on the break and lost it out of bounds. He missed an easy layup right at the rim.

Bynum -- -- "On defense, we were terrible. Very, very bad," Bynum said. The Lakers didn't play the two-man game very well. They also messed up their strong-side zone a number of times. Just pitiful to watch. Offensively, we didn't establish the post. Bynum has been outplayed by Dampier in the past, giving up offensive boards. Dampier had 3 tonight, although Bynum's effort there seemed better. Offensively, he missed some easy ones in the paint and said he was going to watch some tape right after the game to figure out if his mechanics are off. His jumphooks were hitting rim most of the night. Bynum, who usually has good hands, also seemed to fumble the ball like his teammates. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-13 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -21. The Action: He missed a turnaround in the post. He out-reached a crowd of Mav rebounders to regain a Laker possession. Nice recovery to tip a pass going to Dampier out of bounds. He missed a jumphook. He missed another short jumphook. He dunked off the double interior feed from Kobe to Lamar. He picked up his second foul trying to deal with Terry's penetration and had to sit. He dunked off the high-low from Lamar. He slammed off the Luke drive and dish in traffic. He dunked off a cherry picking play (he leaked out on a shot contest, we finally got the rebound and outlet to him). He faced up, faked right, attacked Humphries left for a layup (seen him go to that move a lot this season). He gave up an open jumper on the other end. Nice crash on the defensive boards to swipe a ball away and control the glass. He missed a jumphook short. He was "blocked" by Dirk trying to power up over him. He had 10 points on 5-10 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He couldn't handle a tough pass from LO off the two-man game. He was ticked when called for an offensive foul on the offensive glass. He hit a turnaround in the middle of the lane. He missed another easy open jumphook. He missed another short one, got it back and drew FTs, he made both.

Lamar -- -- He was invisible offensively to start the game. After a timeout late in the first quarter, Phil set up a jumper for him. Lamar seemed to get more involved in the offense, especially passing the ball, right after that. It didn't take long for him to fade again. The floor spacing issues made things difficult for him to attack. He had a number of miscues and sloppy plays, too, including a couple travels and lost dribble. The ball was just slipping from his hands. Defensively, he struggled to contain Dirk sometimes, but did a decent enough job to get a win. With Pau out there, we make Dirk work a lot harder on the defensive end. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-11 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 6 boards, 7 assists, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 38:33 of action. He was a -27. The Action: He threw down a putback jam off a Fish miss. He missed a jumper out of a timeout. Quick extra interior pass while behind the backboard to Bynum for a dunk. He missed an open three. He scored a layup off the Artest drive and dish. He fumbled a pass and traveled. He hit Bynum on a high-low for a dunk. He stepped back and bricked a three badly. He picked up back-to-back fouls on Dirk to close the half with three. He scored 4 points, was 0-3 from three, but had 7 assists. Second Half: He sank a pull-up jumper from the top of the key. He missed a jumphook in the lane. He got dumped to the floor on a back screen. He fumbled a pass, travel. He got an elbow jumper to bounce in. He missed a putback attempt off the glass.

