BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 2/21 - Thoughts and :-(( ratings

[DancingBarry]

Hemorrhaging... This game had little to do with the offensive end. We kept our turnovers in control. We had players stepping up with their shots. It was all about the D. The Blazers shot 60 percent for the night on their way to the 112-108 win, giving Phil Jackson his first six-game losing streak of his career.

In 11 years, this was the second-highest opponent field goal percentage that the Lakers have given up.

The Lakers were killed in two main areas. The first was the standard pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop type of plays. We were soft on penetration or challenging shooters. The second was our interior being collapsed with instant doubles in the post throughout the game. This is where you miss Kwame badly when we have to double the post and scramble on rotations. The ability to go single coverage in the interior makes your perimeter D stronger.

The Blazers are 28th in the league in scoring, averaging 93.8 points a game, and they are 24th in shooting percentage, shooting .446. They blew those numbers out of the water. Jarrett Jack tied his career high with 30 points. Although, some of that was against poor guard D, a good chunk was the result of poor team D or having to double the post.

There was a stretch in the middle of the fourth where we were getting torched defensively. This is where the game was lost, a 16-2 run in a few minutes that we couldn't recover from. We could not get a stop, again and again, and it seemed very typical lately in the fourth quarter. "We don't consistently defend and we don't consistently rebound," Phil said afterward. That makes those runs possible.


Kobe -- -- Kobe's perimeter shot struggled a bit in this one. He also drew a crowd when attacking and had to look to set up others. Defensively, he was still a bit slow and a lot stickier on picks than he has been in the past. He saw the Blazers light us up when Phil tried to get him some rest in the fourth. He scored 25 points on 8-22 shooting (0-3 from three, 9-11 FTs), he pulled down 8 boards and had 6 assists with just 1 turnover. To the action: He missed a wing jumper behind a screen. He kicked out to Smush for a three. He hit Evans with an oop on the break. He split a double team and scored uncontested at the front of the rim. After about 6 minutes of rest to start the second quarter, he came back in and missed a jumper. He put the Blazers in the bonus, drawing three straight fouls (might be nice to have him attacking at the top of the quarter, before he rests to see if we can get a team in the bonus quicker). He missed a jumper. He got blocked on a layup attempt. He hit Turiaf for a jumper. He attacked from the corner and reversed a layup at the end of the half. He had 4 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the first half. He attacked, drew contact and made a couple FTs. He busted out on the break and Smush hit him for the layup. He attacked baseline and set up Bynum for FTs. He posted up in transition and drew FTs, making one. He drew more FTs on a drive to his right, he made one. He missed a three, short. Out of a timeout he missed a turnaround badly, expecting a whistle that never came. He faced up and sank a wing jumper. Quick two-handed chest pass through traffic from midcourt to Mo filling the lane for a breakaway dunk. He missed a three. He knocked a ball loose and it led to FTs for Mo. He tip-toed along the baseline and brought the ball out, dribbled back on the baseline, spun and banked in a short jumper to start the fourth. He attacked, got under the board and reached out to flip in a reverse. He missed back-to-back jumpers. He sank a wing jumper just inside the three line. He swung through, got fouled and hit what looked like an And-1 but they erased it...so Kobe attacked again on the inbounds and scored an And-1 layup, he made the FT to cut the lead to 4 with 2:50 left in the game. He missed a finger roll and a three. Attacked and hit 4 FTs in a row. He missed another three.

Lamar -- -- Phil said he thought LO was starting to look a little more like himself with some of things he was doing. He started at the SF and we slid him over to PF when Cook got into foul trouble or Ronny, later in the game. With Vlad and Luke out, we needed more minutes from him at the SF. It would have been nice to be able to go at Randolph a little more with Lamar, but the injuries allowed the Blazers to avoid that for long stretches. If not, attack the smaller players in the post more. Lamar scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line), had 7 boards and 3 assists in 40 minutes. He got his first score on a good offensive sequence: Quick perimeter swing passes to ball reverse and it led to a dunk by LO in the post when the D couldn't catch up. He cleaned up a miss by Cook with a reverse layup. He hit a catch-and-shoot jumper from the wing. He missed another jumper from the same spot. He had 6 points and 4 boards in the first half. He posted up Roy, drew a foul and made a couple FTs. He kept an offensive board alive, then threw it off his man, he then sank a three on a catch and shoot from the corner. Horrible entry to Bynum that was easily picked off. He attacked and kicked to Ronny for an open jumper. He missed a flat turnaround in the lane out of a timeout. He went to the post again and hit a short jumphook. He made a token three, pulling up late in the game with no one one him.

