KNICKS -at- LAKERS - 2/13 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

[DancingBarry]

Softer than Soft... The Lakers hit a new bottom, dropping their fourth game in a row, this time to the Knicks on their home court. They gave up and alley oop dunk on one end, then Lamar airballed a jumper on the other end to close the game out, losing 107-106.

The Lakers perimeter D was beyond sad, giving up dribble penetration and getting out-scored 60-34 on points in the paint. Kobe led all scorers with 31 points, but was surprisingly flat-footed defensively. The high screen and roll killed us at times, but the guards didn't even need a screen on other attacks. There was no sense of urgency until the last few minutes of the game.

Props to Turiaf, who seemed like he was the only one out their playing with that sense of urgency througout the game. He scored 11 points in 19 minutes. Our guards also did a poor job helping on the defensive glass at times. A lot of standing around, particularly down the stretch. The Knicks pulled down 17 offensive boards.


Kobe -- -- I honestly thought this would be one of those games where Kobe sinks that buzzer beater. It just had that vibe. Anyway... let me rant about his D tonight. Arrgghh. Drove me nuts some times. He gave up a lot of penetration, even without screens. Phil even yapped at him once in a timeout for it. He could very well have been tired even though he didn't have to practice yesterday and got a little extra rest in this one. Still, he's had much better efforts, by far. We use him as the initiator and our main scoring threat and we have him bring up the ball a lot...perhaps he was showing the signs of fatigue. (Send some help, please! Doesn't have to be a big trade, but another guy who can play at the 1-2-3 spots at a higher level would go a long way on the wear and tear.) Kobe scored 31 points on 9-20 shooting (11-11 from the line, continuing his streak there), he pulled down 7 boards and he dished 4 assists in 38 minutes. He hit a one-hander in the lane after gathering an offensive board. He missed a three and a fade on the baseline. He faced up and knocked down a baseline 18-footer. He missed a putback bank shot and wanted the foul. He took the drive and kick from Mo, attacked from the wing and scored a layup (nice to see someone else collapse the D and set Kobe up for a change). He posted up Marbury, drew the double and hit Evans for a three. He found Bynum in the middle of the zone with a bounce pass for a score. He sent Curry to the bench with his third foul of the half, attacking him on the baseline. He posted up Marbury, drew a rooting foul and made both FTs. He attacked baseline and drew a blocking foul and Tech on Q, he made all three FTs. He drained a wing three (great form). Next time down he got tapped on a wing three, going two for one. With 2.7 seconds left, he took the inbounds, made an inside pivot and drained a rainbow three as the buzzer went off (wish that one was at the end of the second half). He had 18 points in the first half. He missed an open wing jumper. He attacked from the wing and scored a layup. He posted up and hit a turnaround over Marbury. He set Drew up for FTs with a shovel pass in the lane. He hit a baseline turnaround against the clock. He hit LO for a three. He came up short on a long jumper. He manufactured FTs on a wing swing through move. He missed a tough turnaround. He missed a good look at a wing jumper. He attacked off the high wing screen and missed off the glass. He attacked again on the same play, drew a foul with 59.5 seconds left and made both to take a 1-point lead. He worked off the same play, pulled up and hit 12-footer to take the 1-point lead again. He headed off the court with his head down as LO airballed.