Artest -- -- Phil mentioned Ron missing both of his freethrows as one of those plays where we shot ourselves in the foot. We were trying to mount a rally and had a series of plays that took the wind out of the sails. Those misses in the fourth were one of them. Again, this is what we saw all preseason -- Ron missing freethrows and threes. He'll dig out of it at some point. Offensively, he was out of sync like the rest of the team. "If he's got to think about it, he's a step slow," Phil said prior to the game about Ron in the Tri right now. Really, this is the first game where he looked more like the Ron Artest you worry about. There was plenty of frustration with all the players in how the game was called. "I thought he was playing a little too hard for the game," Phil said, meaning Ron was playing more physical than the refs were allowing. The three offensive foul calls seemed to take him out of the game -- a good test for him and his teammates early this season in dealing with his emotions. Those were some very weak calls, for sure. Defensively, he matched up with Marion, who scored 18 points. The Mavs were able to take advantage of some weak two-man game defense by the Lakers. Ron had a couple of steals, but also caused a couple more turnovers. Despite all that, he was only a -2. We just couldn't keep him on the floor. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (1-4 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in just 23 minutes. The Action: He took a rebound that Bynum kept alive and hit Kobe for a layup. He posted up Marion and drew a foul on the post entry pass. He got blocked in the post. He got tapped on a three from the top of the key. He swished a wide open wing three. He bricked badly on an open three. He blew past Marion from the wing and set up LO for a layup. He was called for an offensive foul trying to get set for a post up, very weak call. He swatted a ball off Marion in the backcourt to regain a possession. He attacked down the lane and missed a layup, but got it back. He tried to create from the midpost and was called for a charge, he had to sit with his third foul. He had 3 points on 1-5 shooting, 3 assists and 2 turnovers. Second Half: He stole a pass and was called for an elbow when he tried to gain control (bogus call, he got his fourth foul and a tech...Phil was ticked at the call). He stripped Dirk on one end, attacked him on the other and drew FTs, he then missed both of them. He tried to push up a rebound, lost it, then fouled (that's the Ron you don't want to see). He missed a three in transition.

Fisher -- -- Horrible start to the game, going 1-6 in the first quarter and providing no defense. It never got on track. The Mavs could just leave him open and did, sagging to help on others too often. This resulted in DFish getting more bold and chucking with frequency. Some very poor offensive sequences resulted. Defensively, the Mavs know how to attack him and did so often. If he goes under a screen, take the jumper. If he goes over, drive into the heart of the D. Pretty simple ball. He and Artest struggled with the two-man D on several sequences, as well. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-9 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. The Action: He swished a wing jumper behind the screens. He missed a pull-up jumper trying to go back at JKidd. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a runner off the glass. He fumbled a dribble away, unforced error and points the other way. He missed a wide open corner three. He gave up easy penetration to Terry, foul for Bynum. He missed an open three. He was 1-6 in the first quarter. Second Half: He was called for an offensive foul away from the ball. The D sagged off him so he swished a long three. He missed a three and no one else got back on D to give up a dunk. He bricked a pull-up jumper off a screen in early offense.

Luke -- -- Artest only played 23 minutes in this game. That left a lot of time available for Luke, but Phil opted to slide Kobe to the SF instead. Luke's lack of consistent perimeter shooting was probably the reason, as Phil likely wanted to get some floor spacing. With the lack of ball movement and settling for threes, he might have been better off giving Luke just a bit more time to see if we couldn't get some flow to the game. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist and no fouls in 8 minutes. The Action: He bricked a wide open 9-footer on the baseline. He attacked from the top of the key and led Bynum with a bounce pass for a dunk. Second Half: He attacked from the wing and had his runner goaltended.

Brown -- -- In the first half, he was sparking the team with big plays on both ends and keeping them in the game. In the second half, he had one of those spark plays that could ignite a team, throwing back down a missed Kobe three. "We were missing shots. We weren't in rhythm, nobody boxed me out," he said. "I saw Kobe take it and I had a good angle to the basket. Nobody boxed me out and I just timed it." Sensational play. The Lakers, however, failed to capitalize on it and their run floundered. Shannon completely outplayed DFish, Farmar and Sasha. He was one of the few bright spots in the game. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 foul in 22 minutes. The Action: He came in for the final possession of the first quarter, iso'd on the wing and hit Farmar for the open three. He crossed over and hit a floater with the shotclock low. Nice strip of Humphries on the perimeter. He stepped back on a kickout and swished a wing three. He drained a three from the other wing the next time down. He attacked Kidd, stepped back and hit the baseline jumper. He then got jarred running into Dirk (he let his teammates know to call out the screens). Excellent first stint with 10 points on 4-4 shooting. Second Half: He missed a break-rhythm three. He poked a ball loose when he and Farmar were trapping in the backcourt. Huge, two-handed putback jam off a Kobe missed three. He missed a pull-up 16-footer.