Bynum -- -- I guess they don't give Bynum the ball more because he's not automatic, but clearly he could have used more touches tonight. So, while our D is getting collapsed in the post on the other end, we didn't attack the interior on the other end. He's doing a great job setting up players and surveying the floor. It's not like he's a black hole. If we do somehow get a Kidd trade, it will be interesting to see what happens with our post play. Tonight, Bynum scored 8 points on just 2-3 shooting (4-4 FTs), grabbed 7 boards, dished 2 assists and blocked 2 shots in 31 minutes. Very active to start the game, keeping boards alive. He missed his first post up attempt. He took an offensive board and dunked it back, finishing strong. Nice job surveying the floor and he found Smush open on the other side for a three. After going a few minutes without a post touch, he got it back, quickly turned into the lane and swished a jumper from 8 feet out (very nice). He hit Cook cutting down the lane for a layup. He posted up, got shoved with no call, then smacked on his arm, he made both FTs. Kobe set him up with an interior feed and Drew was fouled, he made both FTs. Good D, contesting a shot to force a brick, then coming up with the loose ball. He got blindsided from behind when Farmar's man doubled and stole the ball.

Smush -- 8) -- Smush stepped up big on the offensive end in this one with Kobe's perimeter game MIA. He still had his defensive issues, gambling too much, poor positioning at times. He also had his usual late-game throw away possession on the offensive end. We were sending Smush to double a lot and he had to scramble out to the perimeter on rotations and we often got scored on. Offensively, you've got to like the 18 points on 7-14 shooting (3-6 from three) and 8 assists with just 1 turnover. That was a season-high in assists. He started off with one of those hot first quarters: He spun and got tapped on a layup attempt. He missed a wing three. Bynum kicked out and Smush swished a three from the sideline. He attacked with speed in transition and drew a foul, he made one. Kobe kicked out to him after we got Smush's missed FT back and Smush drained a three. He sank a 15-footer behind a Bynum screen. He missed a mid-ranger, we got it back, kicked it to him on the baseline and he rattled in another jumper. Nice pick on Dickau using his long reach then drawing a foul. He airballed at the first quarter buzzer, looked like he wanted the foul. Good first quarter. Back in after a lengthy rest, he sank his first look, a three on a catch and shoot at the wing. Sweet reverse layup, attacking the baseline on his next touch instead of taking the jumper. Good D at the end of the half, he drew a clear out foul on the perimeter. He swiped an inbounds pass after the Blazers took a timeout to draw up a play. Great first half with 16 points on 6-11 shooting and 5 assists. He attacked off the dribble and banked over his man. Great push out off a defensive board and he hit Kobe for a layup. Nice double down on the post and he came up with a steal, he then threw it away on the other end with a horrible entry pass. He gambled at midcourt for a steal, fell down and the Blazers sank a three. Standard late game throw-away possession from Smush, he had a wild attack and threw up an awkward shot to miss with 3:25 left.

