LAKERS -at- CELTICS - 1/31 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

MVP Chants in Boston... Wow... As Stu said, somewhere Red is rolling over in his grave. Kobe Bryant delivered a virtuoso performance in what was otherwise a lackluster game as the Lakers took the 111-98 win over the Celtics.

"Gary Vitti was in there telling me how shocked he was, that he heard an 'M.V.P.' chant here in Boston," Bryant said in the AP. "But I really appreciated it."

Kobe scored 43 points on 25 shots, dished 8 assists and pulled down 8 boards. He did it in a variety of ways: threes, drives, reverse dunks, fades...very pretty. He was the clear difference-maker. Off the bench, Ronny Turiaf helped hold down the fort with 9 points and 10 boards as Bynum struggled again with some fouls. Smush scored 19 points.


Kobe -- -- Just a virtuoso performance, as mentioned. Madison Square Garden was cheated with that silly suspension. Kobe had the crowd buzzing and the Laker faithful representing vocally in Boston. The difference between Kobe in the game and out of the game was the difference between last night and tonight. Pretty simple. We were flat without him, dynamic with him. (Part of the reason we look so flat compared to earlier in the season when Kobe was out is that we are really missing Luke's game.) He started off letting others get going, before he throttled it up at the end of the first quarter. He scored 43 points on 13-25 shooting, 7-9 from three, 8 boards, 8 assists with just 2 turnovers and 2 blocked shots in 42 minutes. He blocked Jefferson from behind. He attacked off the dribble and kicked to Evans for a jumper. After about 8 minutes, he started to go to work. He missed a wing jumper. He crossed over Green badly, got into the lane and fed Bynum for a dunk. He beat Green off the dribble again on the next set, drew a foul and hit two FTs. He swished a wing three over Wally. He swished another three a couple steps behind the line on the other side of the court. He missed a tough corner fade at the end of the first quarter. With the offense stalled while he went to the bench, Kobe came back early in the second and throttled it up. He drew four FTs on a couple of pumpfakes to get defenders in the air, he made two. He hit a turnaround jumper from the wing. He hit another jumper from the baseline against a double team. Poor entry to Lamar that was picked off, but Kobe challenged on the other end to force a miss. Wild shot on the baseline and it resulted in a fastbreak the other way. He attacked a mismatch and drew FTs, making both. He had 16 points on 4-9 shooting and 4 assists in the first half. He flashed strong side, spun back the other way after getting the pass and hit a midrange jumper in the lane. He hit a quick three from the wing. He missed a tech FT. He sank a sideline three right over Green. He attacked in transition, drew a crowd and FTs and made both. He pumpfaked Jefferson into the air, took contact and made a couple FTs. He missed a baseline jumper. He drained a pull-up 36-footer on a bustout just as the third quarter buzzer went off. He tried to jam back in his own miss and missed that. After another short rest where the Lakers couldn't hold things down, he came back in, split the double team and knifed his way in the lane for a layup. He missed a pull-up jumper, short. He hit Smush with a kickout for an open three. He missed a fallaway three over a double team in the corner. He came off the dribble to swish a fading FT jumper with a man on him. He knocked down a three with the shotclock running down. He swung through past Green, attacked and crammed down a violent reverse dunk on him. He knocked down another three as Laker fans serenaded him. "My legs are back, man," Kobe said afterward.

Lamar -- 8) -- Way too passive game from LO at times. He just wasn't getting himself into a position to play to his strengths -- the subtleties within the offense he has to get back to. He finished with 10 points on 4-10 shooting (0-3 from three), pulled down 9 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. He posted up weak to strong and drew a foul, he made both FTs. He hit Smush trailing the break for a dunk. He got his first FG with under two minutes in the first half, attacking off that high wing Turiaf screen, slipping through a couple defenders and scoring a layup. He bricked a three at the halftime buzzer. He sank a long wing pull-up jumper trying to beat the clock. He stole an entry pass, pushed out in traffic and hit Smush for a reverse layup. He cut from the weakside and Ronny found him with a quick pass for an And-1, he missed the FT. Nice work tipping a defensive board to himself several times on one end, then cleaning up a miss with a layup on the other.

Bynum -- -- He suffered from foul trouble, limiting his minutes to just 20. While he was out there, he had some success. He scored 11 points on 5-7 shooting, grabbed 6 boards and played decent D (minus the fouls). They went to him early in the post, he sank a pretty jumphook with his left on an up-and-under move on his first touch (that left hand has looked great in the last two games). He fought for an entry pass, got hit and finished an easy And-1, he made the FT. He fed Vlad cutting down the lane for a score. He snatched an offensive rebound from a Celt and scored an easy putback. Kobe broke down the D and fed Drew who dunked easily. He picked up two quick fouls to start the second quarter and had to sit with his third of the half. He had 9 points and 4 boards in the first half. He dunked off a quick interior touch pass from Vlad. He picked up his fourth foul barely two minutes into the second half and had to sit. If not for the foul trouble, which is to be expected, pretty good game.

