HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 11/1 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Response... After an inept offensive attack and poor execution against their previous opponent, the Horsemen needed to sharpen their focus. To aid in that endeavor, you search for clues. The clues are everywhere, but they are lost among most people -- triangles pointing you in the right direction like arrows.

You follow them through the streets until finding their destination, some kind of temple. Etched in stone above the building's entrance is a large triangle. You enter. Torches bathe the entry in a warm glow.

The hall before you is flanked with walls of floor-to-ceiling Egyptian hieroglyphics -- long-armed, long-legged men spaced evenly around triangles. They are surround by various triliteral hieroglyphs that you can't understand. Maybe there's a Rosetta Stone around here somewhere to explain all this.

A white-haired gentleman in purple and gold robes taps you on the shoulder. He introduces himself as "Tex." The wise man hands you a scroll of papyrus, on it are some of the same diagrams in English. He reminds you, however, that there are three parts to his offensive strategy: the initial speed attack, the secondary opportunities and then the triangle. He stresses the importance of each. You thank the wise man, but before you can go he hands you one more sheet of papyrus. It's from DancingBarry:

The Horsemen were here. They found proper spacing and balance in their attack. They turned their defenses into quick counterattack opportunities and ran their opponent from the city. And the "Tru Warier" showed signs of life.

I will continue to track them.

After scoring just 80 points in the last game, the Lakers bounced back with a 118-110 win over the visiting Hawks. Better shooting, better passing and better post play allowed the half-court offense to click. When they clamped down on D and turned that into offensive opportunities, they blew open the game.

Joe Johnson dropped 18 first quarter points, so the Lakers switched their defensive assignments and Ron Artest got the call. With the fire put out (in fact, stopped cold), the Lakers started to dial it in. In the middle of the third quarter, their defense took over the game. They forced the Hawks into several turnovers, which they quickly turned into transition dunk after dunk -- an 18-0 run that took control of the game.

Kobe was involved in several of those steals and breakaway dunks. After the sloppy game last time out, he went off for 41 points. Andrew Bynum added 21 against the smaller Hawk lineup.

The offense was flying tonight, and while that could (and maybe should) dominate the story, the other end of the court had its moments. That third quarter where the team held the Hawks to 18 points was impressive, and seeing Artest's impact also deserves mention.

"We saw some of the effects of the ability of Ron to defend tonight," Phil said afterward.

“We picked up our intensity, and it all started with No. 37,” Kobe said of Artest. “He picked up the energy level defensively, and I told him the game was on him. I felt like the energy really changed the whole complexity of the game, and we all kind of rallied behind him.”

Hopefully, it is a sign of things to come. The Lakers gave a healthy response to their previous lackluster showing.


Kobe -- -- This seemed like one of those games where Kobe decides he needs to set the tone. After the poor offensive game by the team against Dallas, their would be no weak scoring effort in this one. Kobe was very aggressive from the start. He put up 12 shots in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Joe Johnson got off to a hot start on Kobe, scoring 18 points in that quarter. Kobe kept his foor on the gas and dropped the 41. He worked the post more successfully in this game and was ahead of the pack in transition on several sequences. The floor spacing for Kobe was much easier to work in, but the team also did a better job passing, Kobe included. He and Drew teamed up a couple of times for easy lob dunks. Defensively, you don't want Kobe roaming for steals off a guy like Johnson. That is just asking for trouble. "I thought Kobe took some gambles and got caught," Phil said. Once he switched Ron on to Johnson, that roaming and aggressive gambling by Kobe and others paid off. The Stats: He scored 41 points on 15-29 shooting (1-2 from three, 10-11 from the line) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 3 assists, 5 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 38 minutes. The Action: He missed a top-of-the-key jumper to start the game. He forced up a pumping leaner from the elbow in early offense and missed. He missed a baseline jumper. He poked a ball loose on help D, pushed it out and scored the layup. He got sealed and gave up a dunk on the other end (rare to see that). He tried to get cute on an outlet pass, throwing it blindly over his shoulder and too far ahead of LO, blowing a sure two points. He gambled to double Smith in the post (why?) and left Johnson open for three. He swished a turnaround from the elbow. He busted out with Fish on the break and drew FTs, he a made both. He swished a high-arching turnaround on the other end. He fouled Johnson on a three (18 points on 7-8 after 9 minutes for Joe), Kobe just getting torched right now. He hit an elbow jumper over Evans. He missed a long wing turnaround. He missed a short bank in the paint. He drained an open corner three in transition. He lost the dribble, got it back, but missed the 20-foot chuck at the end of the quarter buzzer. He had 13 points on 5-12 shooting in that quarter. He missed a 21-footer from the wing. He was stripped by Bibby trying to pull up on iso. He sank a turnaround from the right side. He posted up Crawford and scored off the glass from the right block. He nearly threw a pass away, got it back and missed a fade in the lane. He pushed up the break, slithered past a defender and scored a layup. He had 19 points on 8-17 shooting. Second Half: He missed a face-up wing jumper. He drew a double and threw it up high for Bynum to slam. He froze Williams with a subtle fake on the baseline and drew FTs after blowing past him, he made both. He dunked on the bust out off the Fish steal. He dunked off the board and long outlet by LO. He missed a wide open three in transition, cut, got it back and scored the And-1 layup instead, he missed the FT. He attacked and hit Drew with the high entry for the dunk. He busted out, dodged one defender, drew Smith to him and went behind the back to Artest for the slam. He lost the dribble and threw it the rim to avoid a travel. He attacked the lane and drew FTs, making both. He threw down the reverse dunk when LO gave him the extra pass. He was hammered on a two-for-one drive, he made both FTs. He picked up his third and fourth fouls trying to D-up Johnson when Artest sat near the end of the third. He had 14 points in the third. He missed a wing jumper. He spun around Crawford in the post and scored the layup. He tipped the ball away from Smith under the boards and powered up for the layup. Great footwork, working the pivot like a windshield wiper to split defenders and draw a foul as a third defender came over, he made both FTs. He overthrew an open LO leaking out on the break. He scored a layup when Fish tapped an offensive board to him. He missed a step-back jumper (looked like he was trying to get LO an assist).

