LAKERS -at- CELTICS - 2/9 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings Reply to topic
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 11:54 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- CELTICS - 2/9 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

The Rivalry... Up until the final couple minutes of regulation, this game hardly had the typical Lakers vs. Celtics edge to it. There were pats on the backsides from both teams, helping each other up off the floor ... it was two teams who lost their confident edge.

Maybe the 88-87 overtime road win will help the Lakers regain some of that edge.

The game hung in the balance all night and even into the final seconds of the game. Up by 1 point, the Lakers got Pierce to miss a jumper, but saw the ball land in Ray Allen's hands for a potential game-winning layup.

Pau Gasol, the guy in the trade spotlight all season, capped off a well-rounded offensive game by rejecting Allen putback attempt at the buzzer to secure the win.

Strong game from Pau all night long. Combine that with some beastly Bynum offensive rebounding and Kobe being Kobe, and the Lakers had just enough to squeak by.

They did it on the defensive end. The Lakers held the Celtics to just 35 points in the second half. (Of course, we only scored 37.)

"It's always a brawl," Kobe said. "It's ugly. It's physical."

Once again, you look at the starting lineup and you see 2 points on 1-13 shooting between Fisher and Peace. But Peace, at least, showed some value in this game with strong defense against Pierce. He covered the physical aspects, while Fish had the ugly.


Kobe -- -- The Rondo D was in full effect. The Celtics admit that Kobe guards him the best because of how much he sags off him and helps in team D. Rondo had 14 points on 13 shots and 7 assists. Kobe's only weakness was not leveling off Rondo a couple of times in transition, trying to reach for a steal. On the other end, it appears the handcheck still applies when Ray Allen is covering Kobe. He was still effective until the end of the game when our offense bogged down again. Early on, Kobe got the bigs involved, not taking a shot until 9 minutes in. Nice to see Blake back out there. The combo of Blake and Goudelock should give Kobe a little bit of rest. But our weak SF position may result in Brown slipping Kobe at the 3 some. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 11-24 shooting (0-2 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 44 minutes. The Action: After 9 minutes of being a non-threat, he pulled up from the three line and hit the jumper (toe on the line) in transition. He made a tech FT. He drew FTs on a pumpfake from the elbow, he made both. He attacked the lane, spun and swished the jumper. He hit Pau rolling to the hoop for a dunk. He drilled a step-back 19-footer straight away (not an easy shot). He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a pull-up jumper. He had 11 points at the half. Second Half: He was double teamed in the corner and airballed a turnaround falling out of bounds. He missed a fading wing jumper up against the shtoclock. He attacked off the Bynum screen down the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He backdoored Rondo's ball denial, stretched out and guided in the lob pass from Pau. He lost Allen with a spin and missed the jumper. Poor transition D, not leveling off Rondo and giving up a layup with a soft reach. He missed a baseline turnaround. He dunked on the leak out when no Celtic got back. He settled and missed a long three on a mismatch. He worked the step-through among a crowd of defenders in the paint and scored with his left. He posted up Rondo, spun and banked easily over him. He forced up a wing jumper with Allen in his jersey and swished it. He was called for a charge off ball when he knocked down Rondo. He attacked, hung and kicked to Pau for the jumper. He sank a baseline fade. He missed a turnaround with Allen fouling him as he posted up. He cut, took a pass and missed a short fade, but Pau tipped it in. Overtime: He missed a one-foot fade from 16 feet out off the dribble. He attacked, lost the dribble, got it back and forced up a 22-footer from the wing and somehow hit it. He missed a baseline pull-up jumper. He broke off a play that was developing too slowly, attacked and missed a baseline fade. He iso'd next time down and missed a jumper.

