BUCKS -at- LAKERS - 12/7 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Another victim… The damage was done with a blunt instrument. As ugly as the scene is, you stare at the carnage and start thinking about her — Ms. Trouble with the smoky voice. How could she have possibly known about the earthquake? And why did she warn you?

Part of you wants to know more, part of you doesn’t. As you teeter on the edge of indecision, your cell phone rings. The display reads a series of dashes with no phone number. It’s her. Your thumb ends the indecision. “You again,” you answer. “Should I duck and cover right now or what?”

“You liked that, did you, honey?” she says. “I just want you to wise up about the real victims here.” The voice makes you lick your lips and crave that whiskey.

“Lady, I see a town wiped out by God knows what, I see dead bodies, I see carnage, it seems pretty clear who’s–”

“You’re cute when your confused,” she interrupts. “Did you ever stop and think that some of these people have it coming?”

“I don’t care who has what coming,” you say, turning your attention from the victim to an unopened Fed Ex package next to him. “I just know it’s wrong. What’s your story?”

“What would you do to save a child…your child?” she says. “Would you move heaven and earth?”

You stop in your tracks. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying they have my baby, Little Lawrence…Lawrence Francis O’Brien…and I will unleash all manner of hell and fury — the Four Horsemen and all their Death Riders — whatever it takes to get him back. You better believe it. Now, open up that package and get in the game already.” With a click, the phone line goes dead.

Someone has little Larry O’Brien. She wants him back. You pick up the package, rip it open and pull out a paper. That hack DancingBarry again:

“The Four Horsemen overwhelmed an inferior force. They were too big, too talented and took out the first wave of their opponent’s attack with ease and domination. Their weapons weren’t sharp, their attack wasn’t efficient…but their opponent had no answers. They were smothered…

I will continue to track them…”

None of the Bucks’ starters scored in double digits — none. Ouch. Richard Jefferson had 3 points in 9 foul-prone minutes. Michael Redd couldn’t quite match that with 2 points in 21 minutes.

“I thought our defense was exceptional for the first three quarters,” Phil said. The Laker offense sputtered, but their D gave up just 54 points after those three quarters.

With another large lead heading into the fourth, Phil put Kobe with the second unit to start the quarter. He didn’t floor general quite like Phil wanted, but they did enough to maintain a comfort zone and win 105-92. Still, they gave up 38 points in that sloppy fourth, many points off turnovers.

“Tex is foaming at the mouth in the coach’s offices,” Phil joked. “He wanted his money back at halftime. Now he wants to make sure we take the triangle offense out of any connection with him.”

Kobe — — Kobe looked to set the tone on the defensive end. He was hounding his men and hitting the boards early. (Michael Redd ended up 1-6 for 2 points in 20 minutes.) With a large lead to start the fourth quarter, Phil put Kobe with that second unit. They held things down long enough for Kobe to sit and ice up for the rest of the quarter. Phil said they didn’t settle in and run the offense. He thought, despite Kobe’s assists, that he was getting swarmed and had to pass, but forced things too much. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-13 shooting (0-1 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. The Action: He was hit by Redd on his first jumper, he made both FTs. He attacked baseline, hung, missed, got it back and missed a bank. He stuck a 16-footer coming off the screen. He picked up RJ’s second foul with a hesitation move. He attacked from the wing, pulled up and hit the short jumper. He made a tech FT. He charged on an attack. He lost the handle twice, then finally heaved up a jumper and missed. He posted up, backed his man down and hit the short baseline jumper. He was stripped, but stole it back from Ridnour and took it in for the layup. He attacked and kicked to Fish for the open jumper. He probed and pulled up at the elbow to swish the jumper. He had 13 points on 5-9 shooting. Second Half: He soared for the nasty alley oop off the long pass to start the half. He kicked out to Fish for the open wing three. He set up Vlad off the bounce pass for a dunk. He lost the ball in the post trying to create. He took contact in transition and just missed the And-1 layup, he made one of the FTs. He traveled on a return pass from Pau. He missed a pull-up jumper. Low post position and he quickly drew a foul, he made both FTs. He attacked baseline, powered up, missed, got it back and drew FTs, he made both. He missed an early offense three. He set up Bynum for an And-1 dunk on the drive and dish.