Bynum -- -- The Lakers started to realize they just needed to throw the ball over the top of the D and let Bynum go get it. With the smaller Al Horford on him, Bynum got the ball in the post early and often. The difference between him and Pau in this regard is how automatic Pau is. Pau would just kill on that. Eventually, the Lakers worked it differently and Bynum was getting the easy dunks. Defensively, he was (and usually always is) very good in his post D. However, all his running of the floor seemed to neglect the defensive glass. With LO and Artest behind him on the glass, he can gamble a little, but he needs to pick his spots. He can't just have 1 defensive board in 37 minutes. When the board is secured, bolt. Until then, box out and go after it. Asked about points, he immediately talked about getting more rebounds after the game. Drew usually hits the nail on the head when asked to give an assessment of his game. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 37 minutes. The Action: He choked a layup after making a great catch on a tough pass in the lane. He choked a one-foot jumphook next time down (just gather and dunk that stuff, Drew). He hit a jumphook on his third touch for the Lakers first score. He was stripped in the lane next time down (just caught the pass and tried to go up). He missed a jumphook from the left block. Good position, he faked right, went left and hit the jumphook. He didn't help Artest on the screen and gave up a three to Johnson. He missed a short one while looking for a foul in the lane. He dunked when Luke set him up on the screen-roll. Out on the break and he was wrapped up to prevent a dunk, he made both FTs. He missed a 15-footer. Better help D sequence on Johnson coming off the screen, shutting down the play. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a putback dunk. He had 10 points on 4-9 shooting, 2 offensive boards (no defensive) in 18 minutes. Second Half: He tried to leak out after a challenge, didn't box out and Horford followed his shot for a score. He blocked Horford once, possibly twice to get the stop. He threw down the lob from Kobe. He took another Kobe entry high feed and dunked. Another over-the-top lob from Lamar and Drew stretched and threw down. He jammed off the Lamar steal in transition D. He had 18 points (and 1 defensive board) after three quarters. He sealed, took the corner entry and drew FTs trying to power up, he made one. He roofed Smith on help D. He was pushed in the back by the smallest guy on the floor and drew FTs, he made both. He lost the post feed when he was blindsided by a guard.