Gasol -- -- Give the game ball to Pau. That block at the buzzer, sealed the deal for sure. From the opening tip Pau was the multifaceted threat that he needs to be within our offense. Phil got criticized for not fitting the personnel with the system, but our offense this season has been a textbook example of just that. But they're working on it and slowly finding their way. Pau had some great passing sequences to set up Bynum early on, Kobe later. Pau scored from the post, perimeter and on the drive. His biggest score, however, was a tip in of a Kobe miss with 9.8 seconds left to tie the game up. Huge game from him. Only criticism might be a couple of plays where he overpassed instead of being aggressive. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 12-20 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 14 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 41 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He lobbed to Bynum for a dunk after we broke the backcourt pressure. He missed an elbow jumper. He swished a hook cutting weak to strong. He cut off Kobe in the post, took the pass and no-looked a bounce pass to Bynum for the score. He rushed a finger roll in transition and missed. He swished a floater on the screen-roll with Fisher. He overpowered his man, but was swatted by the help D. He missed a wing jumper off the pick and pop. He attacked Bass from the top of the key, hung and scored the layup over two defenders. He slammed after the Celts got scrambled off a screen-roll play with Kobe. He drained a long iso step-back jumper from the wing. He worked Bass over in the post, getting him in the air, then hitting the easy 4-footer. He missed a pull-up jumper from 12 feet out. He grabbed a blocked drive and scored the layup. He overpassed out of the post, dunk the other way. Second Half: He attacked and swished a pull-up jumper inside the FT line. He lobbed to Kobe who cut backdoor for the score. He went out to set a screen, Metta fired a shot, Pau rolled and tipped in the miss. He iso'd in the post, turned and hit the And-1 jumper over Wilcox, he made the FT. He swished a 16-footer off the kickout from Kobe. He overpassed and it resulted in a shotclock violation. He blocked KG's reverse. He missed a corner three. He missed an open 10-footer set up by Metta's drive. He tipped in a Kobe miss with 9.8 left to tie the game. Overtime: He missed a wide open wing jumper off the pick and pop. He rejected Allen's putback layup attempt at the buzzer to get the win.

Bynum -- -- ""If Andrew Bynum can figure out how to play every play like he's a monster, he will be off-the-charts good for us," Brown said. Drew didn't have his post game working, but he played "big" out there. His presence was felt on both ends. He overpowered the Celtics on the offensive glass again and again. Although he was only credited with 16 points, there were a couple of weak whistles that erased some points for him early in the game. That could have given him an extra 4-5 points and that would have been more reflective of his impact. He had a few And-1s (and should have had more). The nicest was at the end of the first half when he crashed the glass, took the board and a foul and flipped in the shot at the buzzer. Brown gave Bynum a kiss on the head after some overtime hustle to put in a missed shot. Defensively, the Lakers kept the Celtics to being the donut team they are. They packed the paint and Drew anchored the D when there was a breakdown or switch. No Celtic post game and Kobe neutralized Rondo again. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-15 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 17 boards (7 offensive), 1 steal, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 41 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He was blocked after gathering a tough high-low pass. He slammed off the lob from Pau on the next trip down. He was robbed on a lob play when the refs ruled he was pushed before he got the pass (very weak, he was pushed while grabbing and shooting in air in one motion). He missed off the glass on the left block. He scored an easy layup off the no-look bounce pass from Pau. He was fouled again on a layup, but they didn't give him the FTs. He grabbed an offensive board, missed a 7-footer, quickly bounced back to take it from Pau and score. Nice challenge on Allen's jumper to force a brick and shotclock violation. He missed a rushed turnaround. He was blocked in the lane, looked like he got a lot of contact. He returned the favor on the other end, blocking a KG dunk attempt. He rejected Rondo's drive. He missed a jumphook. He missed a reverse badly. He crashed the glass, grabbed the Kobe miss, was fouled as flung the ball over his head and in at the buzzer, he made the FT. Second Half: He snagged a Kobe airball, missed the short one, but Pau slammed it back in. He blocked a Pierce jumper on help D. He lost the ball out of bounds against the double team. He was hacked on the nice post entry from Murphy, he made one FT. He missed a layup in the post trying to power it in. He overpowered a group of Celtics on the offensive boards and drew FTs, he made one. He grabbed a missed three by Pau, powered up while getting hacked and put it in to tie the game up, he made the FT. Overtime: He tipped in a Kobe missed jumper to put the Lakers up by 1 with over a minute left.

Peace -- -- He may be especially frustrating on offense these days, but this is the type of opponent that Metta can make an impact. Pierce struggled for most of the game until getting it going against Barnes. Metta stayed with him, made him work and took the Celtics out of a lot of what they like to do. Offensively, forget about it. He couldn't even make his freethrows. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He cut to the rim, took the pass, faked and drew the foul, he missed both FTs. Nice outlet to Pau on the money down court, but Pau missed the layup. He missed a layup in the post. He swiped a pass to Pierce in the lane. He bricked a putback from 3 feet out. He picked the ball from Rondo on help D and took it the distance for a layup (his only score). He missed a turnaround in the post. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He tried to create in the post and fumbled it away. He switched onto Rondo, dared him to shoot, then challenged to get a piece of it. Overtime: He stole a pass but couldn't save it to a Laker (seemed like he could have made a better pass/save to Blake on that).