Cook -- -- Sometimes he can just go stone cold...which then means the rest of his game is a liability. Unfortunately, with all of the injuries we don't have the luxury to plant him on the bench when his jumper is struggling. So, with Vlad out, he got the start. He scored just 7 points on a poor 3-13 shooting. He had no defensive rebounds and we had to send help anytime the ball went into the post against him. He missed a baseline jumper. He got blocked on a layup. He ballfaked to lose the defenders then drained the wing three. He knocked down a long two from the sideline when his man gave him space. He kept a missed FT alive and it led to a Smush three. He picked up his second foul with 4 minutes left in the first and had to sit. He missed an open jumper off a kickout from Kobe. Rare dive cut from Cook, Bynum found him and Cook finished with his left. He choked a point-blank layup. He missed an open wing jumper. Just did not look automatic on his looks tonight.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny had his jumper going, but again was getting outmatched in the post defensively. He finished with 6 points on 2-2 shooting, had 2 boards, 1 block and 5 fouls in 19:38 of action. Magliore backed down Turiaf easily, but Ronny swatted him on his attempt. Nice D, contesting at the rim, falling to the ground with the rebound and outletting. He swished a baseline jumper. He was left alone under the hoop and was fouled, he made both FTs. He sank a wide open wing jumper immediately after returning in the third. He was called for offensive interference trying to tap in a FT miss that was coming off the rim. He started the fourth with Bynum, then picked up three fouls and had to sit with five. He had trouble defending both Magliore and Randolph in this one.

Evans -- -- Hot or cold, which one would it be? Thankfully, he was hot, tying his career high with 23 points on 9-12 shooting. This should make things interesting against the Celtics when Mo goes stone cold. If you do have a point like Kidd in the game, Mo will definitely benefit because he plays well in the up-and-down tempo. He showed some of that tonight. He busted out with Kobe and threw down an oop. He missed a three from the sideline. Great job crashing the glass, he yanked down a Farmar miss and scored a layup. He hit a jumper from the top of the key. He sank a basline jumper. He drew FTs on an attack and made both. (He was the only Lakers scoring for a stretch in the second quarter). He blocked a man from behind on one end, then trailed and hit the 4-footer on the other. Nice job off the bench with 12 points on 5-7 shooting in the first half. He turned on the burst of speed in transition to create a passing lane and Kobe found him for a dunk. He busted out off a steal, was wrapped up and made one FT. He sank a three from the corner in early offense. He scored a token layup when the game was all but over. He sank a pull-up three shortly later.

Farmar -- -- He got tapped on a corner three. He swished a wing three shortly later beating the shotclock. He found Evans for a jumper at the top of the key. He missed a wide open three. He missed a three from the wing. He bricked a left-handed runner in the lane. He faked a three, took a dribble and knocked down an 18-footer.

Vujacic -- -- Man, I've got virtually no notes on Sasha...yet he has a team-high -17 in his minutes? Why? Well, he's Kobe's back up at SG for one. And, the Blazers went on two runs while Sasha was in the game...an 11-2 run in the second...and then part of the 16-2 run that destroyed us in the fourth. In 9:23 of action, his statline is a bunch of goose eggs. He got a lecture from Phil about an offensive sequence in the fourth.

Phil -- -- On his first six-game losing streak: "I think we deserve it," Phil said. "We've had a little bad luck with our injury situation, but we have not outplayed people or played harder than people."... Great job offensively with the second-chance points in the first half, taking a 17-4 advantage. We out rebounded the Blazers 20-13 and had only 3 turnovers. Even though Kobe wasn't scoring, others were stepping up and that's why the team had a 2-point lead at halftime. The reason it wasn't a big lead was, again, they couldn't buy a stop. Weak D again off the screens, whether it was giving up the pick and pop or giving up penetration. The Lakers were doubling the post everytime and it collapsed our D... Phil started the fourth with a Bynum, Turiaf, Mo, Kobe, Farmar lineup. We tried to go iso defensively onRandolph with Ronny, but got chewed up... The Blazers scored basket after basket after basket in a stretch midway through the fourth to take a big lead. Phil had Kobe out for a chunk of that stretch. He thought Kobe was starting to try to force the game too much offensively before he pulled him out... Phil on Bynum before the game: "One of the things that we tell him is the punch-in factor or the duck-in factor for the post player -- he has got to be always present so players see him and he throws up his hand, and (post players) make sure they are available for an interior pass," Jackson said. "That's one of the things (where) Andrew gets a little bit exhausted and can't do it anymore down the stretch." I think he did a better job of that tonight, but didn't receive the ball on a number of occasions. Definitely, again, when his strength gets built up, we'll see it a lot more... The defensive bleeding that is going on right now is very similar to the kind of thing we saw two years ago (although, we had those problems with a healthy roster)... It sounded like there is a chance Luke will play in the next game. That is, if he's still on the team...