Lamar -- -- Mr. Near Triple Double is back. We haven't seen him for a while. LO was doing a lot of everything. He dominated the glass on both ends. He was hitting Kobe for scores, finding Bynum for lobs and was often making the extra pass, which helps the offense flow. He wasn't clean and had a few passes off the mark, but helped the ball move and the Lakers needed that. "I think his shooting is better. It feels like it's better," Phil said of LO's start this season. He sank a couple jumpers tonight and certainly looks more confident. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 14 boards (4 offensive), 8 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39:31 of action. The Action: He swished a sideline three on his first attempt. He set up Mbenga and yelled at him for not slamming it when he was fouled on a layup. His perimeter pass was picked off for a dunk. He cut off Artest in the post and scored a layup. He was fouled and made both FTs. Bad full-court inbounds to Kobe with 6.7 seconds left, overthrowing it right out of bounds (why are we running that? That's a catch-and-shoot play for a couple seconds on the clock.) He had 7 points on 2-2 shooting, 7 boards and 3 turnovers. Second Half: He got stuffed by Smith at the rim. He took all kinds of contact while missing a layup and not getting a call. He outlet to Kobe for the dunk. He grabbed the offensive board off the Kobe missed three and then fed him for the And-1. He slapped an offensive board off the rim, then grabbed it and hit the jumphook. He hit Drew with a perfect lob from beyond the three line for the dunk. He stole a horrible pass in transition and hit Bynum for a dunk. He missed a flat pull-up jumper. He hit Kobe trailing for a dunk instead of finishing the outlet himself. He drained a step-back fade from the top of the key. Too low on the entry to Bynum and it was picked off. He dribbled down the clock and missed a three.

Artest -- -- Once Kobe and Ron switched assignments in this game, the D started to dial it in better. After Joe Johnson got off to a hot start against Kobe, Artest took over. Yes, the Atlanta coach sat Johnson after his first stint when he was hot, but Artest clamped down and Kobe's D was better suited on others. Ron was moving his feet very well at times. When you combine that with his strength it makes him hard to get around. He was working hard and shutting down, ticked occasionally when our zones kicked in and he wanted Johnson on iso. Johnson got his first hoop of the second half shortly after Artest sat. Ron mentioned that his defensive work should allow Kobe to play with more energy. Ron still struggled with his perimeter shot and from the line. In case you are wondering, Ron did a lot of catch and shoot scoring in Houston last year. He spaced the floor and hit threes with relative consistency. He's just off right now and you can tell that by the horrible FT shooting. There's no offensive system to learn there, he's just pressing. Even though we have bigger guys who are better rebounders, Artest probably boxes out the best on this team...at least he is so far. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 3 fouls in 40 minutes. The Action: He bricked a layup on a drive left. He was stripped in the post but dove to help regain possession. He posted up, got to the front of the rim overpowering Williams, but biffed the finish. He drew a foul posting up weak to strong (gets one of those per game). He missed an early offense three, no offense run on that set. He was stripped on a drive, but Powell cleaned it up. He posted up Bibby and fed a cutting LO for the layup. He sank a wide open three from the top of the key trailing the break. Second Half: He missed a long jumper, moving to his left. He rebounded an LO missed layup and put it back in all with one hand. He blocked Smith from behind. He threw down the dunk, trailing Kobe on the break. He tracked down a loose ball, tapped it to himself, pushed it out and threw down with both hands. He blocked Smith on a closeout. Farmar set him up under the hoop and Artest went to the line, he made just one FT (still clanking). He swatted Johnson's jumper. Nice Tri read, hitting Bynum on the corner entry sequence for FTs. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked strong to his right across the lane and scored the layup. He missed a three. He missed another three in early offense.

Fisher -- -- Better game from Fish. We need some decent perimeter shooting to make the offense flow. Without it, teams don't have to play you honestly (see DFish in the last game). He sank his first few attempts and that helped, even if he missed his the rest of his looks. It will be interesting to compare our PG defense when Pau gets back in the mix. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He faced up and swished a 19-footer when the offense stalled. He hit a top-of-the-key jumper. Second Half: He drained an 18-footer straight away off the screen. He poked a ball loose from Smith from behind to get Kobe a dunk the other way. He sagged off Bibby and gave up a three. He tried to get it back on the other end and missed. He missed a wide open corner three. He airballed a jumper on iso, ending the Lakers 18-0 run. Bad call, Fish drew a charge for sure taking contact in transition. He tapped an offensive board to Kobe for the score. He missed a three.

Luke -- -- I mentioned in the past game about giving Luke a little more time, considering the complete lack of flow in the offense. It looked like they were purposely giving him more opportunity in Luke's first stint with that bench unit. He had several excellent plays that helped that unit thrive and the flow of the offense was smooth. He's a triangle playmaker, and if you want to solve some of the clunky problems when teams are zoning or overplaying, he can help. Phil didn't run Luke at the expense of Artest, either. He slid Ron to the PF spot at times. Luke led the bench in scoring. The Stats: He had 8 points on 4-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 14 minutes. The Action: He sank a baseline jumper in early offense. He attacked to his left and pulled up for the 8-footer in the lane and sank it. He worked the two-man game from the left elbow, setting up Bynum for a dunk. He drew a double team posting up and it eventually resulted in a Farmar corner three off some great passing. He missed a three, then a layup trying to power up in a crowd. Second Half: He blindsided a man on help D and it led to a dunk. Nice D at the end of the quarter, forcing Smith into a double clutch jumper. He sank a baseline jumper. He attacked, drop-stepped and hit the one-hander.