Fisher -- -- Sigh. He had the Allen cross match defensively and did his normal reasonable job with that, while Kobe took on Rondo. Unfortunately, Fish was completely ineffective again offensively. Not just ineffective, but the reason the Lakers didn't take this game by 10 points. In fact, he was a team low -10. He was just awful. Brown praised him for getting them in their offense early. Got to find something positive, I guess. Brown with Blake for the final 3 minutes in regulation and all of OT. The question might be why he brought DFish in so early in the fourth for Goudelock. Little Drew wasn't having a great game, but Fish was horrible. With our cross matching defensively, perhaps that was the reason. Tune in next game to see if that rotation changes a little bit since we won't be doing something different defensively than we normally do. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-7 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a sideline jumper with the offense out of sync. Second Half: He bricked an easy running bank he should have hit. He bricked a long jumper after stalling the offense by not being a threat. He then gave up a layup to Allen. He lost the dribble against pressure, a three for Allen the other way. He tipped a defensive board away from teammates to the Celtics (resulted in a hoop). He missed a long open three. He airballed a corner three up against the shtoclock. He forced a jumper on iso for no reason and missed (then gave up a three on the other end). He bobbled away a defensive board, then got tied up for a jumpball against KG, but he somehow recovered that jumpball after it got knocked loose by Pau.

Blake -- -- He might have been hearing it for losing the offensive board to Allen, who out-shoved Blake to grab the Pierce miss. But Pau save his Blakon with the swat. That was close. Welcome back, Steve. He was thrown into the fire in his first game back, having to close against the Celtics in regulation and overtime. No easing him back into the swing of things. His legs looked a little tired and his game more timid than usual. That nearly cost the Lakers in a few crunch time possessions. He did, however, hit a big jumper in OT to force a Celtic timeout. Defensively, he had to cover Allen and was even on Pierce during a couple switches (I believe we got stops on both of those). Goudelock will play more of an SG role with Blake out there. That will relieve Little Drew from the backcourt pressure. Glad Brown rotated him back in for the close. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: Not close on a corner three. He missed an open top of the key jumper. He double clutched then swished the sideline three with 2 seconds left in the first quarter. Second Half: He fronted Allen in the post and deflected the pass to get a stop. Great D on Pierce on a switch, staying with him in the paint and challenging the shot well to get the miss. He missed a pull-up from 17 feet out. He missed a big corner three left alone. He nearly threw a pass away with a few seconds left (no balls to take a 16-footer), he got it back, however. Overtime: They left him open and he missed a three, way short. Good challenge on Allen's turnaround in the post to get a miss. On the other end, he swished a toe-on-the-three-line jumper off the kickout (should have set up better for the three, but maybe he needed that extra inch).

Murphy -- -- While he couldn't hit a shot (we badly needed a three to fall in this game), he played better defensively than we've seen. He got in on a couple steals, block and nearly had double digit boards. Nice to see him make a positive impact when his shot isn't falling. We haven't had a lot of impact from our minimum contract vets over the years, but Murphy is at least playing a cut above a warm body right now. McRoberts is the odd man out of the rotation right now. Some might wonder if the Lakers will consider that McRoberts/OJ Mayo trade that nearly went down in the brief offseason. They would have to pick up a spare bigman somewhere in the process. McRoberts really needs a playmaking point vs. our current situation. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 9 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a corner three. He missed an open sideline three. He missed an open baseline jumper in early offense. He hit Barnes slashing across the lane for a layup. Second Half: He tried to tip/pass out an offensive board instead of securing it (it went out of bounds). He back-rimmed an open three. He blocked Bass in transition on the other end. He deflected a pass to Pierce to get the stop. Nice feed to Drew from the perimeter to get him FTs. He rattled in an open baseline jumper to just beat the shotclock. He telegraphed a bounce pass in stead of shooting the jumper, turnover.

