LAKERS -at- HORNETS - 3/23 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Mamba and the Hornets... Now, it's just Kobe and Wilt. He scored his fourth consecutive game of 50 or more points as the Lakers took another road win, this one 111-105 over the Hornets.

Not since the 1961-62 season has an NBA player recorded more than four straight games above the 50 mark. That was Kobe's seventh game this season to reach that mark and the 18th time of his career.

"Remember that suspension two weeks ago?" Phil Jackson. "I think this has motivated him. I don't know if we like to have suspensions all of the time work for us, but there were some things there that motivated him."

While the offense continues to click, the Lakers played about a quarter of defense, which was enough to get them an 18-point lead in this one. There was a key 21-4 run in the third where they took over the game. They held the Hornets to 18 points in that third.

Early on, the Hornet dribble penetration was breaking down our interior and we needed more help on the glass. Help the helper, as Stu might say. In the second half, they did a much better job on their rotations and limited some of the easier hoops. After allowing 22 freethrows to the Hornets in the first half, they gave up just 7 in the second half.


Kobe -- -- Kobe had quarters of 13 points, 14 points and 17 points, before finishing with 6 in the fourth quarter. After clocking some big minutes in the last game, Kobe played all but a minute and a half in this one. That may have had a little effect in the fourth, but the Hornets swarmed him a lot more and also tried to guard Luke with Paul. So, we had some other options to work with. Any time you are dropping huge games on people and the name "Chamberlain" keeps coming up, you are deep into legend talk. The buzz and electricity is swelling by the game. Kobe scored his 50 points on 16-29 shooting (2-5 from three) and went 16-16 from the line. He also pulled down 7 boards and dished 1 assist. He was aggressive from the start, staying in assassin mode. First Quarter: All of his first quarter shots were from the perimeter. He pumpfaked his man in the air, drew FTs and made both. He took a feed high in the lane from Kwame and then hit a fallaway. He missed a wing jumper. He nailed his next attempt, a 20-footer from the right wing. He sank an elbow turnaround. He missed from the left wing. He missed a pull-up J from 18-feet. He sank a baseline turnaround jumper. He missed back-to-back threes. He got fouled on his third attempt from beyond the arc at the end of the quarter and he made all three FTs. Second Quarter: He missed a wing jumper, short and with no arch. He shed the double team and drained a 15-footer from the left side. He attacked across the lane and drew a foul, he made both FTs. He faced up Butler, blew past him along the baseline, reached back and flipped the ball in from under the backboard. He missed a forced turnaround from the top of the key with a couple men on him. He missed a 20-footer. He got out on the break with Smush, took the pass and crammed down a dunk. He pumpfaked his man and drew FTs on a jumper, making both. He sank a stepback fade from the FT line. He sank similar shot from the wing on his next attempt. He had 27 points at the half on 9-17 shooting. Third Quarter: He stepped past his man then drew a foul, he made both. He grabbed a missed jumper by Luke, pulled it back out and then quickly banked from the left side. He set up at the elbow and drained a turnaround jumper on the next possession. He sank a tech FT, then on the inbounds he swished a three over two defenders and high-fived a fan. "I went over to the sideline and I said ... watch this 3, I've got a 3 for you," Bryant said, "Then I knocked down a 3 and gave him a high-five." He attacked the paint in transition and hit a hook over Chandler and another defender. He swished a three from the corner with a man all over him. He sank a wing jumper over his man from 18 feet out. Fourth Quarter: He missed a forced jumper from the sideline. He missed a contested jumper at the top of the key. He tapped a loose ball to himself on D, tracked it down, took contact on the shot and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked from the perimeter, took a foul and made both FTs. He squared up and drained the 20-footer over Butler for his 50th points. He missed a jumper on his next attempt. He attacked, drew the D and kicked to Kwame who scored an And-1.

Lamar -- -- An efficient and effective offensive game from LO. He was also key to some of our better defensive rotations in the second half. Lamar scored 15 points on 6-9 shooting, grabbed 10 boards and dished 6 assists in 42 minutes. Dude is balling despite the injury. He dunked off the two-man game with Smush to start the Laker scoring. He got stripped trying to go up after snagging an offensive board. Good challenge on Brown to force a miss. He dunked off a behind-the-back feed from Luke. He hit a runner from the FT line. He attacked and kicked to Luke for a three. He missed a wing jumper against the shotclock. He posted up and drew FTs, making both. He had 8 points, 6 boards and 2 assists at the half. He hit a stepback jumper on the baseline. He missed an attack in the paint, but Bynum dunked it back in. He posted up and swished a turnaround on the baseline. He missed a three. He attacked off the dribble, dished it to Kwame and he scored the layup. He changed speeds and attacked with the D on its heels, drawing a foul, he made one FT. He got a stepback jumper to fall in with 1:23 left. Another nice game from LO, despite the likely need for surgery.

