BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 10/28 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Opening Night… If the Lakers were looking to set the tone for the season with this game, they certainly made a statement on D. They held the young Blazers to 34.5 percent shooting on their way to the 96-76 crushing.

The Blazers missed shots, but the Lakers ran their strong-side zone, rotated quickly and packed the interior with 7-footers. The Blazer offense was stuck in the mud.

About the Bynum/Oden match-up everyone was anticipating. This will be a good head-to-head battle, but it certainly fizzled like a slowly leaking balloon tonight. Oden left the game early after picking up fouls and later to get an x-ray on his foot. So, much for the hype. But let’s look at that hype a little closer.

I first got to see Bynum up close in person in his first Summer Pro League game. What struck me then was that he looked like an old school center. I could just as easily have pictured him in a black-and-white photo playing at Madison Square Garden in the ’50s instead of the Pyramid at Long Beach. An old school center like that needs a rival.

Russell and Chamberlain went head to head 142 times during the 10 years of their rivalry. Tonight, Bynum and Oden tallied their first of many.

But before you start thinking that this will be Wilt Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell Part Two, take a step back for a moment. Russell dominated the league for three years before Wilt came along. Wilt, of course, set records that only Kobe dares threaten. These two were on another level in this league when they went head to head.

That’s not to say there won’t be any parallels between these two rivalries. Russell and Chamberlain made each other better. Oden and Bynum will likely make each other better, too. Let’s hope so because this could be a fun battle to watch in years to come.

Tonight, they each got in a couple of shots, but Portland fans must be flashing back to Sam Bowie right now. Not a good debut. Hopefully, this is just a small bump in the road for Oden.

Enough about that. The Lakers dominated the game from the beginning. The one-two punch of Kobe and Gasol was followed by a series of body blows by the rest of the Lakers. Only three Lakers made it to double digits, which means it was a varied attack. Kobe and Farmar were setting the table. The Lakers were selective on their three shooting, making 7-10.

“Portland’s been a team that’s kind of given us a lot of trouble,” Kobe said in the Times. “But we were able to stifle them a bit, which I’m very pleased with.”

Let’s get to the breakdowns…

Kobe — — Kobe was conducting the orchestra tonight. I don’t mean he was making string music with his jumpers. He was simply directing the attack without having to dominate on one end and controlling the boards and locking down Roy on the other end. Roy didn’t get his first score until late in the game, and that came off a loose ball scramble. He came on strong later, but the game was already decided and Kobe was chilling on the sidelines during much of that stretch. He dominated the glass. Love to see that become a trend.The Stats: He scored 23 points on 9-17 shooting (1-1 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He attacked Blake and overpowered him with ease going to his left. He missed a flip layup over his head trying to shield Przybilla with his body. He found Gasol on the break for a layup. He missed a baseline jumper, got it back and hit the short 10-footer in the lane. He hit Vlad on the break for a dunk. He found Pau in transition for the layup. He worked to his right and hit the 12-footer from the wing. He fumbled a pass away on the break. He missed a face-up jumper from the right side. He had 6 points on 3-8 shooting, 8 boards, 5 assists and 4 turnovers at the half. Second Half: He missed a long wing jumper. Pryzbilla took a hard foul and tried to stare Kobe down…Kobe then went on a one-man run (next four Kobe scores): He swished a wing three on his next attempt. He attacked a seam in transition, changed hands in air and flipped in the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He missed a pull-up jumper. He attacked to his left across the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked with speed again in transition, he made both FTs. He swished a corner jumper with Roy right on him. He posted up Outlaw and torched him on an up-and-under for a layup. He missed the pull-up jumper from the wing. Back in after a long rest, he posted up and swished a turnaround on the baseline. He iso’d on Outlaw, jab-stepped, blew past him and threw down with both hands.

Gasol — — Defensively, Pau may not anchor the D with a ton of shotblocks, but his length is always disruptive. He challenges and alters a lot of shots. When you stack him next to Bynum, you start to develop a no-fly zone defensively. On the offensive end, he did all his damage in the fist half. He had a good mix of jumpers, post-ups and transition hoops. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-10 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. The Action: He scored an And-1 hook, picking up Oden’s first foul on our first score and making the FT. He scored again while TNT was away. He drained a baseline jumper off the drive and kick from Kobe. He couldn’t handle an interior feed from Kobe. He posted up, faked a couple directions then flipped it in with his left. He swatted Aldridge under the hoop. He back-rimmed a shot over Oden at the front of the rim. He scored a layup, filling the lane on the break with Kobe. He had a layup goaltended on the break. He had 15 points on 7-9 shooting at the half. Second Half: He dropped a Kobe pass right out of bounds after a sick cross-over move by No. 24. He threw a pass away opting not to take the fade in the lane. He couldn’t finish a lob from Farmar in the lane.

