HORNETS -at- LAKERS - 11/8 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Buying Time... A black cloud snakes its way toward the city. With a collective mind that directs it with some purpose, it's alive you realize -- some kind of swarm of insects.

You know the make-shift defenses can't yet withhold a severe attack, but all you need at the moment is to buy time.

The city is ready tonight. Fires flicker to life in front of the walls of debris that surround your stronghold. Used tires are thrown on the flames and thick smoke extends these walls skyward.

The smell of burnt rubber chokes the air, but the bugs begin dropping in mass the moment they hit it. They simply can't get through alive.

It is over quickly. As the fires are extinguished and the smoke clears, you spot a smoldering sign staked in the rubble. DancingBarry again:

The Horsemen were here. Still undermanned, their defenses proved too strong for this opponent. They choked off the key points of attack and kept the interior from being exploited.

I will continue to track them.

Buying Time. Somehow the Lakers are doing it without their two impact bigmen. For the second straight game without Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum, the Lakers soundly defeated their opponent, blowing out the Hornets 104-88.

Kobe Bryant has been a one-man tornado of dominance, spinning and hitting turnaround jumpers with deadly accuracy from the midpost. While they are living off his dominance, they are getting quality minutes from key reserves.

DJ Mbenga, Shannon Brown and Luke Walton all stepped up to the challenge. Mbenga put together his first career double-double (in addition to blocking 4 shots). Luke and Shannon combined for 26 points off the bench. Shannon, who had 13 points in the third, helped key a 12-0 run early in the quarter that seized control of the game.

Mbenga has controlled the interior defensively in back-to-back great games, combining for 25 boards and 8 blocks. "I don't have to be Pau, but I can be DJ doing what I know how to do," the soft spoken Mbenga said afterward.

Extending their win streak to 5 games, the Lakers take their 6-1 record against the 6-1 Suns on Thursday. Hopefully, more help is on the way.


Kobe -- -- On the first play of the game, Kobe picked Devin Brown and took it the other way for a dunk. "I wanted to make sure we didn't come out sleeping," Kobe said. He then worked Brown over in the post. That's how it's going to be when you play the Mamba right now. He scored 26 points in the first half. He was attacking before doubles could get to him. That's what makes his turnaround so deadly. He can spin away from the help as soon as he sees it. Just when you thought he couldn't get any tougher to defend, he sure looks it now. Teams have to deny him the ball and front the post more against him to try to push him away from his sweet spots. The Hornets had to instantly double in the second half and later zone up to try to get the ball out of his hands. "He's got that little porch he can sit in over there and make teams try to work and help," Phil said. Defensively, some sagging off Brown and giving up open jumpers. He didn't have the high-steal game he's been putting together lately. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 11-21 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +20. The Action: A couple seconds into the game and he swiped the ball from Brown for a two-handed dunk the other way. He stroked a turnaround from the elbow. He missed from the other side next time down. He spun baseline and Fish lobbed to him for the backdoor dunk. He missed an early offense three. He forced a turnaround out of rhythm and missed. He overpowered Brown in front of the hoop for an easy layup. He missed a pull-up from the elbow. He sank a long baseline fallaway. He shoved Brown for some reason, picking up the offensive foul as we headed down court. He sank the baseline turnaround. Great hands on D and he drew FTs after causing a loose ball, he made both FTs. He sank a quick turnaround from the midpost. He airballed a three after the offense stalled. He swished a baseline turnaround. Same result from the elbow on his next touch shortly later. He missed a jumper spinning away from what looked like a triple team (should have hit LO cutting). He drew FTs working for post position in the paint, he made both. He hit a quick bank from the right block (deadly that low). More work fighting for inside position, he was pulled down for FTs when a shot went up, he made both. Second Half: He missed a baseline fallaway. He spun, stretched out and his layup was swatted. He missed a baseline turnaround. He was stripped from behind. He stepped on the baseline. He was stripped again. He bodied his man and hit the turnaround from the left wing.

Lamar -- -- Even though he didn't have a good scoring game, he played better overall. He still needs to find himself some easy points in the system. Nothing is looking easy for him (although his FTs looked nice tonight). Some good D, though, against West who only had 11 points on 11 shots. Lamar didn't get into fouls, was boarding hard and breaking a sweat. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 1-6 shooting (1-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 30 minutes. The Action: He swished a wing three. He missed a three a step behind the line. He attacked baseline and drew a foul will trying to stretch out for a score, he made both FTs. He didn't hit rim on a three with the shotclock low. He missed a turnaround trying to beat the shotclock. He created off the dribble and fed Powell for the dunk. He unwisely gave the ball to Mbenga in the post in early offense (DJ quickly took it and missed a turnaround). He had 5 points on 1-4 shooting, 8 boards and 5 assists. Second Half: He cut off the Kobe double and drew FTs in the paint, he made both. He swatted West's post move. He kept a Kobe miss alive and Mbenga cleaned it up. He stretched out for a layup, got hit on the arm, missed and yelled for the no call. He airballed a three.