Brown -- -- "I was a little disappointed I had to pull Shannon out in the second half without really giving him a good run...he deserved a little bit of run on the floor than that," Phil said. Note, Shannon was the only bench guard Phil mentioned. In the fourth quarter, we had four bench players running with Artest and they couldn't maintain the lead. Phil yanked everyone and went back to the starters. Phil may need to run DFish more at the start of the season while we try to integrate Ron into the offense. He also mentioned the difficulty of trying to run 5 guards. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 7:48 of action. The Action: Quick hands, reaching on help D to poke a ball loose and ignite a break. He pulled up, in control in early offense and hit the wing three (DFish was checking in). Second Half: He double dribbled 35 feet from the hoop.

Vujacic -- -- Delay of game as soon as he checked in with his warmups not completely removed. Doh. It looks like Phil may be sitting Sasha anytime he makes a defensive error, which has resulted in quick hooks twice in the first three games. No Bibby/Sasha matchup in this one. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 foul in 7 minutes. The Action: He came off the double screen, squared up nicely and hit the wing jumper. He reached on Crawford and it led to an And-1 foul on Bynum under the hoop. He sat for Brown after that. Second Half: He missed a fading jumper from the left wing. Wild drive and dish that Luke somehow saved.

Farmar -- -- His fourth quarter unit stalled out and was benched. Last year, it was always those first 5 minutes of the fourth that were the most critical for Farmar's game. That sets the tone and the mo'. When we get Pau back, that will make life easier for him, but until then Farmar has to be very smart in how he floor generals and which offensive sequences we try to milk. He did a better job of not compounding mistakes like he has lately. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-4 shooting (1-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 14 minutes. The Action: He got swatted in the lane on an awkward move. He airballed a 8-footer, not sure if it was a pass, but he should have shot it, for sure. Ahead of the break, he drew FTs against Zaza, he made both. He couldn't finish a tough lob. He sank a corner three off some great Laker ball movement. Second Half: He attacked and kicked to Powell for the open jumper. He stepped out of bounds trying to attack. He whipped a pass under the hoop to Artest to draw FTs. Weak D, giving up penetration and an And-1. He missed a wide open corner three.

Powell -- -- Josh hit everything he took, so maybe that's why Phil was irked when he passed on a three and turned it over instead. Of course, it could have just been the cruddy pass, but Powell's stroke has looked money for most of October and November seems to have started the same. Again, he showed extended range. Defensively, we struggle to anchor the D when he's out there. He was a -8. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-3 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. The Action: He had Bibby on him in the post, took his time and eventually swished a turnaround jumper over Horford who came over to double (just face up and shoot right over Mini Me). He scored a layup on a loose ball that bounced right to him. Second Half: He sank a 22-footer off the Farmar kickout. He had his swing pass picked off then gave up the And-1 (second guessed himself on that three-pointer).

Mbenga -- -- He got a mouthful from Lamar after not going up to dunk a pass that LO sent him, instead drawing the foul. The smallest player on the court slapped him and DJ blew the layup. Just power up and finish and those under 6-foot players can't do much about it. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, and 1 foul in 6 minutes. The Action: Lamar set him up beneath the hoop and he was fouled on a soft finish (LO thought he should have dunked it and made it known), he made one FT. He grabbed an offensive board, quickly turned and hit the 10-footer. He swatted Crawford under the rim on the other end. Second Half: He was called for a moving screen trying to free up Farmar for the lob. He got it back with the steal on the other end.