[Laker_Holic]

I hate to bring this up DB, but has the team quit? it seems like nothing seems to motivate them is it because some of them know they will get traded?

[Klone_dd]

Did Rudy T all of a sudden return to the bench? Shades of the forgettable season. More porous D, lack of post entries, poor execution on some sequences.

To paraphrase Jack: "This team needs an enema."

[RYZ]

As we all like to look to the future around here DB, you might want to make sure your

[DancingBarry]

[kobester]

[Addicus]

[DancingBarry]

^ I'm not sure I understand what you are saying because it sounds like we don't disagree at all. From one game to the next our different weaknesses are getting exposed. From beginning to end the Blazers shot at a 60% clip. We could never stop the bleeding. We try to put out one fire with the limited roster we have now and it starts up another one elsewhere.

[BigE32]

Thanks, DB. We outrebounded our opponent by one and only committed 10 turnovers and lost again. It starts on the defensive end . We allowed 60% shooting from the floor. Jack had a career high of 30 and Aldridge came off the bench and couldn't miss. We're definitely feeling the effects of being short handed. I just want a win. Interesting to see what happens, if anything.

[Sage_10]

This team has pissed me off.
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[prisma8slg]

ugh, so last night I was exhausted and could barely stay awake til halftime. I decided to hit record and call it a night.

thanks DB. I think the lakers should sign you to a 10-day contract. you're putting in more effort than some of them...
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[targetman]

The blazers ended up shooting 60%, but in the first quarter they were shooting 70%! I think every coach in the league has figured out just what to do against us but we haven't figured out how to correct it. And I don't think someone like Kidd can fix that defensive problem.
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Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

[dadliboi]

Damn...I sign on to LG this morning hoping to see a smiley face on DB's recap. Do you guys think we can still get into the Greg Oden sweepstakes?
I have to find some humor here.
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If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball. ~Phil Jackson

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

Im starting to wonder if Kidd can even help this team. What good is his passing if guys cant knock down shots consistently? I blmae Phil for this loss. His substitute patterns are getting old. We either lose or barely win, we never blow people out because everytime we get a lead or momentum, he changes the lineup. The triangle is not working either. we can never bring in quality FA help because of fear of how they wiil fit in the Tri. The reason our defense is bad is because Phil spends all of practice working on the Tri and it still isnt running smoothy. We keep shooting bail out shots with 1 sec left on the 24. I dont wanna hear that he has 9 rings and he is getting us ready for the playoffs. for what to lose 4 straight and get swept. phillip needs to look in the mirror and act like a coach that makes 10 million a year. do whatever got him those 9 rings, im sick of him thinking everything is a joke. Stop doing Philosophy 101 and spend those extra 10 minutes on the gameplan and defensive assisgnments.
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[20,000]

Has this team quit? I don't think so. I don't think the Lakers did anything wrong last night. The Blazers were just hitting their shots. They were just in a rhythm. Aldridge was hitting everything from the top of the key. Sure, the rotations were piss poor, but hand it to the Blazers, they could not miss. That is not our fault (though we could have pressured them more).

This game is getting way too typical. Every single game is like this. Struggle struggle....each team goes on a run. Lakers then go up 6 or 7 points, then the other team comes back, Lakers then lose it at the end. It seems like it is scripted this way. Or that every single team knows exactly how to play the Lakers, and the Lakers have not figured it out yet.

But I have noticed one disturbing trend in all of these games. When the Lakers do go up by 6 or 7 points, it never fails that they get another defensive stop, and then Kobe goes up the court and takes a three-pointer with 20-23 seconds left on the shot clock. He misses, the other team rebounds, then they score and go on a run.

I love Kobe Bryant. My favorite player in the world. But I cringe now every single time I see him do this. If he hits, great, no complaints, it is a dagger through the heart of the opposition. But the Lakers are not in a place where they can be sticking daggers yet through anyone's heart. Use the shot clock, run the offense, get your teammates involved.

But this happens every single game (I'll be looking for it Friday night). I can't imagine this is a set play. Is it?