Artest -- -- "People don't realize how smart he is," Magic said of Artest. Ron led the team with 7 assists (14 assists in the last two games). He wasn't overly aggressive and Phil didn't rely on him to carry the second unit. He played under control and made some good reads in the offense that kept the ball moving. Just being a threat helped to get defenders keep rotating to him and Artest set up teammates with the extra pass. Unselfish ball. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 7 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 30 minutes. The Action: He and LO forced Wright to lose the ball in the corner. He got tapped on a three off the Kobe kickout. He sank a wing jumper with his foot on the three line. He missed a wing three. He drew FTs getting on the offensive glass against Paul, he made one. He missed a fading jumper. He swung the ball to DFish with just enough time for a three at the end of the half. He had 3 points on 1-4 shooting and 4 assists. Second Half: Soft entry pass to Kobe and it was picked off by a help defender. He pulled a defender to him on an LO kickout and swung it to DFish for a three. He sank a jumper over Brown. He took a rebound the distance and didn't get the layup high enough off the glass. He crossed over and kicked out to Luke for a three.

Fisher -- -- Hard not to give up FTs to Chris Paul. So when DFish tried to body up CP3, he was getting the quick whistle. That ended up putting him on the bench early. Some decent numbers by Fish despite the short minutes. Paul never really threatened the Lakers. In fact, the combo of Brown and DFish combined for 23 points on 9-13 shooting (5-7 from three) in 33 minutes. That's some production from that duo. Excellent shooting from that combo. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-5 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and 4 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He forced a 20-footer in early offense and missed. With the shotclock low, he lobbed to Kobe backdoor for a dunk. He sank a 17-footer. He missed an open wing three going two-for-one. He buried a quick fire corner three, just beating the halftime buzzer. Second Half: He sank an open three off the Artest swing pass. He was called for his fourth foul trying to challenge a Paul three (looked like Paul kicked his legs out and Fish let the ref know it).

Mbenga -- -- Mbenga Time Again. After a career high in rebounding in the last game, Mbenga filled the stat sheet with a double-double tonight. Combine that with some nice anchor D and the team survives another game without their starting C and PF. You can't dump the ball to him to establish a post presence, so the team misses the balance of their attack. The ball gets swung away from him and we don't run a lot of those traditional sideline triangle sequences. But he works...and hard work pays off. He'll get you an occasional jumper and some garbage points. He's going after boards and rejecting shots without getting into foul trouble. Got to love that. And Phil says Mbenga is still recovering from his groin and abdominal injuries that had him sidelined early in the training camp. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-9 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 12 boards (4 offensive), 1 steal, 4 blocks and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. The Action: He missed a 4-footer, cutting from the weakside. Nice lateral speed, Paul had no where to go on the baseline but DJ was called for the weak foul. He poked the ball from Okafor. He backed down Okafor and hit the jumphook over him. He couldn't handle a touch pass from LO on the break. He hit a jumphook in the lane off the Farmar pass. He swatted a drive right at the glass. Horrible defensive angle on the post, he then compounded the mistake by giving up the foul on the dunk. He missed a FT jumper. He missed an early offense turnaround (should have let the ball work around more). Second Half: He missed a layup, but got it back. He scooped up a loose ball and hit a 14-footer. Nice challenge on Paul's shot on the other end. LO kept a board alive and Mbenga cleaned it up with an And-1 (LO threw the ball at him after the play like a pat on the rear), he missed the FT. Great rejection of a throwdown at the rim to save a hoop and get a shotclock violation. He tapped out a Luke miss to regain a possession. He blocked shots on two straight defensive possessions. He got a kind bounce on the top-of-the-key jumper.

Luke -- -- Great game from Luke again. At one point it seemed he was taking a couple of heat-check threes. When opponents pay the price when sagging off him, that just kills teams. They want to double off Luke and put out a fire like Kobe. When they can't without getting hurt, it just makes the entire team better. Good to see the shot falling. A few of them came with the shotclock low. It might not be often when Luke is your third highest scorer for the team. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting (3-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 21 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He missed a sideline jumper with the clock low. The D sagged off him, so he swished the three. He swished a baseline jumper with the shotclock running low. He swiped a pass on the other end, jumping in front of a man under the hoop. Second Half: He swished an open corner three on the Artest kickout. He swished a three with the shotclock low to bail out the offense. He missed a three from the wing shortly later. On the money with a long outlet pass to Shannon for the throwdown. He missed another three.