Phil -- -- Phil had a bandage of his index finger, cutting it while making dinner. Thankfully, it wasn't one of his whistle fingers. Who knows what that could lead to?... Usual starters. Phil's first subs were Mbenga and Farmar after 9 minutes. They made a point of getting the ball into Bynum, Kobe and Ron in the post... Lakers led 27-25 despite 18 from Joe Johnson in the 1st Q. Hawks had 8 turnovers... Phil started a Bynum, Artest, Luke, Sasha, Farmar unit in the second. Some good sequences with Luke playmaking... He then went to a Powell, Lamar, Artest, Kobe, Brown unit... Then closed with the starters... With 6.7 seconds left in the half, we run the long inbounds pass to Kobe posting and it goes right out of bounds with no time running off the clock. The Lakers dodged a couple open jumpers, so they didn't get burned on that. It could have been a hitch and pitch to Artest, but that's a play for 2 seconds on the clock, not 6.7... The Lakers led 64-58 at the half. They shot 54 percent (5-7 from three, 9-10 from the line) and had 7 turnovers. The Hawks shot 44 percent (4-13 from three, 16-17 from the line) and had 11 turnovers and 8 offensive boards... The Lakers had a couple strong pushes in the third and forced the Hawks into multiple timeouts... None of that helped. The Lakers went on a huge 18-0 run behind some strong D and transition scores... During the fourth, Phil tried to run Artest with the bench for several minutes and they gave up a 13-3 run, forcing a timeout. He benched the reserves for the starters... The Lakers shot 53 percent, the Hawks 45 percent. The Lakers had 14 steals and 26 assists...

Game Flow -- LINK -- While the spacing and triangle was keeping the Lakers offense clicking, the 18-0 run in the third quarter was defense turning into offense. They seized control there.

[LakerSanity]

Thanks DB... quick tonight.
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[kups]

thanks DB!
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#2 Lonzo
#28 Derrick White, Jordan Bell, Deonte Burton

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks for the recap DB!

Game started out sloppy, almost nothing going in the bucket. Then the Lakers started clamping down on defense to take the big lead, then coasted to the finish for the win.
Missing Pau for the 3rd straight game may have something to do with the teams indifference, hope he gets back soon.
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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.

[LakerJosh]

Thanks DB

[chazz]

4th baby!!! How the heck doe Sasha get a delay of game while still wearing his warmups to the game???? Its time to dump him as he is showing he does not have the mentality

[chazz]

Damn you Lakerjosh...damn you...I meant to now say 5th BABY!!!!!!!

[roastem00]

DB you have some great write ups, always enjoy reading your comments!
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"He had eyes in his ears."

-- announcer Chick Hearn, on the passing ability of Magic Johnson

[10scott10]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!

So good to see this Laker team come alive in the third quarter! It was also good to see Artest get a few high-percentage shots off, hopefully a shot of confidence.

Excellent point on Ron's offense; he can be an absolutely deadly scorer when he's on.

I hope Drew's not satisfied with his stats tonight...

Big props to Lamar, Kobe, RonRon, Shannon Brown, Luke played his role well, Josh surprised me too.

More of this Lakers!!!

[ImmortalD24]

Thanks DB!
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60!

[JerryMagicKobe]

I wonder if fans realize exactly how good this team is, or is going to be. Pau's return will be a boost. Fisher's subsequent reduced PT will be a boost. Artest's eventual offensive integration will be a boost. And more importantly, everyone having more time playing on the court together will be a boost. And I was of the opinion that the additional offfensive options would result in less shots for Kobe and more sharing with others, but I now think that our defense will create more transition offense for everyone and in the half court, defenses will be less inclined to be Kobecentric, resulting in lots of one on ones for him. In some games, Kobe will be simply unstoppable.

[limchrc]

Thanks, glad we won.

[lakerican]

i think the useful life of the depreciated machine had come to a close. It seems the machine had begun to fail to operate due to the seizing of a part .

[Tanlentueux]

[prisma8slg]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

18-0 DUNKFEST RUN
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Rick12322]

Thanks, DB.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[dmlakerfan01]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

^

[Klone_dd]

I'm glad the Kobe impersonator from Friday's game left the building after Halloween. Much more energy and execution.

Great games by LO and Luke. They really moved the ball well and to the right people. RonRon put the clamps on JoeJoe. I don't understand why Kobe would gamble off JJ. The guy's an all-star, and Kobe seemed like he just wanted to have a shootout instead of playing solid defense.

[Sage_10]

Great recap DB!
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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

[pg22]

I think Bynum should just focus on his face-up game and maybe tranform himself into a PF. It takes a great deal of athleticism to be a dominant center, and right now, he just doesn't have it. To me, he seems more comfortable facing up then shooting his hook shots.

[Wilt]

Don't know if this has been mentioned in any of the threads, but Joel Meyers' comment at the beginning of the game had me rolling.

"Welcome to paradise. Welcome to downtown L.A."
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¡Hala Madrid!