Gasol — — It wasn’t a great game from Pau. Some of his defensive sequences were especially weak. He’s still crafty enough and a difficult cover that he earned a number of trips to the line. The Stats: He had 12 points on 2-5 shooting (8-8 from the line), 9 boards (4 offensive), 5 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He pulled down the Kobe miss and drew FTs, he made both. He finished a short one on a tap out from Drew. He faced up, stepped around his man and drew the foul at the rim, he made both FTs. He missed a quick attack jumphook. No challenge on a help D when Villanueva beat his man. He got tapped on a drive to his left on the other end. Lousy help D rotation again, not getting in front of Bogut, easy dunk. He tried to attack off the dribble and was picked by help D. Soft post D on Bogut and he gave up an And 1 with a weak challenge. He was fouled on an offensive board, he made both FTs. He had 8 points on 1-4 shooting and 8 boards (4 offensive) in the first half. Second Half: He drop-stepped Villanueva and scored the layup with his left. He drew FTs on a series of fakes in the post, he made both.

Bynum — — Drew was dominating the glass early on, and the Lakers length was too much for the Bucks. Bynum’s counterpart, Bogut, had just 6 points in the Lakers complete destruction of the Bucks starting lineup. Good all-around game from Bynum. Glad to see another of those high rebounding sessions. Phil on the closing of games: “There are guys that can finish games for you that protect the ball,” Phil said, “that have multiple skills, that have been through the situation, they’re trustworthy and they know what’s got to get done at certain periods of the games and at certain times.” So, perhaps, he doesn’t quite trust Bynum? He added that he is careful about Andrew’s minutes and that he’s still in recovery. “The idea is that we are pointing toward the end of the season,” Phil said, always thinking of the big picture. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 4-9 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 14 boards (3 offensive) to go with 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 29 minutes. The Action: He faced up, then backed down his man, faked right and swung left to hit the jumphook (vintage Kareem in the post). He got tapped on a short one-hander in the lane. He missed a one-handed lob finish, but tapped the miss to Pau. He spun and hit the baseline jumphook with his right. He pulled down a bricked FT by Lamar and was fouled. He missed a jumphook from the left block. He was called for a travel, looked like he was pushed while making the pivot. He had 11 boards with 8 minutes still left in the half. He came back in late in the half to grab another board. He had 4 points on 2-6 shooting, 12 boards and 2 blocks. Second Half: He drew FTs with an early offense post attempt, he made both. He took contact on a runner with no call and missed. He trailed the break, took a dribble, contact and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT (Jefferson’s fourth foul after 9 minutes of action). He was yanked by the arm, attacking strong off a pass, he made both FTs. He took the interior feed from Kobe and Bynum threw down an And-1 dunk, he made the FT.

Radmanovic — — Vlad the Impaler had a couple strong throwdowns, surprising the Buck defense. He also played some very effective D — good hustle and rotations. Good two-way game again. You can always tell when he’s active and when he’s not. Makes you more irked about some of those games he goes into Space Cadet mode. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-5 shooting (2-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He missed an open wing three. He up-faked from the corner, attacked off the dribble and threw down over Bogut. Back in to help the Laker offense, he sank the corner three off the swing pass from Fish. Second Half: Perfect lob pass from 30 feet out to Kobe for the throwdown. He worked off the split play, curled down the lane, took the bounce pass from Pau and threw down. He covered about four players on one defensive sequence with rotations and finally drew a travel. He posted up and drew a foul when his man went for the steal, he made one of the FTs. He sank an open wing three. He stripped his man, reaching as he was falling to the ground.