Lamar -- -- Very passive first half, not scoring a point on 3 shots. Sigh. He heated up in the third quarter (or made himself more of a threat) and he scored 12 points in the second half. If the Knicks leave Curry in the game, maybe LO gets a mismatch on that last play and drives to the hoop going to his left. His lane was cut off, he pulled it back out and airballed a stepback jumper to fizzle our way to a sad loss. LO scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting, grabbed 10 boards and had 4 assists with 5 turnovers. He had Marbury defending him to start the game and we were a little slow to react, but went to it after a few possessions. He hit Vlad curling from the weakside for a layup. He posted up Marbury, drew the double and kicked to Vlad for the open three. With 2 minutes left in the quarter, he hoisted up a three and missed, his first shot in the game. He missed a baseline jumper. He had 0 points on 0-3 shooting in the first half. He took a baseline feed from Vlad and scored using his length over the defenders. He took an offensive board and contact and banked in an And-1, he made the FT. He bricked a turnaround from the post and wanted the foul. He spun to his strong side on his next post possesion and banked in a jumphook. He sank a three from the top off a kickout from Kobe. Good position posting up, but he took too long and got blocked from behind. He missed a fading three over the zone. He was called for a charge off an offensive rebound. He scored an easy layup when Ronny tipped a board loose. He airballed the fading jumper at the buzzer. "I had a good look on the stepback. It just wasn't going tonight."

Bynum -- -- Again, he had his hands full with Curry's strength and all the dribble penetration that was breaking us down. Some better effort on the glass tonight, particularly on the offensive end on some sequences. He finished with 8 points on 2-6 shooting (4-4 from the line) and grabbed 11 boards (5 offensive) and blocked 1 shot. He suffered from some foul trouble again in this one and played 26 minutes. He had a couple plays reaching at the ball instead of challenging up high where he drew fouls. He gave up an And-1 jumphook to Curry. The Lakers went to Bynum on the other end and he drew a foul on Curry, he made both FTs. He missed a left-handed hook in the lane. He missed a jumphook with his strong hand in the lane. Back in the game after a rest, he knocked an entry pass loose on one end for a steal. At the other, he tapped out an offensive board, pulled down another one and then hit a short jumper a couple feet from the hoop. He took a bounce pass in the middle of the zone and scored a short jumper. He had 6 points and 7 boards in the first half. He got tapped on a putback attempt. He was fouled, attacking off a Kobe feed, he made both FTs. He hit Vlad cutting down the lane for a layup.

Smush -- -- Smush was clanking tonight and had some very good looks, too. He finished with 9 points on 3-13 shooting (2-7 from three) and had 3 assists and 1 steal in 32:35 of action. With all the rumors about JKidd, we certainly could have used his kind of defensive rebounding tonight. Smush had just 2 boards (he averages 2.5), while Kidd averages 8. Having an extra guard helping out our bigmen after they challenge shots gives you a few more one and out possessions. Could have used that down the stretch. On to the action: Smush bricked a wing jumper. He missed a three. He sank a three when the Knicks doubled Vlad in the post. He missed a pull-up jumper on the break. He attacked and charged in the lane. He forced a turnover with knocking a ball loose on help D. He had an entry pass stolen for a score the other way. He hit a 20-footer off a kickout from Evans. Back in after a long rest and Smush drained a corner three against the zone. He busted out on the break, Kobe fed him, he went up high to throwdown and Francis hit him in the air sending Smush crashing to the floor, he bounced up quickly and made one of the flagrant FTs. Good rotation and recovery to challenge a three and we got the miss. He missed a wide open wing jumper. He missed a wide open corner three. The refs blew a call when Smush got trampled by Curry for a score (they called that charge on LO a few minutes earlier on a similar type of play).

Radmanovic -- 8) -- Decent game from Vlad running the offense tonight. Good to see some easy scores and good looks by using the system to his advantage. Defensively, he had some tough match ups against smaller players. He scored 9 points on 4-9 shooting and 2 assists in 21 minutes. He bricked an open wing jumper. He had James defending him to start the game. He curled from the weakside, took the feed from LO and scored a layup. He hit a three on a post kickout from LO. The Knicks moved Marbury on to him and after a couple of trips down, Vlad posted him up, drew the double and it led to a Smush three. He missed a short right handed hook. He missed a corner three. He hit LO under the hoop with a pass for a score. Bad angle entry pass to Kobe and it was picked off (lack of Tri experience rearing its head here). Good Tri execution, curling from the weakside off the standard screen, taking the Bynum feed and scoring a layup. He couldn't handle a pass on the break and turned it over. He swished a 20-footer behind a Bynum screen.