Barnes -- -- He picked a good game to create a little bench offense for the team. The Lakers needed his garbage work tonight. He slashed and crashed the offensive glass well (the Celts might have been more used to a Metta's stand around game). His activity led to 6 freethrow attempts. He would have gotten more minutes if he could have manned up against Pierce. Metta defensively was a better cover for most the game. Pierce got on track against Barnes in the second half. Still, Barnes 11 off the bench helped the Lakers bench to only get outscored by 2 points tonight. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist and 4 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He missed an open corner three. He attacked off the Murphy screen and drew FTs in the lane, he made both. He was fouled after grabbing an offensive board in a crowd, he made both FTs. He put back in a missed floater off the dribble penetration from Goudelock. He slashed across the lane when Pierce was destracted by Pau in the post, took the pass and scored a layup. Second Half: He attacked against the shotclock and kicked to Murphy for the open jumper. He freelanced off the Murphy screen and hit a baseline pull-up (might be the only time he's hit on that type of sequence all year). He missed an open three. He crashed the glass and drew FTs on a putback attempt, he made one.

Goudelock -- -- This was an awkward game for him with the way we cross-matched defensively with Rondo/Allen, as well as introducing Blake into the mix. His minutes were limited and he never quite got in gear. It should be a different story tomorrow. Blake should solve our second unit issues of getting the offense in gear quickly. That alone will make that second unit more effective. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 turnover in 8 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He didn't draw iron on a rushed three off a poor kickout. He attacked off the three line (looked like he might have been able to take it for a layup), but missed a short floater (Barnes cleaned up the dribble penetration). Bynum swatted Rondo's penetration and Goudelock got a piece of O'Neal's follow up attempt to get a stop. Second Half: He had the ball slapped off him out of bounds on a handoff.

Brown -- -- They looked to establish the post early. Pau and Bynum, even some Metta and Kobe. It's that end of the game where they seem to have the most problem executing offensively. Defensively, they were in lockdown mode tonight... They trailed 10-11 midway through the quarter. He brought Blake in for Metta at that stoppage... They trailed by 5 a couple minutes later forcing a Laker timeout. He brought in Murphy for Bynum and Barnes for Fisher... The Lakers trailed 26-22 after the first... He started a Bynum, Murphy, Barnes, Goudelock, Blake unit. They tied it up 28-28 after 3 minutes. Good job by the second unit here even as TNT talked about the Lakers weak bench, they were holding serve... Down 2, he brought in Kobe for Goudelock and Pau for Bynum... Down 3, he sat Barnes for Metta. Then brought in DFish... With the starters back in, they took the lead... Down again, they sat Fish for Blake with a couple minutes left in the half. They would do the same rotation later... The Lakers trailed 47-45 at the half. They shot 41 percent (1-6 from three, 8-10 from the line). The Celtics shot 44 percent (2-8 from three, 5-5 from the line). Bynum and Gasol had 22 of the Lakers 33 shots taken by the starters. That would get trimmed down in the second half... The coaches wanted better transition D after giving up 12 points on the break off 5 turnovers. (They would give up just 5 points in the second half on the break.)... He called a timeout down 4 when Rondo went the distance for a layup between the entire team. There goes 2 of those points... Down 3, he sat Fisher for Blake and Bynum for Murphy... They had a 2-point lead behind some Kobe/Gasol work when he sat Pau for Bynum and Metta for Barnes... He sat Murphy for Metta on the final defensive play of the quarter. They got the stop to finish the quarter on a 14-4 run. The Celtics got just two hoops in the last 6 minutes... The Lakers led 67-64 heading into the fourth... Brown started a Bynum, Murphy, Barnes, Goudelock, Blake unit... Up by 2, he sat Goudelock for Fisher, uggh. More than 8 minutes left... He then sat Bynum for Pau and Blake for Kobe... Trailing by 2, he sat Fisher for Blake with 3 minutes left... The Celtics called a timeout to set up a big three for Allen. After that make we ended up with a bricked three by Metta. Did we not draw up anything better than that?... No timeout after the next stop and Blake nearly threw it away after attacking off a screen and afraid to shoot the jumper... Tie game with 82-82 and the Lakers had a foul to give. The Celitcs brought in Pietrus for a big, so Brown sat Bynum for Barnes. Nice switches and the Lakers forced them into a prayer to send it to OT... Overtime: He ran the starters with Blake instead of Fisher for the OT... They took a 4-point lead forcing a Celtic timeout with 3 minutes left. The Lakers trailed by 1 a minute later... He called a timeout with a minute left up by 1. Kobe broke off the play that took too long to develop and missed a baseline fade... No timeout and we missed another iso Kobe jumper up by 1 to give the ball to the Celtics with 6 seconds left... We got the stop off a Pau block. Brown was mic'd up and praising his bigs after the buzzer. The two combined for 31 boards (11 offensive)... The Lakers shot a poor 1-15 from three, but had 10 more boards than the Celtics and 15 more FTAs. Good job keeping them as a jumpshooting team all night...