Brown -- -- This game was blown open the moment Shannon came in during the third. He had 13 points in the quarter taking over when DFish went out early with fouls, just 3 minutes into the second half. He buried a few threes and threw down a dunk. The team took over on both ends. It wasn't exactly like playing with the starters since we're missing two of them, but when he is with those impact ballers, it makes the game simple for him. He doesn't have to do too much, just play D and hit open looks. Defensively, he looked very solid against Paul. There were a few sequences where he forced Paul into doing things he didn't want to. "I just wanted to come out and keep the defensive intensity high and knock down shots when they were given to me," Shannon said. Asked if he was trying to score like Kobe, Shannon replied, "He's a whole different type of animal, man." The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He rattled in a wing three. He missed a teardrop. He swished a wing three next time down, forcing a timeout. He missed a sideline three. He swished a wide open three over the zone. He cut baseline, took the pass from Powell and reversed. He was fouled by Paul on a lob, he got it back off a screen and threw down a dunk a few seconds later. He caught the long outlet pass and threw down.

Vujacic -- -- Good news is he seems to be hitting at a decent rate this year (6-12 shooting on the season). Last year this time, he might be making comments about how the lack of minutes makes it hard for him to produce. We haven't heard that despite his short minutes. Hopefully, he learned how to be ready for short bursts of minutes. That will make him much more effective. Despite hitting both threes he took, it wasn't a great game. He was struggling with the pressure D in the fourth. He and Farmar looked horrible in the backcourt during that stretch. Very sloppy handles and poor decisions took some of the shine off the good things he was doing. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-4 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He drained a wing three when his defender gave him a couple steps. He crashed the glass to pull down an LO miss, but he missed the quick jumper. Second Half: He came in and gave up instant fouls and FTs twice at the end of the quarter. He missed a wing jumper. Stripped on a couple possessions. He was called for a flagrant-1 with a hard transition foul. He hit a transition three and got hammered in the body for a 4-point play when he made the FT.

Farmar -- -- In the last couple games, he has given up easy scores as soon as he enters the game. He needs to get himself ready for the game. Shannon mentioned wanting to keep the defensive intensity up when he entered the game. Farmar needs to do the same thing. It seems like he settles in a little better as the game goes, but he doesn't want to be a doormat on the first few defensive stands. Not much to write home about on the other end of the floor. He missed all his threes and struggled with some of the pressure D late in the game. Still, he did do a good job finsing teammates while keeping the turnovers low. Farmar made all for FTs he took in this game and is 7-8 from the line so far this season. Hopefully, he is gaining confidence there and it carries through. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-5 shooting (0-3 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He got crossed over for a layup. Nice D on the switch on Peja and he challenged it well. Quick attack off the baseline handoff and he drew FTs, he made both. He airballed a pull-up three in transition. Second Half: He swiped a ball under the hoop and reversed when he escaped a couple defenders around him. He missed a layup cutting from the weakside. He missed a wing three. He missed another three. He attacked and kicked to Ammo for the three. He attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made both.

Powell -- -- "He's been the best shooter on the team so far," Phil said prior to the game. With that in his back pocket, Powell went out and had his worst shooting game of the season. He had a couple of attempts, he shouldn't have taken (a post turnaround and a runner). Neither of those play to his strengths. Defensively, none of the Hornet bigmen did any major damage. We had a few bad sequences of post D, but our third string held down the fort. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He dunked off the drive and dish from LO. He got tapped on an 18-footer. He missed a runner, not his strength. Bad post D position, giving up an easy dunk on the drop-step move from Okafor. Second Half: He no-looked a pass to Shannon cutting baseline, reverse layup. He missed a pick-and-pop baseline jumper. He airballed a turnaround jumper.

Morrison -- -- He came in for Kobe midway through the fourth. We were in garbage time, but we still need guys to produce. Morrison seemed comfortable and drained a couple of shots during the ugly team minutes. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 7 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He did not play. Second Half: He missed a 14-footer. He attacked and pulled up from 12 feet and hit the short one in the paint. He drained a wing three with the clock low. He airballed an open three.