Bynum — — Both young centers are recovering from injuries, and both need to get comfortable playing hoops again. Oden sat early after 5 minutes with two fouls. Bynum and teammates couldn’t get their timing right on lob passes. I would love to see big games from both. If you know one thing about young Andrew Bynum, it’s that he responds to a challenge. Shaq tossed him down and dunked on him. Drew got up, threw down his own dunk and then gave Shaq a shove. When you push him, he responds. Oden is good for Drew. Let’s hope we see a better match-up next time. Defensively, Drew did a solid job anchoring the D. As mentioned above, he and Pau can make for a difficult no-fly zone, challenging shots and controlling the glass afterward. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-10 shooting, had 3 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks and 5 fouls in 28 minutes. The Action: He got blocked by Oden in the post (should have used his other hand on the shot). He took an intentional foul under the hoop to prevent Oden from scoring. He got hit by Oden with no call and missed the jumphook. Nicely timed follow to put in a Vlad missed three all in one motion. He missed an alley-oop from Lamar. He picked up his second foul late in the half, sending Roy to the floor while contesting dribble penetration. He couldn’t finish a tough lob from DFish. He had 2 points on 1-4 shooting and 1 block. Second Half: He erased a Blake drive. He missed an open wing jumper. He missed a pull-up jumper in the lane in transition. His man left Farmar to help on the screen-roll D, Farmar lobbed, Bynum dunked. He went glass with his right hand under the hoop. He missed a jumphook. He drop-stepped and hit a baseline jumper (very smooth).

Radmanovic — — Vlad was active and rotating superbly in this game on the defensive end. Whether this battle for PT has lit a fire under him or not, he has certainly brought some much stronger play on the defensive end. Having two 7 footers and some zone covering your back also allows Vlad to get aggressive in those passing lanes. His size also works well when we’ve got the zone he needs to switch under the hoop on bigger players. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-4 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 5 boards, 4 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 24 minutes. The Action: He contested Oden in the post to force a brick. He swiped a loose ball to ignite the break. He missed a corner three. He threw down as Bynum went down in front of him and Kobe fed the lane on the break. He worked off the Pau screen and swished a wing three. He swiped a pass, jumping the passing lane on the perimeter. He had 5 points, 5 boards and 3 steals at the half. Second Half: He sagged and swiped a pass. He swished a wide open corner three.

Fisher — — I prefer seeing DFish on Blake instead of Kobe. Kobe tends not to respect the shot and gamble too much. Fish stayed camped on him and kept Blake from going off on us as he’s done in the past. Offensively, sub-par game from Fish. He finished poorly around the rim, which isn’t a newsflash. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-8 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 25 minutes. The Action: He scored while TNT was away. He attacked in transition and flipped a layup over Oden. He drew Oden’s second foul fighting through a screen. He missed a pull-up jumper. He attacked and missed a runner in the lane. He miscued on a lob to Bynum on the break, timing a little off. Second Half: He missed a layup trying to power up, then missed another layup in transition. He drew FTs attacking the lane in transition, he made both.

Lamar — — Very respectable game from Lamar on both ends. His defensive positioning, zone rotations and switches were very disruptive for the Blazers. Those things might not show in the stat sheet, but they were mission critical to our defensive schemes. He came in for Pau midway through the first quarter and later for Bynum midway through the third. Hopefully, he can retain his focus if we have big leads. I think he has a tendency to get a little loose when that happens. With Phil’s rotations, he will be relied on to help keep the team from slacking off. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-5 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 29 minutes. The Action: He stripped the ball on a switch. He missed a wing three in early offense. He threw a pass to a standing Sasha, who was in his warmups on the sideline. He clanked a wing jumper. He attacked to his right and had his shot goaltended off the glass for an And-1, he missed the FT. He flashed to the strong side, took the pass and went glass with the jumphook. He missed a layup, going right and trying to reach back with his left. Second Half: He isolated and hit the pull-up jumper from the wing. He drew FTs in transition, attacking the right to his right, he made both. He took hard contact on a pass off, winced it off and went back to the line, made one FT. He threw a back-court pass away for a three.

Ariza — — The 2-2 from three range in this game makes Laker fans smile. The dunk over guys like Przybilla gets Laker fans ready to climb out of their seats. Defensively, he showed his usual off-the-ball tenacity. He mixed it up underneath the hoop and got a couple blocks. He’s an ideal role player for this team — versatile, athletic and willing to do a lot of little things. The more he can become a student of his opponents and work on his on-the-ball D, the more important his game will be for the team. Getting 11 points off the bench without dominating the ball, that’s definitely big for us. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting (2-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks and no fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He dunked over Pryzbilla for his first score. He sank a corner three over the zone. He swatted a man from behind under the hoop. The offense stalled with Ariza in the post and he missed a bad fade, no one as moving for him. He swished an open corner three on his next touch. He had 8 points on 3-4 shooting. Second Half: He couldn’t finish a layup on the break over defenders. He then picked up a tech, mixing it up on the rebound. He drew a charge on a Portland pass-off under the hoop. Great D swatting a guard in transition, just ate him up. Sealing his man, Ariza took the entry pass, reached back and scored the And-1 layup high off the glass, he made the FT.