Luke -- -- His playmaking is vital to Kobe's run. Not so much for Kobe as it is for keeping the rest of the team clicking. Kobe no longer has to do that heavy lifting in that regard and can go into the assassin mode. Luke played a little SF and PF tonight. He scored 7 points on 3-10 shooting, but led the Lakers with 8 assists to go with 5 boards and 2 steals in 38 minutes. He threw an outlet too far out of Kobe's reach for a turnover. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. He attacked and hit Shammond for a three. He pulled up on the break, drew a double team and hit Lamar with a sweet, soft behind-the-back pass in the lane for a dunk. He sank a corner three off a kickout from Lamar. He missed a short attempt in the paint. He found Smush for a layup. He missed an open three. He had Paul on him and we quickly went to it in the set and he hit the one-hander over him. After several possessions not going to Luke/Paul matchup, we set up Luke in the post off the rub play and he fed Kwame for the dunk. He rocked Pargo on his heels off the dribble then had a jumphook crawl in over the front of the rim.

Kwame -- -- Can this be right? No rebounds in 21 minutes. Meanwhile, Chandler had 22 boards. Zoinks. Kwame had some foul issues that limited his playing time. He came up big, however, late in the game, actually catching some passes for easy scores. He finished with 10 points on 5-7 shooting, dished 1 assist and had 2 steals and 1 block. He hit Kobe in the lane for a jumper. He missed a jumphook off the glass. He got his next jumphook to drop in. He was stripped and wanted a foul. He missed a layup. He threw an inbounds pass right back out of bounds. After sitting with two fouls, he came back in and immediately picked up a third foul trying to deny guard penetration. He scored a layup off the screen-roll with Smush. Luke posted up Paul, then fed it to Kwame when Chandler came over and Kwame dunked. Lamar attacked, drew a crowd, slipped it to Kwame who held on to the pass by his fingernails then scored the layup. Kobe drew the D, whipped it to Kwame who hung in the air around Chandler and scored the And-1 over the front of the rim, he clanked the FT.

Smush -- -- Smush stepped on Paul's foot and couldn't come back to the game in the fourth. It didn't look like a major sprain, but who knows with this team? He suffered from foul trouble and his minutes were limited prior to that. Some nice passes in this game from Smush. He finished with 6 points on 3-7 shooting, 4 assists and 3 boards in just 16 minutes. He hit LO off the screen-roll for a dunk. He sank a wing jumper. He then picked up two fouls in the span of a couple seconds and had to sit with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. Kwame picked up his third foul when Smush overplayed his man on the perimeter and got backdoored. He pushed out the break and fed Kobe for the dunk. He worked the screen-roll and set up Kwame for a layup. Wow, sweet play in transition next time down as he lost Paul (who reached) by going between his legs, he stagger-stepped into the lane and spun in a layup over a defender before falling down looking for the And-1. He cut, Luke found him and he used his body well to shield his man and score off the glass. He got swatted on a drive against the zone. He missed a floater, fought for the board and that's when he went down after stepping on Paul's foot, looked relatively minor but he stayed down and we had to call a timeout. He had a team-high +18 on the night. Most of that came during a key 21-4 run in the third.

Bynum -- -- He looked like he had the jump back in his step. Maybe he marked this game on his calendar or something. He had some real nice defense on the pick and roll and some good finishes. I loved how he got down on his crouch when he switched out on Paul and moved his feet. I don't think I've seen him play a smaller man any better. Still a couple issues on the boards tonight, but for a while there he was the only one challenging shots and grabbing rebounds. He finished with 8 points on 4-5 shooting, 7 boards and just 1 foul in 18 minutes of run. Nice cut down the lane, trailing the play and Farmar found him for a layup. He winged Pargo's shot, then grabbed the board (it didn't go as a blocked shot because the ball hit the rim). He cleaned up a Farmer missed drive with a layup. He missed a face-up jumper over Chandler (shot from about 10 feet out, this should be a weapon for him some time down the line). He was contesting a lot of shots and getting no help on the boards. He cleaned up a miss by LO, throwing down with both hands. Great job going to the floor after a loose ball and we got the turnover. He took a power dribble and banked the jumphook off the glass. He gave up a score off a FT miss, not boxing out well.

Turiaf -- -- Some nice spark from Ronny off the bench. He ran more as our third center tonight. He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting, grabbed 3 boards (2 offensive) and blocked 2 shots on just 9 minutes of action. He only had 1 foul, as well. He kicked out to Sasha for a three. He swatted Mason in the paint. He got tied up with Jackson after we missed a shot and it resulted in FTs on the other end. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with a putback jam. Great rebound in a crowd. He swatted West in the post then gave him a look. Speaking of West, we finally held him down, just 8 points on 4-16 shooting in this one.

Shammond -- -- Shammond couldn't get his perimeter shot to drop in this one. He still played about as fiesty at D as anyone we had out there. He finished with just 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-4 from three) and didn't have an assist in 20 minutes. With Smush down, there's a chance he could start unless Smush is good to go. He missed his first three. He buried his next attempt on a kickout from Kobe. Horrible pass to LO at midcourt and it resulted in a steal and foul for FTs. He missed a three early in the fourth.