Last edited by DancingBarry on Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:07 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Sister Golden Hair
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 01 May 2001
Posts: 15872

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 11:55 pm    Post subject:

Foist!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
jack13
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 4620

PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 11:55 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
_________________
"These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess." Kobe Bryant
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
magic_bryant
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 16 Oct 2002
Posts: 18179

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:03 am    Post subject:

Kobe plays Rondo the best? The Cs mentioned that? I've always thought everyone just backed off him and shut him down. I read that somewhere.
_________________
Stephon Marbury on Kobe: "He's the only person on 'dis earth that can do 'dat. He guards people, like shuts 'em down. Then, to do 'dat on 'da offensive end. It's like 'Damn, I can't score on him AND he about to bust my ass."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number Reply with quote
RVCdesigns
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 07 Dec 2009
Posts: 2967
Location: Turlock, CA

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:08 am    Post subject:

nice win
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Reply with quote
busym
Starting Rotation
Starting Rotation


Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 310

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:08 am    Post subject:

Another road win. The Lakers gutted it out and got the win in overtime. Drew Kolbe and Pau led the way. Hope they can do it again tomorrow night. Another great writeup DB. Thank you.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Sister Golden Hair
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 01 May 2001
Posts: 15872

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:10 am    Post subject:

It's ridiculous how much the refs allow Allen to grab, scratch and body-check Kobe. If Kobe did that to a player, he'd foul out in the first half. What is it about green uniforms that serve as cloaking devices in the eyes of the refs?

My only other comment is that the more I watch MB, the less I like him, and the more I believe he's in over his head. I think he's an okay coach, but not great, and certainly not commensurate to the talents of the core three on the Lakers, or with this organization's tradition and STYLE.

Whichever mastermind decided that he should be the coach of this squad is a moron of the highest order.

SGH
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
AJLakerFan
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 14 Jul 2006
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:13 am    Post subject:

Sister Golden Hair wrote:
It's ridiculous how much the refs allow Allen to grab, scratch and body-check Kobe. If Kobe did that to a player, he'd foul out in the first half. What is it about green uniforms that serve as cloaking devices in the eyes of the refs?

My only other comment is that the more I watch MB, the less I like him, and the more I believe he's in over his head. I think he's an okay coach, but not great, and certainly not commensurate to the talents of the core three on the Lakers, or with this organization's tradition and STYLE.

Whichever mastermind decided that he should be the coach of this squad is a moron of the highest order.

SGH


Come on SGH, you're smarter than that, the refs allow EVERYBODY to grab, scratch, body check Kobe at will. I just don't understand it. The least respected superstar in league history.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
OregonLakerGuy
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 13207
Location: Oregon

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:31 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:36 am    Post subject:

magic_bryant wrote:
Kobe plays Rondo the best? The Cs mentioned that? I've always thought everyone just backed off him and shut him down. I read that somewhere.
Wasn't here. His athleticism to recover, size and IQ make him think twice until Kobe's into Rondo's head.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Arbitrary
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 01 Feb 2009
Posts: 5788

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 1:58 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Bynum's stats aren't complete tho.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:08 am    Post subject:

Thanks. Fixed.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
TooMuchMajicBuss
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 17 Sep 2008
Posts: 21064
Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 6:35 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Great game this time! And great write-up as always!

... Pau saved his Blakon with the swat?? oh boy...


Great game by Blake considering he's been out 3+ weeks. It felt like the Lakers were simply better on both sides of the court when he was out there and Fish sat. I expected a little rust and it showed but gutsy game going 30 minutes and hustling like he'd never left the lineup.

Pau just reminded us what kind of player he was 2 years ago. Game ball. It's a lot harder to get excited about any Pau-for-PG trade after watching this game. Problem is, THIS Pau doesn't show up very often, and the more his passive alter-ego shows up, the more that big contract will hurt us the next 2 years. I wish we could see this Pau show up every night; a trade would be out of the question then.