Smush -- -- Smush filled the second-scorer role tonight, dropping 19 points on 8-18 shooting (2-6 from three). He also had 1 assist and 2 steals 36 minutes. He played the shooting guard type role much better tonight with Kobe out their doing all the creating. He mixed in some midrange along with some fastbreak finishes and kept the Celtic guards from ever being a factor. He headfaked, attacked the paint and banked. On the other end, he slapped down a pass and took it coast to coast for an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He swished a wing three off a handoff from Kobe. He didn't concentrate and choked a point-blank layup on the break. He pushed out a rebound, trailed the break, got it back from LO and hammered a dunk. He attacked off the handoff, spun and missed a layup. Nice steal, but he couldn't stay in bounds (Phil didn't like the call). He contested Kobe's man when Kobe left to double and he saved an easy hoop. He hit a pull-up jumper from the wing. He sank another pull-up jumper off the glass. He hit Vlad under the hoop for FTs. He had 14 points on 6-12 shooting in the first half. He filled the lane on the break, took the feed from LO and reversed. He clanked a three off the backboard, wide right. Good D to knock a ball away from Green as he was getting ready to hammer a dunk. He missed a pull-up jumper. He drained an open sideline three off a kickout from Kobe.

Radmanovic -- -- That seemed to be much more like the Vlad we were expecting...draining threes and looking soft at times on the defensive end. He actually had a couple of tough matchups on the defensive end at times, but trying to cover Scalabrine wasn't one of them. At the end of the day, Vlad scored 13 points on 4-7 shooting (3-4 from three), pulled down 4 boards and dished 3 assists in 27:38 of action. He cut down the lane and his defender didn't, Bynum found him and Vlad scored a reverse. He didn't secure a rebound and it was knocked from his hand and led to a score. He picked up two fouls midway through the first quarter and had to sit. He was fouled off a Smush feed and made two FTs. Sweet interior pass to Bynum immediately after a Kobe no-looker for a dunk. He fumbled the ball away on an attack off the dribble. He got blocked trying to finish off a great no-look feed from Kobe. He sank a three straight away early in the fourth. He sank another three, this one a few feet back with the shotclock going off. He then let Scalabrine go off for several easy scores and got benched. He drained a late corner three.

Turiaf -- -- Maybe the stat sheet is reflective of his overall game, but probably not of his importance. When Bynum got into foul trouble, Ronny stepped in and held the middle together. He had a stint of about 12 minutes in the second half when Bynum sat that was key. Ronny just understands how to play the game. Neither Jefferson nor Perkins was able to impact the game. He scored 9 points on 3-3 shooting, 3-4 from the line, pulled down 10 boards and dished 2 asssts in 25 hard-fought minutes. Out of a timeout, he hit a 17-footer straight away. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a putback. He drew a foul pulling down a defensive board and made two FTs. Nice D, beating Jefferson to the spot on the baseline and drawing a charge. Great D again, holding ground, then contesting the jumphook to force a miss. He got yanked down for a flagrant and hit the floor hard, he made one FT (took him a while to shake it off, lucky he didn't break a wrist, too. He said his hip hurt on that play.). Nice extra pass in the interior to a cutting LO for an And-1. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a short jumphook.

Evans -- -- Serviceable minutes from Mo. He ran the offense a bit better than the previous night. He scored 6 points on 2-5 shooting, grabbed 3 boads and had 1 assist in 30 minutes. He sank a sideline jumper immediately after entering the game. He faked a three getting a defender in the air, then drew contact for three FTs, he made two. He missed a corner three. He somehow got a high arching 4-footer to drop over defender.

Farmar -- -- Not much to talk about in this one. He couldn't connect on three attempts. Just a very quiet game from Farmar. He played 12 minutes and wasn't a factor.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha was less of a factor. He played 1:52, missed a three and sat.

Shammond -- -- He got in midway through the second quarter when we sat Kobe down again. Some nice D on Rondo, staying in front of him and forcing a travel that wasn't called. He tallied an assist and a rebound and didn't shoot in his 4 minutes. I wouldn't mind seeing him get a few more stints.

Phil -- -- If Phil had a trout, he would have smacked a few players with it. He was constantly reminding the team to cycle through the offense throughout the game. Kobe even said it a few times, as well... Phil went to the rare Shammond, Smush, Kobe, Lamar, Turiaf lineup to close the first half... The Lakers had just 3 turnovers in the first half, the Celtics only 5. We finished with 10 turnovers and the Celtics just 8... Cook was a DNP and Sasha was pretty much sacked. "There’s some people that might have learned a lesson out of the game tonight,’’ Phil said, "because the second unit was quick with their shooting, their defense didn’t stand and suddenly that 12-point first quarter lead was a tie game."... Phil is still pressing for the 6-2 roadtrip. "We gave up a game last night, so we have to get back two," Phil said in the Daily News. "That means we have to win somewhere else."...