Fisher — — Excellent two-way game from DFish. He had 4 steals in that first quarter to help set the tone defensively (5 overall, one shy of his career high). Very good hustle, very good reads within our defensive schemes. Offensively, there was only one instance of a force. Otherwise, it was a smooth game playing to his strengths. He made defenders pay for leaving to help others. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-10 shooting (3-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 5 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. The Action: He missed a three straight away on the first atempt of the game. Great jump into a passing lane when Kobe and Bynum doubled, he saved it to Vlad who was called for a weak foul in transition. He missed a three. He threw a pass away, but hustled back in transition to steal it back, then he hit a three on a kickout. He stripped Bogut, pushed out the break and hit the little floater in the lane. He had 4 steals in the first quarter. Nice passing lane challenge, forcing the Bucks to throw it away. He sank a foot-on-the-three-line jumper off the Kobe kickout. He attacked into the paint and wasn’t close on a layup attempt. He swished a wing three on the kickout from Pau. Second Half: He blindsided Bogut to knock a ball loose. He drained the open wing three off the Kobe kickout. He let Ridnour fly by, he stepped in and swished the baseline jumper. He rattled in a foot-on-the-three-line corner jumper on a Kobe kickout. He was fouled on the perimeter, he made both FTs.

Lamar — — He has faded badly of late. Tonight, he led the team in turnovers. Phil needs to go back to micromanaging Lamar’s focus out there. He bricked it up from the freethrow line again, too. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. The Action: He charged on his first attack. He swiped a pass using his length to flag it down. He blocked a jumper on help D. He lost the handle on the pinch post for a turnover. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he missed both. He drew more FTs on the perimeter, he made just one. He missed a sideline three. Second Half: He charged on a pass-off, too O.C. Out of a timeout, he jumped from front court to back while receiving a pass, turnover. He finished a long oop from Kobe.

Ariza — — Ariza always manages to get those steals. It hasn’t been often where you think he’s played a so-so game, but you look at the box score and there is another 3 steals. He had some sloppy offensive sequences in this game. That seemed to be contageous. Trevor and Sasha led the team with -12. The Stats: He had 6 points on 2-6 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 3 offensive boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 1 fouls in 22 minutes. The Action: He clanked a FT jumper to start the second quarter. He choked a layup off a nice drive. He couldn’t tip in a Farmar miss. He stepped out of bounds standing on the sideline. Good hustle after an offensive board and he drew RJ’s third foul of the half. He scooped up a botched pass from LO and scored a layup. He missed a three. He was fouled off the long outlet from Farmar, he missed both FTs. Second Half: He scooped up a loose ball and drew FTs in transition, he made both. He dribbled into a crowd in transition and was stripped. He slapped a ball from a rebounder to regain possession. He passed up a layup, pulled it out and hit the 18-footer instead.

Farmar — — He couldn’t hit a layup to start the game. We’ve missed the Impact Farmar of the first part of the season. Hopefully, he returns. The second unit has been bleeding badly lately. Defensively, no major issues. The Bucks weren’t going to be much of a threat at the PG spot. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, no assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 21 minutes. The Action: He choked a layup in transition, then stole the ball, and choked an even easier breakaway layup…yikes. He missed a layup with his left. He missed another layup attempt, this time to his right. Second Half: Lue blew past him without aid of a screen and Farmar gave up FTs. He missed a wide open wing three. Horrible pass before Gasol was open on the screen roll and it was picked off. He slapped a rebound out, tipped it past another defender and was fouled by the third. He cut off Powell, took the pass and this time finished the layup. Finally a score.

Vujacic — — During garbage time, we had Sasha in there as our primary ball handler. That made for some ugly sequences by others. Sasha handled his duties fine in that regard. The Machine couldn’t hit a jumper. He didn’t get a lot of easy looks within the halfcourt offense. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 17 minutes. The Action: He missed a pull-up three in transition at the end of the first. He rushed a corner three and missed badly. Second Half: He drew a loose ball foul, he made both FTs. He picked up rolling ball and promptly clanked the jumper. Telegraphed pass, easy score the other way. He missed a three. He spotted an open teammate under the hoop and lobbed to him. He hit Sun with a bounce pass for a layup.