Big kudos to Kobe and Drew as well! They each had some misses but their impact on both ends of the floor was way too much for the C's to overcome, in spite of the lead anchor they had to drag along with them for 24 minutes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Rick12322
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 19164

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:45 am    Post subject:

Thanks. Good, bad and ugly. I'll take it!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:53 am    Post subject:

TooMuchMajicBuss - Yeah, you could see Brown jump on Pau a couple times when his white swan started to come out. He was jockeying the bigs to be aggressive all night. Wish we could bottle this Pau because his alter ego is miserable to watch.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
magicdays
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 18 Dec 2011
Posts: 1907

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:45 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the write-up, DB!

Excellent game from Pau, Drew, and Kobe. We just need that one more piece to the puzzle.

Don't you think Pau would thrive with a REAL pg? Pau has always been an excellent team player--his success on the Spanish team has always been in the context of having a real pg. If the Lakers could get a decent pg via TPE or trade, I think we would see the Black Swan Pau night in and night out.

I think this is why Kobe and Pau play so well together--Pau is the ultimate all-around, big team player. If only we had a real pg, this team would be a championship team.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
AJLakerFan
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 14 Jul 2006
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:53 am    Post subject:

magicdays wrote:
Thanks for the write-up, DB!

Excellent game from Pau, Drew, and Kobe. We just need that one more piece to the puzzle.

Don't you think Pau would thrive with a REAL pg? Pau has always been an excellent team player--his success on the Spanish team has always been in the context of having a real pg. If the Lakers could get a decent pg via TPE or trade, I think we would see the Black Swan Pau night in and night out.

I think this is why Kobe and Pau play so well together--Pau is the ultimate all-around, big team player. If only we had a real pg, this team would be a championship team.


I think the whole team would thrive with a good PG.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Scherm
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 12 Apr 2001
Posts: 4155

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:55 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Between the starting SF Artest, PG Fisher, and first PF off the bench Murphy they were a combined 2-18.

If they could even manage to shoot 25%, the Lakers win by 10.

Barnes added energy and key putbacks at least.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
limchrc
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 29 Jun 2005
Posts: 11477

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:09 am    Post subject:

Thanks, nice win.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
wolfpaclaker
Retired Number
Retired Number


Joined: 29 May 2002
Posts: 58318

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:30 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
TooMuchMajicBuss - Yeah, you could see Brown jump on Pau a couple times when his white swan started to come out. He was jockeying the bigs to be aggressive all night. Wish we could bottle this Pau because his alter ego is miserable to watch.

It's also Mike Brown. We've started to see Pau get more post ups and plays for him and it's not as much of the Pau will shoot jumpshots and find a way to get his.

Too many games this season have been that for Pau. I don't see how we could argue otherwise. Sure Pau's had games throughout his career where he can drive you nuts as he's not giving it his all. But this season the drop off in numbers is almost 100% due to change in role. Pau for most of the season has been used similar to Robert Horry instead of the go to guy inside. He's been an outside shooter, a set up guy from the high post and basically more of a facilitator to a Bynum/Kobe offense than the guy we saw in the Tri who was our main low post threat and our primary scorer inside. Only his elite skills allow him to drop 15-16 ppg within that role.

And if we're talking motors, Andrew Bynum has far bigger an issue with getting his motor going when he's not getting his offensive touches. I think in general, Mike Brown has figured out in recent weeks that Pau needs more plays his way and the offense has developed a bit from earlier in the season where Pau was just spotting up most of the time. Even now, I'm not sold this is the right way to use Pau. You don't have the most skilled big in the NBA shoot 3 pointers and play 20' from the basket. That's just an idiotic Bynum first thinking game plan. We should have far more plays where Bynum and Pau are both inside. At most, Pau should be 12' from the basket at the corner baseline. Anything more is stupid as it doesn't allow him to be in rebounding position (offensively) or allow him to attack the basket on quick drives. Got to get away from spot shooting Pau. Bring in some real shooters at SF and PG who you can trust to spread the floor. Play Pau closer to the basket. Let it get clogged up if it has to, if you have quality shooting, teams will pay for clogging it up inside. Another thing MB should consider is the sideline Triangle. Either Pau or Bynum form the post up option/apex in a sideline Tri on one end while the other plays 2 man games on the weakside with Bryant/Blake or Goudelock. Simple offense. Just spread the floor better where you can have both your options in attacking areas near the basket instead of one needing to be Dirk Nowitzki when it's not his game. One should be posting up, other should be playing pick and roll with a guard or looking to get offensive rebounding position from the weakside.