I probably shouldn't be panicking yet, but at what point do we realize that this is not working? Injuries have really taken a toll on the team, but other teams also get injured, and they don't bleed as badly on the court as these Lakers have been doing.

The one positive I can take from all this is that all teams have to take their bruises in order to become a dominant team. To put these losses in perspective, I just keep telling myself that this is necessary for us to finally compete (next year and beyond).

But this either means I am a great optimist or a tremendous fool.
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Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[vanexelent]

[Texas_Pete]

Per BSPN: Wednesday's Worst
Lakers forward Brian Cook: With Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic out, L.A. needs Cook's shooting touch more than ever. That's why his 3-for-13 stinker -- with two rebounds and no assists -- in a home loss to Portland was so painful.

^^Kind of validates your write up DB. Thanks for your efforts.

A game like last night is one of the reason I didn't buy League Pass this year. It appears the Lakers are making a late run at Oden

[Vandal08]

terrible defense last night.
this team is on life support. kobe looks frustrated. the "kids" are having a pity party. hopefully we can do something to infuse some more vet leadership into this team.
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"For we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are unseen. For the things seen are temporary and the things unseen are eternal"

[LakerLanny]

If they get Kidd, all I can say is I hope that portends the end of the Sasha Vujacic in the rotation experiment.

Watching him fall on the ground while trying to make a move, get burnt all game long and provide no offense was painful to watch.

Enough already, put this guy in the developmental league or Europe where he belongs.
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Love, Laker Lanny

[Born89FanIn95]

[ProjectAB]

It seems like Bynum has yet to learn the difference between a token contest and a hard-contest at this point. I thought he could have made a difference on a couple of those drives by stepping up a little more and jump hard at the offensive player. When a team is this hot, that's what you have to do, even at the risk of fouling.

In addition, he gave Adridge a little too much space I thought. Now I know he was worried about the pick-and-pop guard, but there are ways to do it without leaving Aldridge in perfect rhythm. He just has to be very urgent and not give help one bit more than necessary. If the separation is too great, get back immediately and let someone else drop down.

This is all part of the learning process. Fortunately, he's been a pretty quick learner, so hopefully he'll get this part down.

[Dr. Funkbot]

Smush was horrible again, and piss off Vlade for getting your self injured SKIING- way to be a team player there.

Smush is just bad bad bad. He has got to be the worst passing PG in the leauge. Dude does not know how to pass and his D is near Chuck Atkins level. Sure he gets a steal by over playing his man on occasion, but usually, he is too close and the other player drives by on his way to the rim.

You know, even with Kidd, this team will fizzle out in the playoffs if they even get in. Our post presence is decimated and we stand little chance against the big teams in the east.

Bynum is good for his age, but he is not ready yet. Kwame's absence has killed us in terms of post D and he will likely be traded for Kidd if that goes through.

Another re-building year, that is fine, just don't blow up a promising team too soon for older players with bloated contracts.

If it were not for injuries this season would have been a good one, probably we would at least make it to the second round, but the injuries have KILLED us. Sure it is an excuse, but it is a legit one. How many teams suffer the amount of injuries that we have had and go on to win a championship? NONE- this is one of those things that is out of our hands. Every starter except our wost one has missed time due to injuries this season. Luke, Kwame (twice), Mihm, Vlade (two different injuries), Kobe, Odom. WE have lost our key guys for many many many games and the scrubs are just not good enough to take over.

You think that the Spurs would have the record they do if Duncan, Parker, Ginobli, Bowen and Finley had missed as many games as our guys have?

No way in heck. The team we are like this season is the Heat. They have had key injuries to Shaq, Wade & J-will and they can barely hold on the 8'th seed in the east despite having a fairly deep roster and good coach.
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R.I.P. Doc Buss

[maddprophet]

hey look, theres a guy with good position open on the block...........................THROW HIM THE F'IN BALL!!!!

why is it we refuse to feed the post??? drew, lamar, or ronny, we just won't feed the post. it's killing me.

and what the hell are we doing defensively. it's putrid.
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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....

[Addicus]

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