Vujacic -- -- Pretty much a whole lot of nothing (except for fouls) from Sasha. His one shot attempt wasn't even a good one. With Artest in foul trouble, we tried to slide Kobe up to the SF some. It didn't help. Phil openly discussed his benching of Sasha in the last game. He didn't like the way Sasha reacted to Lamar's discussion about what they were supposed to do in a situation where Sasha gave up dribble penetration. You got to have healthy communication on the defensive end. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 13 minutes. The Action: A couple short stints, nothing to report. Second Half: Bad chuck in transition from the corner, not even getting squared up. Lost on D, he gave up an illegal D tech. He was called for a clear-out foul using his off arm on the perimeter dribble.

Farmar -- -- Horrible game from Farmar...which was an upgrade from DFish, unfortunately. If the Lakers knew they were going to get this kind of contribution from both Fish and Farmar, they might have played Shannon all 48 minutes. Farmar again had sequences where he made a bad error and followed it up with a worse one. Defensively, he was foul-prone and despite having footspeed, could never keep anyone in front of him. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. The Action: He missed a wing three. He attacked Barea with speed off the pinch post and hit an And-1 baseline runner, he missed the FT. He gave back the points at midcourt trying to apply pressure D when none was needed. He swished an open three from the top of the key off a drive and kick from Shannon at the end of the first quarter. Nice deflection off Terry to disrupt the Mav offense. He missed an early offense three. He had 5 points on 2-5 shooting. Second Half: Horrible outlet, stolen by Dirk, then Farmar compounded his mistake with a backcourt foul to give up FTs. After committing another foul for FTs, he then dribbled the ball off his legs with no one around. After he and Brown trapped for a steal, Farmar attacked and missed a layup (Powell cleaned it up). He missed a three, settling. He missed a bank shot. He bricked an open 17-footer badly.

Mbenga -- -- Not a lot of run for DJ in this game. The Lakers didn't even play Bynum in the fourth while trying to make a run. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot and had 1 foul in 3 minutes. The Action: He wasn't a shot machine in his first stint. Second Half: Didn't play.

Powell -- -- When Kobe was at his best in this game, the Lakers had brought Powell in to run at the center position. This helped spread the floor, so he could attack with some room. This is where they missed Pau, who not only does that, but also gives you post play and anchors the D well. Powell was a +8 while out there. The Mavs D looked much better than it actually was. Powell showed his improved range in this game, hitting a couple jumpers from distance including his first make from three this season. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-4 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 13 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He put back in a Farmar missed drive at the end of the quarter. He scored a reverse off the two-man game with Kobe. He tried to create in the post and stepped out of bounds. He swished a 20-footer off a screen. He swished a sideline three from the right side.

Morrison -- -- He came to be in on the bad end of some garbage time. Game out of hand, not much for Adam to do. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting in 3 minutes. The Action: He didn't play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a chuck from the left side. He blocked a corner jumper.