Turiaf -- -- Sense of urgency. Determination. Ronny brings that game in and game out. He may not always make an impact, but the effort is always there. It's unfortunate that he was the only one playing that way tonight until the game was on the line. You get more guys out there playing with his determined effort and we take a few more of these games on the defensive end. Sure, Ronny had some mistakes on the D end, but he also had his hands full with dribble penetration. Ronny scored 11 points on 5-5 shooting, grabbed 3 boards, dished 2 assists, had 1 steal, 2 blocks and 4 fouls in 19 minutes. He carried the ball trying to post up. He reached and gave up an And-1 jumper. He drop stepped Frye and scored an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He swished a very nice turnaround in the lane, getting good elevation over Curry. Great quick feet to step around Curry and intercept an entry pass, then draw the foul. He sank an elbow jumper flashing to the strongside. He pulled down an offensive board, reset the offense and it led to a three. He contested Marbury penetration and we got a rare third-quarter stop. He took an interior feed from Sasha and scored an And-1, he made the FT. He swished an elbow jumper. Great job tipping an offensive board loose to LO for a layup (big play with 2 minutes left to cut the lead to 1). He drew a charge on Marbury with 1:08 left to erase a basket.

Evans -- -- Streaky as ever, Mo was on tonight from the perimeter, scoring 16 points on 5-10 shooting (3-4 from three) to lead the bench. I liked seeing him defensively on Marbury in the last Knicks game, but we never saw it tonight. Mo also had 3 assists, 3 boards and 2 steals. He missed a three off a kickout on his first attempt (should have cut to draw the double away from Kobe). He pulled up off the weakside pinch post and hit a wing jumper on his next touch. He missed a layup under the hoop. He was called for a charge trying to push out the break. He busted out on the break and threw down a dunk. He knocked down a three from the top of the key off a kickout from Kobe. He had 7 points in the first half. He sank a catch-and-shoot three from the corner. He missed a jumper at the end of the quarter. He swished a corner three over the zone. He drew FTs working on the defensive glass, he made both. His man scored on the offensive glass on the next trip down. He drew a foul in transition and made one FT.

Farmar -- -- Jordan scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting and dished 3 assists in 15 minutes. He missed a baseline jumper. He hit Mo busting out for a dunk. He missed a wing three against the shotclock. He missed an easy floater. He swished a three off the high pinch post with Ronny.

Cook -- -- He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting in 9 minutes. He pulled up off the dribble and knocked down a wing jumper. He missed a three on his next touch. Not much else to say.

Vujacic -- -- Good first half stint, poor second half stint. He finished with 5 point on 2-5 shooting and had 2 assists in 10 minutes. He took an offensive board off a Farmar miss and swished a three. He set up behind the double screens and knocked down a wing jumper with his feet on the three line. He missed two threes and fouled twice to start the fourth quarter. He missed a pull-up wing jumper and then was benched.

Phil -- -- Trailing by 1 with 7.1 seconds left, Phil called a timeout. We were trying to get LO penetration off a handoff or get Kobe a look coming off a screen, but the Knicks sagged, LO pulled it out airballed a fading jumper. Phil credited the Knicks for playing it well... We scored 106 points in this game. That should have been enough to get it done. The defense allowed the Knicks to shoot 50 percent on the night. Phil was harping on the dribble penetration and screen roll D all night, but our effort was MIA. Got to work on the screen roll D... He went with a Turiaf, Cook, Evans, Sasha, Farmar second unit early in the second quarter (instead of having LO out there). Phil left them in for nearly half of the second quarter as they were doing a lot better than previous second units with LO in the game... A lot better ball movement in the first half. The team was taking advantage of mismatches much better (which is hard not to improve on), they were collapsing the D and working the ball around. The still played side to side too much, taking 15 threes instead of attacking... The Knicks had a 30-18 points-in-the-paint advantage in the first half. They did the same in the second half... The Lakers D against the guard penetration was non-existant. Kobe was surprisingly flat-footed. Phil even called a timeout quickly in the second half to get on him...The Lakers were out of fouls with 9:50 left in the fourth as both Mo and Sasha picked up two each... Phil's longest losing streak as a coach is 5 games...