Phil -- -- "I still haven't got defined roles on the bench yet," Phil said prior to the game... Two of those bench players (LO and DJ) started again for Phil with Pau and Bynum out... Kobe set the tone with 14 points, working the post and turnaround in the first quarter. The Lakers led 27-17 after the first... He started a Powell, Lamar, Luke, Sasha, Farmar second unit... They extended it to 17 before the Hornets chipped away... DFish sank a buzzer beater and the Lakers led 55-42 at the half. Hornets shot 40 percent (18-45), the Lakers 46.5 percent (20-43). The Lakers were outrebounded 8-3 on the offensive glass. They only had 3 turnovers, however... Cleamons stressed the Lakers keeping the Hornets off the glass in the second half... Phil brought in Shannon when Fish picked up early fouls. The team went on a 12-0 run behind a couple Brown threes. They led 72-45... The Hornets went to a zone... The Lakers led by 22 when Phil went to a Powell, Artest, Luke, Sasha, Brown lineup... The Lakers led 82-58 after three. Hornets scored just 16 points in the third... Phil started a Mbenga, Luke, Kobe, Brown, Farmar lineup... Not pretty minutes in the fourth, but the team had a huge lead... The Hornets shot just 36.5 percent (31-85), making 13-40 in the second half. The Lakers shot 47 percent (44.4 percent, 12-27 from three)...

Game Flow -- LINK -- As soon as Shannon came in during the third, the Lakers 12-0 run hit.

[Paillard]

First.

Thanks DB. I always love reading your analysis.

[Ray_Gonzoles]

Thanks again for the recaps DB!

Another game without Gasol or Bynnum, DJ, Luke and Shannon really stepped up, and a nice game from Kobe.
5 straight wins without Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, but hope they are ready on Thursday for Phoenix.
_________________
"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.

[JTS1]

trying to be top 10...

and end up 3rd...i'll take that!
_________________
'How many kids can say growing up that they'll turn pro and play for their favorite team in the world and spend your entire career there? IT'S BEEN A DREAM!'-Kobe Bryant 11.29.15

[lakergreenmachine]

Thanks DB, great job as always! Here's to a victory over Phoenix!
_________________
"Moment of Silence For the Champions."

[Omar Little]

Funny, but who would have thought Fish and Brown would outscore Paul in similar minutes?
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[Shaber]

Dj should have been credited with two assists. Two of his blocks lead to five Hornets points...
_________________
.

Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[dino]

was at the game today...kobe was unbelievable in the first half...i thought he was going to hit 50 easy...

start of the 3rd they started doubling him...the one time they did single coverage he dropped in his last two points on another mid-post turn-around jumper...

kobe is a beast and is dominating from the post minus gasol and bynum...i figured he'd be more reliant on the jumper but not to this extent and with this accuracy...in a span of one summer he's become a post-player who commands a double team...amazing...

good games out of luke and shannon...was very impressed with dj though - not the most fluid player out there but he was very active and had that unbelievable block to force the 24 second violation...

hope pau and drew come back for phoenix...

[A Mad Chinaman]

DJ is showing how much production (boards, blocks) can be at the "5" with just effort. Acknowledging that Bynum has definitely more talent, DJ seems to be hungrier that results in working harder during his PT.

[Tanlentueux]

[limchrc]

thanks

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB


_________________
"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

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

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!! Amazing how the bench steps up and plays when we're down 2 bigs.

[Klone_dd]

It's incredible to even consider it, but Kobe has actually elevated his game. Low post, mid post -- deadly accurate. Teams can't afford to put a bigger SF on him or else RonRon punishes the smaller SGs. This is a side effect of the RonRon/Ariza swap that every team should fear.

Mbenga is fun to watch, although you know what's going to happen if he gets the ball.

[StuLantz#1]

I was just thinking about how people use to go on about how our team made Ariza look good (even though he's doing pretty well without us now), but I saw the same with Brown and Mbenga. Up until the last two games they were solely part of the struggling bench squad, but when integrated with more of our starters they looked like great individual performers.

[Rick12322]

I've always felt Brown could do well with the starters because his weak point guards skills aren't exposed there. He hasn't done well at Pt. with the reserves where those skills are needed more.

[Rick12322]

Ariza has gotten off to a fairly good start, but it's too early to tell if he's going to be as efficient in Houston as he was here last year. Ariza didn't play like a no. 1 option when we faced Houston, I think Scola is a very skilled big who should be no.1 over Ariza. He's the one who caused us fits.

I still think Artest is better all around, I think he fits this team better with his better IQ and passing skills, and his strength against the strong SF's and overall versatility. He's better than Odom, IMO, and gives us what we've needed on both sides of the floor. Already, he seems to understand the offense better than LO.

[DancingBarry]

[StuLantz#1]

[smiles]

Hope SB can continue to play more. He's pretty consistent.

[_#1_]

Luke, Sasha and Farmar, sure can hits shots went it really doesn't count. Fish on the other hand will go what seems like weeks not being able to throw a pea into the ocean, but went it really counts, bam, thing goes right in. Near opposites.