Phil -- -- "For us right now a couple of guys are struggling a little bit," Phil said of the Laker health situation before the game... Slow start on both ends for the Lakers. They missed a number of jumpers and struggled with defending Kidd. Mavs made 7-11, Lakers 5-16 to start... With Bynum and Kobe in foul trouble, Phil went with a Mbenga, Lamar, Artest, Sasha, Farmar lineup late in the first, down 2.... The Lakers trailed 24-21 after the first quarter... Phil started a Bynum, Artest, Luke, Brown, Farmar lineup... Phil moved to a Bynum, Lamar, Kobe, Brown, Farmar lineup... The Lakers tried to establish some post game with Bynum. Kobe and Ron struggled to get their post game going... The Lakers had only 7 turnovers in the half, but some of them were just fumbling the dribble or a pass like the ball was greased... The Lakers trailed 52-45. They shot just 3-5 from the line, the Mavs shot 15-18... "It certainly wasn't an artistic success...we certainly didn't have any rhythm," Jim Cleamons said... Artest made a great defensive play to steal a pass, then was called for a phantom elbow on a pass off. He was given a tech. Phil had to sit him with 4 fouls early in the third. He called a timeout and had some words with the refs on that... Phil brought in Sasha for Artest... Down 16, Phil sat Fisher and Sasha for Farmar and Brown... Down 22, he went with Powell, Artest, Kobe, Brown and Farmar...The Mavs won the third 26-15, leading 78-60 going into the fourth, extending their freethrow advantage to now more than 18 attempts than the Lakers. L.A. had 6 turnovers in that quarter... The Lakers attacked early and were in the bonus after just a minute and a half. So what do they do? They immediately start settling for threes and missing... The Lakers were out of fouls a couple minutes later... "Everytime we got momentum we shot ourselves in our own foot," Phil said...

Game Flow -- LINK -- The Mavs took control of this game in the third quarter with an 18-4 run.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

i guess we arent going 82-0. thanks db
_________________
"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks for the recap DB!

Wow, this was a total team meltdown. Early foul trouble was a factor, but when the shots are not falling, this type of outcome is inevitable.
_________________
"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.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB. Good write up. Painful, just awful game.

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. I hope this serves as a wake up call for the Lakers. No way Dallas should have come in and beat the Lakers in Staples with or without Pau in the lineup.

Shannon:

I'm ready for Fish to become a 15-20 mpg situational player. Shannon should start. He brings energy on both sides of the ball and his handles can't be much worse than Fish. I appreciate all that Fish has done for the Lakers throughout his time here but I think it is time for Shannon to get the starting nod. It is time to see if he has a future here or not. Let Shannon make his mistakes during the regular and we will be better for team for it come playoff time.

[Laker's Fan]

One team played hard, and they won. LA phoned this one in and the Coach didn't want to tighten the reigns to pull out this victory.
_________________
Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[limchrc]

Thanks. Let's win the next one.

[tks91]

Thx DB for the recap.

OT: Where are the quote threads that we used to have after every game?

[Doggy Dogg]

Why didnt Brown get 35 mins last night is beyond me. Fish, Farmar and Sasha were all getting killed while Phil played Brown for only 22 mins. What the hell is the thinking behind that?
_________________
DancingBarry wrote:
Note to LeBron: You block Machine's shot, Machine hit three on you instead. Machine not witness...

[lakerboy]

thanks db.

embarrassing performance from everyone not named brown. and what the (bleep) is wrong with kobe? he is missing shots he would easily make in the previous years without looking at the basket.

nothing against losing some games, but not like that and not on our home floor. i am with phil on this one:

[usa]

We has so many opportunities to get the lead under 10 but kept jacking up threes without running our offense.

[mhan00]

[oldschool32]

Can Phil just stop playing Sasha now. Why does he have to get a chance to see if he has it going or not before we go to Shannon who is a legit nba player. He brings more to the table than just an on/off jumper. Farmar and Vujacic should be buried on the bench.
_________________
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up."-The Greatest

[Rick12322]

Thanks DB, rain or shine you provide your insights.

Other than Donaghy failing to mention the plethora of missed calls for Kobe, the officiating ran Donaghy's script to a tee(or should I say, Sterns.). Watching the Laker show with his script in my hand, I never missed a beat.

The Lakers as a team have been shooting poorly from the perimeter all preseason long, other than Adam Morrison.

Don't know what's up with Bynum's missed hooks, hope that gets corrected soon. Since we lost anyways, I felt we should have left him in their and given him a great practice session to work it out.

Our team defense is falling apart like the parting of the Red Sea, some how we're leaving huge runways open off pick n rolls. Maybe we really DO miss Rambis?