Farmar — — He didn’t have a great shooting game, but the aggression and playmaking is exactly what you want to see. He pushed the tempo, got penetration and looked to set up teammates. He stuffed the stats in his minutes. So far, so good from the line. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-8 shooting, (1-1 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. The Action: He over-threw a lob to Ariza who was wide open. He attacked in early offense to get fouled on a quick two-for-one, he made both FTs. He pushed out the break and dumped it off to Pau at the last second for a dunk. Bad pass to Sasha when he should have went to Pau under the rim. He missed a layup in early offense. He had 3 assists at the half. Second Half: He missed a long pull-up jumper. He missed a tip in, following Ariza’s miss. He earned FTs when Sasha set him up in transition with a behind-the-back pass, he made both. He worked off the high screen, drew Bynum’s man and lobbed to Drew for the dunk. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. He missed a tip-in of a Bynum miss. He rattled in a wing three. He attacked in transition for an easy layup.

Vujacic — — The only shot Sasha didn’t seem to take when open tonight was the one where Lamar kicked it to him while Sasha was standing in front of the bench with his warm-ups on. The Machine must have been in sleep mode. This is still preseason for Sasha, so I expect some choppy minutes at first. That’s what we got tonight. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 1 foul in 12 minutes. The Action: He missed an open wing three at the first quarter buzzer. He missed a corner jumper. He missed a short baseline jumper off the in-bounds pass. He drained a three in transition next time down. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper, working off the dribble behind a Lamar screen. He sank a long jumper from the right side in early offense. He tapped a pass to himself, took a long dribble, then whipped a pass behind his back to Farmar who was fouled for FTs. Nice Tri recognition, Ariza had his man sealed, Farmar quickly swung it to Sasha who then hit Ariza for the score.

Mihm — — He came in with just under 4 minutes left and a large Laker lead. Most likely, those are the kind of minutes he will see. With our need to get Lamar PT at the 4 and with Pau backing up drew at C, Mihm will get the misc. minutes. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting, had 1 board and 1 block in 4 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He hit a turnaround in the post. He swatted Diogu.

Luke — — In with a couple minutes left, he got some garbage time run. As long as Vlad is playing as well as he is, he may be keeping Luke cemented on the bench. Even then, Phil will still have Ariza, Lamar and Kobe at the SF if he wants. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 assist in his 3 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a bank from the right side.

Powell — — In with a couple minutes left and he immediately threw a pass away. One of the negatives he had shown in the preseason was some bad passes in the offense. A lot of these are just bad triangle passes and should be remedied (I would hope) by more experience. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting, had 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 3 minutes. The Action: Did not play in the first half. Second Half: He threw a pass away for a dunk. He missed off the glass in the paint.

Phil — — Defensive focus and intensity from the start… The Lakers started the Bynum, Pau, Vlad, Kobe, Fisher lineup. They opened up an 11-4 lead forcing a Portland timeout… He then sat out Gasol for Odom and later brought Gasol back for Bynum with the Ariza/Farmar UCLA Connection lineup… The Laker switches, strong-side zoning and bigmen under the hoop all combined to help hold the Blazers down in the first quarter as the Lakers held a 24-14 lead… The Lakers extended to a 30-14 lead, again playing some tight D that forced the Blazers to move the ball or attack a crowd… Two shotclock violations for Portland in the first 4 minutes of the second quarter… With the TNT crew talking about the Laker “suffocating” D, we stretched out to a 22-point lead… The Blazers went on a quick 7-0 run at the end of the half and the Lakers led 49-34. The Lakers made 21-43 (49 percent) while the Blazers were held to 13-42 (31 percent) shooting in the first half… Phil brought in Lamar for Bynum midway through the third. Oden wasn’t on the court in the second half… Portland cut the lead to 8, but the Lakers rallied back behind Kobe to go on a 15-2 run… Another Portland shotclock violation with the Lakers swarming and rotating like mad… The Lakers led 72-53 to start the fourth. “We’ve given up some threes. They’re just not shooting the ball well,” Phil said between quarters. I think that was half true. We did need to do a better job getting to some shooters, but we also confused Portland badly with our defensive schemes… Phil ran Kobe and Pau 33 minutes. Lamar got 29 off the bench. The more of those we can get after the long season last year, the better… Only 15 turnovers by the guys tonight instead of those 20+ preseason games. That will help the D, too…

Game Flow — LINK — No Laker in the negative on the +/-. All starters in double digits in the positive. Kobe’s 13-point third quarter sparked a 20-5 run after Portland crept close.