[8750]

Thanks, DB....
it seems to me that our coach is totally losing these players... from weeks this team plays without any fire... their body language is embarassing... our coach's legendary motivational skills are definitely disappeared... you can also lose games, but not that way, not without any energy... instead of strenghtening other's players mind, so far our coach weakened kobe's mind... we don't have any defensive identity, any idea of rotations...
and once again we call a time-out in the last seconds and then nothing works... we have great constancy with bad plays after clutch time-outs...
with another coach, everybody at this point would say that we are very poorly coached...

[ElginBaylor]

Thanks DB from a guy who thankfully wasn't able to watch...great recap for what seems like a lousy game. Just a guess on my part, but I think a large part of our problem is due to injuries. Bynum has hit the wall, showing that he's still not ready to be a full time starter. Walton is sorely missed as well. The good news is that when these guys get back it will be welcome relief and with the AS break around the corner, hopefully we can pull it together.
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Not a legend

[elroy65]

I'm in NY and thank god I taped the game and didn't stay up to watch it.
Just awful B-ball being played by the Lakers right now.
Refs were bad....as usual. Lots of no-calls against the Knicks.
I think we play tougher D when Sasha and Jordan are in the game, and at least Jordan can penetrate.....Smush is simply terrible. I don't get why Phil loves him so much??? Is McKie active? He's gotta be better than Smush. Smush looks like he is very unsure w/ the ball.

I know he's young, but why don't they run through Andrew like they used to do w/ Shaq? He is a good passer, and seems to find the cutter?

I'm still waiting for Lamar to "realize his potential". Lazy guy, erractic shooter. should bringing his man to the hole every touch!!
Hate watching these types of games. Poor
Hurry back Luke!
Trade Kwame and Smush!

[targetman]

A team that simply hasn't found its defensive rhythm or a semblance of cohesion. A team that misses injured Luke Walton and needs more from Odom than the tentative player he has been since his knee injury, the one who had no points in the first half on Tuesday and finished with 12.

Odom said that the Lakers' losing streak should not be blown out of proportion and that the resolution to their problems lies in the locker room as well as in the players still in the training room.
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

im at a loss for words
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[wolfpaclaker]

Thanks DB.

What can be said? This team just needs to get through this. They are better than what they've been showing lately but right now they're not playing 48 minutes of basketball. It's more like a spurt here, then a spurt there. That type of game allows you to lose to anyone.

As a team .. just need to get more consistent and smarter. I'm not giving up on the team so quickly .. they just need one good winning streak to get them right back into the thick of things (but I understand many people's frustration right now .. this slump is the sucks)

[maddprophet]

games like last night are when shammond should get some run. smush was awful. and someone tell him he is not a 3 pt. threat. 7 is about 5 too many attempts imo.
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Spark the ism, my expertism, is lyracism, my flow will take you over like I was hypnotism...so where's the lighter, to start the cypher....

[XxBaDGuYxX]

I was at the game.... which disappointingly was the first time the Lakers have lost with me in attendance (23-1).... i think it was cause i just bought a number 24 jersey and wore it... i never wore any laker apparel to a game before...
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What I'm doing right now, I'm chasing perfection.

- Kobe Bryant

[Klone_dd]

The Lakers played like they were still on the road. Bad offensive recognition led to hoisting too many 3's. Too much settling for jumpers, no real penetration. On the other end, too lax on D, giving up a ton of points in the paint.

Bynum looks totally listless. I'm sure it's mostly fatigue. I don't think even he, in his wildest dreams, expected to be playing so many minutes so soon. He just seems so slow on rotations, but he is being put in some difficult positions because the perimeter D is constantly being broken down.