[frostdude1]

Great review !!1

Umm this is one of those games where ur kinda left speechless with happiness ... im almost teary-eyed right now thinking how lucky i am to watch kobe in a lakers uniform !!

I will remember this game forever because it was the night we took over boston and the crowd looked half lakers fans and the end , even theyre fans were chanting MVP and KOBE !! They never did it for Magic , they never did it for MJ , they will never do it for Lebron

Always remember ... they did it for Kobe

[88MAGIC88]

Hey DancingBarry,

I've been on the board for a while, but I don't post much. I read the board everyday though.

I just gotta give you a shoutout for these breakdowns you do of the games. I can't imagine how much time it must take you, but I just wanted to let you know how much it's appreciated. Keep up the good work.

[DancingBarry]

Thanks guys.

Nothing like delivering the franchise-record-tying 13th loss in a row to the Celts, while Kobe gives a masterful MVP-type performance.

[jmark]

Thanks DB. Nothing to add. You said it perfectly.
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"I appreciate all those who have supported me. Thank you for believing in me. My family and I are going to need your support and prayers now more than ever." Kobe

[prisma8slg]

[wolfpaclaker]

DB delivers the breakdown ... I will just add some stats.

Starters for month of January:

Bynum 10.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.33 bpg, 1.7 apg in 28.7 mpg (15 starts)
Odom 16.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 5.0 apag, 1.75 spg in 43.3 mpg (4 starts)
Walton 10.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.5 apg in 31.4 mpg (12 starts)
Kobe 28.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 6.2 rpg in 39.4 mpg (14 starts)
Parker 13.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.67 spg in 32.4 mpg (15 starts)
Cook 11.45 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.1 apg in 25 mpg (11 starts)
Radmanovic 14.67 ppg, 7.33 rpg, 1.67 apg, 1 spg in 33 mpg (3 starts)

One thing good about this team. Minus Sasha, whoever they insert into the starting lineup ussually winds up playing alot better. That is a GREAT sign of a team that is filled with role players that fit with Kobe/Lamar.

[LongtimeLakerLover]

I love seeing a dominant Kobe. Bottom line! Facilitating Kobe is great - but I LOVE seeing the dominant Kobe.

MVP baby!
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I love LA........WE LOVE IT!

[Texas_Pete]

Great recap DB - loved the trout slap reference to PJ I decided not to get League Pass this year, so more than ever I appreciate your efforts.

As Wolf pointed out, we are getting about 10/9 from Bynum. But I look at the stat sheet and he only got 7 shots. What's up with that? He is efficient with his scoring (5-7). Does PJ not remember that it is better to play inside out? We need an inside threat for the playoffs to go along with Kobe/LO. This is like 4 straight games of double digit scoring for Bynum.

BTW that feed from Kobe to Bynum looked eerily like Kobe to Snaq

[Shaber]

[wolfpaclaker]

[wolfpaclaker]

[BigEvil]

In all my years, I never thought I'd hear a Boston crowd chant for a Laker. I was in awe...

The Lakers held another team to under 100. And they went off for 111. That's a good sign but that just makes it so much more frustrating when you KNOW they can do better.

I can't put all the blame on Bynum's foul trouble squarely on his shoulders. He could sure use more help on the perimeter. Too much gambling going on there.

Still, it was a good game. I would have liked to have seen a blowout from the get-go, but have this team get a scare and then coming back to take it handedly may help the Laker collective comfidence just as much.

[wolfpaclaker]

[BigEvil]

[quote="wolfpaclaker"]

[BigE32]

MVP chants in Boston? I never thought that I would hear that in my life. Thanks, as always, DB for everything. Too bad Kobe was suspended for the NY game because I think we could have been 2-0 to start this trip. Tough back to back games against Indiana and Washington looming.

[Klone_dd]

My, my, my, how times have changed. MVP chants for a Laker in Boston?

The Lakers beat a sub-.500 team (finally) like they should although it did get a little tight throughout the game.

Vlad has put together a nice string of offensive games. Still suspect on the defensive end, but he's more active than Cookie there.

Bynum's on-the-job-training still has him in constant early foul trouble. Who does he think he is? Chris Mihm?

Fortunately, Ronny was a ball of energy. Once Kwame returns, it'll be interesting to see if Phil will use Ronny at the PF position. He's got some offensive game, sees the court well, and would certainly help our rebounding troubles.

Kobe is Kobe. What else is there to say? Right now, I think the team is a little drained due to the injuries, increased minutes for role players, some of the youths hitting the midseason wall. It's time for Kobe to go on one of his 40ppg binges to perk everyone up.

[ProjectAB]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[Addicus]

I've been yelling at Lamar through the tv telling him to get his arse off the 3 point line and hit the high post. He is being way too passive. I expect more from the man.
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Stop crying and start doing.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

[LakerLanny]

It is time to give Shammond some run! Let Sasha sit for a while and watch Shamu come up with some clutch play!
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Love, Laker Lanny

[SoCaLjAy]