Mihm — — He came in for Bynum with 7:15 left. He managed to get his (by that I mean his usual 3 fouls in short time). I kid, but with so little game time, it’s got to be hard to get rhythm and timing to anchor the D. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-2 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 3 fouls in 7 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He airballed a jumphook. He drew FTs coming weak to strong, he made both. He took the high entry pass in transition, pivoted and threw down.

Powell — — He came in with a 22-point lead with more than 7 minutes left. Good minutes for him. He’s always mixing it up, in the middle of the action on both ends. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get him any quality time. With Lamar struggling, that won’t be easy, either…since we’ve got to get him rolling. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-4 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He scooped up a loose ball, gave up to a guard, kept running and earned FTs in transition, he missed both. He snagged an airball by Mihm and put it in for him. He hit Farmar cutting of him for a layup. He hit the open elbow jumper from Ariza, that’s money. He faced up and swished another elbow jumper. He dunked and oop from Sasha when he was left alone under the hoop.

Sun Yue — — Asked if he was nervous, Sun said, “A little bit, maybe the first 10 seconds.” With Luke Walton out with an illness, Sun Yue was put on the active roster. He made his first regular season appearance, taking Farmar’s spot with a 23-point lead and more than 5 minutes left. Good garbage time minutes for him, although he had plenty of issues. Still, nice to get those first official minutes in. “He got 4 points in 4 minutes, so what can he do in 30?” Bynum joked afterward. Well, he would have probably fouled out in about 7 minutes. Seriously, though, good to see him get some action. Any little bit will help. Much more exciting victory cigar than Luke. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go wtih 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 5 minutes. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was picked on his first attempt bringing the ball up court, he fouled his man on the breakaway challenge. He picked up his third foul on a help D strip attempt. He missed a three, way long. He pulled up off the pinch post from the right side and hit the wing jumper for his first points (that looked very smooth). He scored a layup off the bounce pass from Sasha next time down. He attacked off the dribble and charged.

Phil — — The Lakers pulled out to a 20-10 led before the first sub, LO for Bynum. Ariza, Farmar and Bynum unit came in with a 22-14 lead with 2 minutes left… The Lakers led 24-16, good defensive first quarter… Lakers second unit only scored 2 points in the first 5:15 of the second quarter. Lamar and Ariza missed 5 of 6 from the line… The Lakers won the second quarter 19-15… Good news, the Lakers held the Bucks to 31 points. Bad news, the Lakers scored just 43 themselves. The Bucks shot 31 percent (14-45) to the Lakers 37 percent (15-41). The Bucks were 2-6 from the line, the Lakers 10-15… “Our shots will start falling,” said Hamblen at the half… He was right. The Lakers pulled out to a 62-37 lead forcing a Buck timeout… The Lakers were in the bonus midway through the third… The Lakers led 70-43 when Farmar and Co. came in. A few minutes later the lead was down to 74-54 to start the fourth quarter… Phil went with a Bynum, Lamar, Ariza, Kobe, Farmar lineup to start the fourth… The final score was closer than the game was. Still, the Lakers need to keep playing tough defense in the fourth… Fish on the solution to fourth quarter problems: “Just understanding how to play 48 minutes.”… The Lakers were out-scored 38-31 in the fourth quarter, but this was some serious garbage time action… The Bucks shot 38 percent for the game… why was Tex upset? The Lakers had 25 turnovers. The Bucks scored 26 points off that…

Game Flow — [url=http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20081207&game=MILLAL]LINK[/url] — Look at the number of runs the Lakers had…and the number and types of runs the Bucks didn’t have. There were no long periods of ball where the Bucks were able to impose their will.