Farmar -- -- Farmar had some nice energy out there on the floor tonight. Just seemed like he had that same bounce to his step and reads of the offense as the early parts of the season. He came in late in the first with both Shammond and Smush in foul trouble. He scored just 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-3 from three), but again did a job on the boards, pulling down 5 rebounds in his 12 minutes. We really need our guards to help out on the glass like that. He had two passes to Kobe picked off. He stopped a break by stripping the ball off a Hornet player (should have been Laker ball). He attacked with speed off the weakside pinch post and he scored a layup. He attacked along the baseline and hit a trailing Bynum for a layup. He attacked off the dribble and missed, but Bynum cleaned it up. Poor D between he and Kobe not sagging back after Sasha shot a three and we gave up a breakaway score as the ball was passed over their heads. He missed an open three at the end of the half. He didn't do much in the second half.

Vujacic -- -- If at first you don't succeed...keep chucking. Better game from Sasha. You had a feeling during a stretch this season when Sasha's shots felt like they would drop whenever he took them. (Yes, there was a stretch.) Now, it seems like he's back to where you feel lucky when they go in. Tonight he had mixed results. Sasha scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (2-6 from three) in 18 minutes. He hit a wing jumper off the pinch post. He missed his next attempt in transition. He swished a three on a kickout from Ronny. He then missed three straight wide open threes at the end of the half. Ugggh. In the fourth, Phil set up a play for Sasha out of a timeout and he drained the wing three. (Seems like he hits those more than others.) He missed his next three.

Phil -- -- Hornets got to the FT line early and were hustling for a ton of second chances. Our team rebounding was horrible. Everyone needs to get back there and help out. The Hornets shot 38 percent, yet led by 1 at the half, 57-56. We gave them 13 second-chance points and 18-22 from the line in that half... The Lakers had an 18-point lead and Kobe sat with a minute and half left in the third. He came back to start the fourth with a 12-point lead. After a dry spell, Phil called a timeout and set up a play for Sasha, who answered the call with a three... He had to call another timeout a couple minutes later and we got a score when Ronny cleaned up a Kobe miss... The Lakers started taking nothing but threes and the Hornets were chipping their way back in the game... We started exposing the mismatch we had with Luke in the post and got Kwame a few key scores down the stretch to keep the Hornets at bay... The Lakers shot 50 percent from the floor and 91 percent from the line, making 19-21 FTs. They got killed on the offensive glass as the Hornets had a 15-6 advantage there (Chandler with 9 of his 22 boards on the offensive end)... Right now, the only way Phil messes with Kobe's streak is if we blow a team out. Next up, Golden State Warriors...

[TooCool]

Great post DB.

Things are looking great again in Laker Land. I just realized how important Kwame Brown is to this team, now that he is back. I don't know. There's something about his defense from tonight's game and last night's game that I really love. I hope he keeps it up.

Kobe will always be Kobe. I'm glad we're around in this lifetime to see him do what he does. I noticed the refs are finally giving him some calls though, to be honest. If the refs do this without biased treatment, Kobe can drop 40+ every single night. Seriously.
_________________

[angel]

Thanks DB!

What can you say about Kobe, that hasn't already been said?
_________________
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~

[CorkyTomjanovich]

[Klone_dd]

Just when you think there's nothing more amazing that Kobe can do, he still finds other ways to impress. Smooth and efficient, peppered with some awe-inspiring moves and that assassin mentality. It's great bball and great entertainment.

LO had another quiet and steady 2x2. Luke didn't score much, but each of his FG's had major timely impact. Hey, and a good 7 minute stretch of defense that helped build a double digit lead.

Ok, Kobe's bagged 65, 50, 60 and 50. Could there be a 60 coming on Sunday? Anyone got tickets for sale?

[DancingBarry]

[venicebeach]

Thanks DB. For sunday 60 are coming

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB. Good stuff.

I agree, Kwame with 0 boards?! That's ridiculous!
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[Mike@LG]

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB
_________________
"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."

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

that was a cold clooded 3 pointer that Kobe hit over Chandler and Brown.
_________________
"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[RYZ]

Thanks, DB.

[Shaber]

I only now got to see the game (thank you, Kobekillnu, thankyou, thankyou, thnkyou). And I must say there were some ups and downs in this game.

Everybody of course keeps talking about Kobe scoring 50, but it makes me kind of nervous to know that he is actually going after those. While doing that, he should be careful not to mess up the game of others. He only got his one assist in late minutes after he has got his 50. Before that he played one of those black holes where the ball only goes one direction. That is not a team attitude. It is not good to not pass the ball to an open teammate under the basket or on the wing and take a contested attempt of three (and miss). But then, Kobe is shooting high percentage, ha can allow himself some selfishness. We got the W, so it's OK.

It's also good to see Jordan and Andrew getting their game back. Bynum was definitely our best C this time. I guess its Kwames injury that holds him back. Why not to give him some rest then and start with Bynum. Kwame played quite weak.

Did you notice the weird D Lakers played (especially weel in third) to prevent dribble penetration? Bynum came out very early and played Paul while Smush was two steps behind him. Then they swiched back. BUt it looked constantly as if Bynum was guarding Paul. And it worked. Big hands where there to not allow a pass or shot over and another defender was there to pick up a dribble. Good move from Phil.