Especially in the playoffs I don't see a strategy where you have Pau so far from the basket working out. The pressure, tired legs from intense defenses and intensity of the games, those jumpshots will be even lower percentage shots.

Hope games like this wake the coaching staff up as to what they have and why shooting is so important for a Bynum/Gasol/Kobe team.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Reply with quote
LAkers 4 Life
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 12 Apr 2001
Posts: 14629

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:54 am    Post subject:

Good thing Pau blocked that shot at the end because the refs missed 2 calls down the stretch: O'Neal running over Pau earlier and Allen hooking blake to the floor to get that offensive rebound for the chance to tie. NBA refs almost ruined a pretty good game.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
AJLakerFan
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 14 Jul 2006
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:00 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
TooMuchMajicBuss - Yeah, you could see Brown jump on Pau a couple times when his white swan started to come out. He was jockeying the bigs to be aggressive all night. Wish we could bottle this Pau because his alter ego is miserable to watch.

It's also Mike Brown. We've started to see Pau get more post ups and plays for him and it's not as much of the Pau will shoot jumpshots and find a way to get his.

Too many games this season have been that for Pau. I don't see how we could argue otherwise. Sure Pau's had games throughout his career where he can drive you nuts as he's not giving it his all. But this season the drop off in numbers is almost 100% due to change in role. Pau for most of the season has been used similar to Robert Horry instead of the go to guy inside. He's been an outside shooter, a set up guy from the high post and basically more of a facilitator to a Bynum/Kobe offense than the guy we saw in the Tri who was our main low post threat and our primary scorer inside. Only his elite skills allow him to drop 15-16 ppg within that role.

And if we're talking motors, Andrew Bynum has far bigger an issue with getting his motor going when he's not getting his offensive touches. I think in general, Mike Brown has figured out in recent weeks that Pau needs more plays his way and the offense has developed a bit from earlier in the season where Pau was just spotting up most of the time. Even now, I'm not sold this is the right way to use Pau. You don't have the most skilled big in the NBA shoot 3 pointers and play 20' from the basket. That's just an idiotic Bynum first thinking game plan. We should have far more plays where Bynum and Pau are both inside. At most, Pau should be 12' from the basket at the corner baseline. Anything more is stupid as it doesn't allow him to be in rebounding position (offensively) or allow him to attack the basket on quick drives. Got to get away from spot shooting Pau. Bring in some real shooters at SF and PG who you can trust to spread the floor. Play Pau closer to the basket. Let it get clogged up if it has to, if you have quality shooting, teams will pay for clogging it up inside. Another thing MB should consider is the sideline Triangle. Either Pau or Bynum form the post up option/apex in a sideline Tri on one end while the other plays 2 man games on the weakside with Bryant/Blake or Goudelock. Simple offense. Just spread the floor better where you can have both your options in attacking areas near the basket instead of one needing to be Dirk Nowitzki when it's not his game. One should be posting up, other should be playing pick and roll with a guard or looking to get offensive rebounding position from the weakside.

Especially in the playoffs I don't see a strategy where you have Pau so far from the basket working out. The pressure, tired legs from intense defenses and intensity of the games, those jumpshots will be even lower percentage shots.

Hope games like this wake the coaching staff up as to what they have and why shooting is so important for a Bynum/Gasol/Kobe team.


Don't you think maybe MB is trying to develop Bynum's low post game such as being able to deal with hard doubles so it can benefit the team later in the season? MB seem like he wants Bynum to learn to play through situations instead of taking him out just so things can go smoother. We all know Pau can play in the post, but he still have a tendency to be passive against physical teams. I'm quite sure they'll work it out when they have more practice time to implement more things.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Rick12322
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 19164

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:33 am    Post subject:

AJLakerFan wrote:
wolfpaclaker wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
TooMuchMajicBuss - Yeah, you could see Brown jump on Pau a couple times when his white swan started to come out. He was jockeying the bigs to be aggressive all night. Wish we could bottle this Pau because his alter ego is miserable to watch.

It's also Mike Brown. We've started to see Pau get more post ups and plays for him and it's not as much of the Pau will shoot jumpshots and find a way to get his.