Ron is not alone in the bad shooting department. But he's clearly letting it get to his head. Phil was absolutely correct when he said he was trying too hard. Someone put some game clips of Ray Allen on for him, we don't like him because he's not a Laker but the fact is he's the perfect example of playing within yourself. A mad player is a bad player, you have to sync up your efforts to the beat of your talents. Go overboard and this is the result.

Watching this game last night, I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. It was surreal. Some of those turnovers were unbelievable, the calls horrendous.

[pg22]

I think at the moment with Pau out, Bynum should play without his brace. If nothing else, it will show us whether the brace is limiting him or not.

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB! They deserved to lose. I'm glad they didn't pull it out and I hope it resonates for the next couple of games.
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[Freakout]

We just didn't look prepared for the game. Doubling the guards coming off those Marion pick and rolls is just silly. I question if the coaching staff had them fully prepared considering the very little game tape of them with Marion.

Refs also took us out of the game. I counted 5 times where Kobe was clearly hit without any doubt on his drives and the whistles kept silent. Had he got to the line a few times early, who knows, he could have got into a better shooting rhythm.

Ron wasn't even allowed to play. I've never seen a offensive player post up, have his defender hang over his back, and still get called for the offensive foul. Refs have a different set of rules for this guy.

Drew's shot was short all night but despite that I thought Phil should have put him back in during the 4th when Dallas started using the 3-2 zone.

Phil also isn't innocent in the screw up. Teams struggling in the 3rd. Need a guy that can hit a shot, get a easy bucket, and he STILL brings in Sasha despite the 1st half Shannon had? Mitch needs to get his wand out early because Sasha is becoming a weight around the teams neck. I'm watching on TV and I can still feel the negative vibe this guy puts off.

[scottpot29]

81 - 1 !!!
_________________
Wow. Luke has gone full (bleep) on us. - DB

[wolfpaclaker]

Said so pre-game regarding Dallas.

They are a tough, tough match up for the Lakers when Pau isn't there. Why?

They have the athletes and size mismatches to give us trouble. Nowitzki is a huge mismatch. Bynum always is limited by Dampier. Marion had a size advantage when he played at 3 matched up against Kobe or Ron. Terry's speed and shooting gave us trouble.

This is without one of their better wings in Howard who gives them better wing talent vs Kobe.

What we want when facing Dallas - Nowitzki to match up with Pau. Pau has the size to make Dirk pay in the post and has the defensive ability to make him shoot a ton of jumpers. Then you change it up and put LO on Dirk making him come out more defensively and work. Simply put Dirk has to work much more when Pau is out there.

The other thing - Pau also plays well against Dampier. Something Bynum does not.

You also want Marion being defended by LO. We didn't see enough of that yesterday. Marion seemed to matched up with Ron and Kobe way too much for my liking. LO was consumed by Dirk, and we want LO to focus in on Marion.

When they play zone like that it is perhaps a mistake to post up Ron because he is attacking through a compact defense with 2-3 players around him something I'm not sure is his strong point. You milk Ron in the post when the team is playing straight up man and abuse his man in the post. The way to break the zone is through dribble penetration and strong high post play. Kobe didn't really attack until the 4th and without Pau we don't have sufficient high post play.

Overall, I think this Dallas team is better than last year. I said in the offseason they would be one of the better teams IMO because they added a lot of athleticism in the frontcourt which is what they needed. Also have a lot of respect for Carlisle he is a very good defensive coach. That zone they were playing yesterday really clicked for them.

Dallas if they play to their potential IMO should be better than SA and Denver. I don't know if they will because I question their leadership with Dirk. But I really like the talent on their team. They should be up there in the standings.

[wolfpaclaker]

Through 2 games some shooting stats.

[AceFresh]

Don't agree with them being better then SA (assuming both are healthy and playing to their potential)

but do agree with notion that Dallas is a mismatch (esp. With Pau out)

But still no excuse for the Lakers lackadaisical effort.

This mentality will continue to be seen, oh well.

[mhan00]

[wolfpaclaker]

[Rick12322]