Kobe had a good game for normal human beings. But we know that's not him. I think the team thought they could win by simply outgunning NY and thus did the "ole" D and Kobe was the main matador.

On that last play, I don't mind giving LO the shot, but at least give him the space to work. When he took the handoff and went to his strong left side, Kobe and Smush were already there and their defenders sagged to cut off any penetration. Very poor execution and recognition.

These are the dog days as the Lakers limp into the ASB.

[Rick12322]

[Dr. Funkbot]

Man- what a stinker! Our perimeter D is just PATHETIC- Kobe must be tired because he was flat footed on D and if Kobe ain't trying then Smush thinks he has a fee pass to just lounge around out there, not bothering to try and stay in front of his man.

Tough to watch, even tougher to read about. The team better heal it self over the ASB otherwise we are gonna go into free fall Hamblin mode. Hey-Maybe they think that they have a shot at Oden? - joking of course but am I.

Will this bad play and the injuries give Mitch more reason to do a trade? Jason Kidd is going on 34 and he has had the micro fracture surgery, but damn it if he would not be better on D than Smush. I am sick and tired of our poor outside D, it gives our bigs no chance to stay out of foul trouble.
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R.I.P. Doc Buss

[ProjectAB]

Smush is just beyond useless. In addition, to his piss poor perimeter D, you can never hope for a rebound once he gives up penetration, because he just never jumps. I mean, at least Kobe will jump among the trees once in a while(and it's more understandable if he doesn't do more because of the offensive load he's carrying.) This guy, he just can't shoot, can't rebound, can't play D, can't take care of the ball, I don't think I've been more disgusted by a player in my life.

[LakerLanny]

[angrypuppy]

[angrypuppy]

I thought Smush did a pretty good job last night. He built a case around why Jason Kidd is necessary.

[Rick12322]

[kobester]

I worry more about their rebounding than their defense right now, espesially Kobe's D. Kobe's apparently pacing himself through the game and the season. A lot of posters think Kobe showed up on the offensive end but not on the defensive end last night. However even on the offensive end it's noticeable Kobe didn't drive to the rim that much at all. He basically settled for the jumpers.

The reason I am not concerned about Kobe's D is that he always steps it up in the crunch time. His D is at another level in the playoffs. But I can't say the same about our rebounding problem. Unless some help is on the way, this problem is not likely fixed. Once the opponent team gets the offensive board, it makes the defense scrambles and very vulnerable. Not even the elite defensive team can afford to give away so many off-boards.
When David Lee snatched the rebound over Lamar's head after a knicks' miss with less than 20 secs left and lakers leading by one, I had the flashback of game 6 of the phoenix series.
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"I think I've been forgotten about a little bit as far as what I can do on the basketball court,'' the Los Angeles Lakers star guard said, "People forget."

[TLT]

[dadliboi]

I wish every player on the team could play with the energy and determination that Ronny does. Some of these guys don't even seem to care man.
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If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball. ~Phil Jackson

[ProjectAB]

[LaxT]

They look exhausted physically and mentally. Hope the AS break will help.

For a longer term observation, the D is not there most of the season, evidenced by opponents' 102 ppg. I think that will prevent them from reaching the western finals. Don't know if a Kidd can change it.

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB - thanks for this painful analysis of some Lakers game like this one.

While it is understandable and anticipated that players such as Bynum, Evans and Farmar would be on their last legs - mentally and physically (though the spirit is willing) - that has made them a step slow in their decision process and/or taking the available opportunities (while subconsciously trying to do too much since Luke and Kwame are currently injuried), what excuse does Smush has (especially considering that this is his "contract" year?

With LO not being physically close to 100%, what can the Lakers do to cover a PF who is not presently able to get needed rebounds, covering the paint and/or not able to take advantage of mismatches? fyi: Maybe they should give LO a "GPS" so that he knows where the paint is instead of lounging at the 3-point line watching the game?!?!?! This is probably one reason why Turaiff's play on the court is so striking - cuz he's doing what LO should be doing?!?!