Too many games this season have been that for Pau. I don't see how we could argue otherwise. Sure Pau's had games throughout his career where he can drive you nuts as he's not giving it his all. But this season the drop off in numbers is almost 100% due to change in role. Pau for most of the season has been used similar to Robert Horry instead of the go to guy inside. He's been an outside shooter, a set up guy from the high post and basically more of a facilitator to a Bynum/Kobe offense than the guy we saw in the Tri who was our main low post threat and our primary scorer inside. Only his elite skills allow him to drop 15-16 ppg within that role.

And if we're talking motors, Andrew Bynum has far bigger an issue with getting his motor going when he's not getting his offensive touches. I think in general, Mike Brown has figured out in recent weeks that Pau needs more plays his way and the offense has developed a bit from earlier in the season where Pau was just spotting up most of the time. Even now, I'm not sold this is the right way to use Pau. You don't have the most skilled big in the NBA shoot 3 pointers and play 20' from the basket. That's just an idiotic Bynum first thinking game plan. We should have far more plays where Bynum and Pau are both inside. At most, Pau should be 12' from the basket at the corner baseline. Anything more is stupid as it doesn't allow him to be in rebounding position (offensively) or allow him to attack the basket on quick drives. Got to get away from spot shooting Pau. Bring in some real shooters at SF and PG who you can trust to spread the floor. Play Pau closer to the basket. Let it get clogged up if it has to, if you have quality shooting, teams will pay for clogging it up inside. Another thing MB should consider is the sideline Triangle. Either Pau or Bynum form the post up option/apex in a sideline Tri on one end while the other plays 2 man games on the weakside with Bryant/Blake or Goudelock. Simple offense. Just spread the floor better where you can have both your options in attacking areas near the basket instead of one needing to be Dirk Nowitzki when it's not his game. One should be posting up, other should be playing pick and roll with a guard or looking to get offensive rebounding position from the weakside.

Especially in the playoffs I don't see a strategy where you have Pau so far from the basket working out. The pressure, tired legs from intense defenses and intensity of the games, those jumpshots will be even lower percentage shots.

Hope games like this wake the coaching staff up as to what they have and why shooting is so important for a Bynum/Gasol/Kobe team.


Don't you think maybe MB is trying to develop Bynum's low post game such as being able to deal with hard doubles so it can benefit the team later in the season? MB seem like he wants Bynum to learn to play through situations instead of taking him out just so things can go smoother. We all know Pau can play in the post, but he still have a tendency to be passive against physical teams. I'm quite sure they'll work it out when they have more practice time to implement more things.


This +++ And it's about time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bynum's sat on the back seat long enough, it's his turn to get the friggin ball and learn. It's not like his play has had anything at all to do with the teams balance. Hello Fisher and Artest!

I do agree though that the twin towers can and should play in the post more than they do, but Pau's game is such that he can and should thrive from a variety of spots whereas Bynum's for now is only down low. He has perfect shooting mechanics and I do expect at some time in his career he's going to add a mix of midrange to 16' shots to his game along with some faceup moves. Right now he's got a lot on his plate with experiencing and dealing with double and triple teams, scoring while being fouled, and building stamina to a point where his FT shooting doesn't show the effects, and he has more energy on the 2nd half of b2b's. That kind of stamina is a slow progression.

People can't seem to understand why it takes long for some bigs, but it's easy for me to see why given his activity levels before the nba, and the role the stretch of injuries took over that period of his career. Mike Brown clearly doesn't get it either. He blindly thinks because the guy has super low body fat that his stamina should instantly be transformed to it's maximum level, and that when Bynum doesn't show that much energy that it's because he's lazy. Nothing is further from the truth.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
10scott10
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 7428
Location: Making the games you play

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:38 am    Post subject:

I just want to drop in and give Bynum props for his first career game winning shot.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Manny450r
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 31 Oct 2006
Posts: 4309

PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:03 am    Post subject:

It's funny every time the celtics lose to the lakers Doc Rivers says it was self inflicted never wanting to give us credit for any of our wins haha!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2
Jump to:  

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum






Graphics by uberzev
© 1995-2018 LakersGround.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Terms of Use.
LakersGround is an unofficial news source serving the fan community since 1995.
We are in no way associated with the Los Angeles Lakers or the National Basketball Association.


Powered by phpBB