LAKERS -at- KINGS - 4/13 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Hunt is On... Kobe Bryant, often the center of storms on and off the court, rose up from three with a few seconds left. A miss here and the Lakers choke away the second seed by blowing a 20-point fourth quarter lead.

This is Kobe. He and his Laker teams have crushed the hopes and dreams of Kings fans for years. Nothing changed tonight.

He drained the three, blocked a shot on the other and helped orchestrate a 116-108 overtime victory.

"It's fitting that a game would end like this in Sacramento," Kobe said afterward.

While the Lakers lost a 20-point fourth quarter lead, it should be noted that Phil ran some lineups the Lakers have never seen all season. A Joe Smith/Lamar Odom/Luke Walton front court trio and Shannon Brown, Trey Johnson guard duo. Not exactly world beaters.

Their prize for surviving a near epic collapse -- taking the second seed. They meet the New Orleans Hornets, a team the Lakers swept this year, and have home court advantage in the second round, as well. Should they not have another epic collapse against the Hornets that is.

In his book, "More Than a Game," Phil wrote about his first attempt at a three-peat with the Lakers, "I can only hope the trials and successes of last year bode well for the Lakers this season. We think we are going to be very good, but we know winning three consecutive championships takes a very special team effort. The hunt is on."

These Lakers have shown their share of trials and successes. They managed to do that over the course of a season and in a single and literally final game against Sacramento.

As they know, you don't defend a championship...you take it. Good hunting.


Kobe -- -- A long day for Kobe Bryant. After the backlash from his implosion in the last game, he spent the day apologizing and making it clear that he made a mistake. He said it was important to be responsible for his comment and own it. And he added, "It's our responsibility to turn it into a positive and try to raise as much awareness as we possibly can to say that is not okay to insult or disrespect. It's not the right thing to do." With that as the context for this back-to-back game the Lakers wanted badly, he hit the court. Under pressure as the wheels fell off down the stretch, Kobe imposed his will. He sank the huge three, blocked the shot on the other end. Then, he proceeded to pick apart the Kings in OT. He didn't do it with just shots, but he hit teammates for a couple key scores, as well. If you look at the stat line, one of the key numbers is the 9 boards. Without Drew out there, the Lakers needed as much help as possible. They struggled getting one and out stops in the fourth. When he gets in the mix on the glass (while doing all the other things he does) that makes this team much tougher. Defensively, Kobe had a couple of miscues during that fourth-quarter fall apart, but he came up big with that final block in regulation. Long 24 hours for No. 24, but he manned up on and off the court. The Stats: He scored 36 points on 13-24 shooting (1-2 from three, 9-10 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 38 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He was short on a pull-up wing jumper in transition. He faced up and swished a fallaway from 10 feet. He attacked strong to his right and pulled up on the baseline for a jumper. He made a tech FT. He missed a step-through in the lane. He sank a step-back jumper from a foot behind the FT line. Way short on a wing jumper off the screen. He drew FTs on a lob dunk attempt, he made both. He drew FTs on some fakes on a baseline jumper, he made both. He drained a turnaround from the wing. He missed a tough corner fallaway at the end of the half. He had 13 points on 4-8 shooting in just 15 minutes. Second Half: He hit Lamar on the screen-roll for a layup. He stretched way back and hit a fading, hanging, impossible jumper on his way down in the paint. He scooped up a loose ball and pushed it out for a layup. He probed and sank an elbow pull-up. He jump passed to Lamar for the slam. He drained a step-back jumper from the top of the key. He grabbed the post entry, pumped once, twice and lost three defenders before banking. He had 10 points on 5-5 shooting in the third. He sank a wing turnaround out of a timeout. He drained a quick turnaround from the wing on his next touch. He was called for an off-ball foul trying to shed a man on a spin. He then ball-watched on the defensive end and his man scored an easily layup left alone under the hoop. He missed an open pull-up jumper at the FT line. He took an inbounds and contact, then forced a behind-the glass jumper and missed out of a timeout (bad shot selection). He missed an easy bank from the left side. With 1:03, he made a tech off an illegal D to cut it to 1 (how huge was that?). He then missed a long wing step-back. He missed a one-footed step-back on the baseline with 14 seconds left. He drained a three with 4.8 seconds left to tie it up. He had 31 points on 12-21 shooting in regulation. Overtime: He drew a double team and hit Fish for the three. He was short on an elbow jumper and wanted the foul. He grabbed an offensive board and missed a short jumper in the lane (Pau tipped it in). He drew a double and hit Lamar for the dunk. He hit a long jumper (toe barely on the three line) with the shotclock about to expire. He was called for a travel in the backcourt after grabbing a board up by 5. He hit Shannon off a long bounce pass for a score. He was fouled with 24 seconds left and hit one FT. He was fouled again with 13 left and made both.

Gasol -- -- One of the reasons the wheels came off so badly in the fourth was the Lakers inability to get Pau going. He had Dalembert on him defensively, making the low post tough. When that happens, he needs to switch gears and go to his high-post game or work the two-man sequences. That never happened. As a result, it was pretty much everyone leaning on Kobe to figure their way out of that mess. No points for Pau in the fourth, but he had his lone offensive board on a tip in in OT. Defensively, the Lakers were killed 16-4 on in the offensive glass stat (Dalembert had 9 offensive boards). Pau had some flat-footed moments in that regard, despite his own decent numbers, and Phil got after him. Both Dalembert and Hason Thompson seemed automatic all night from the perimeter. Pau matched up with Cousins defensively before Dalembert and Cousins didn't last the night, playing just 14 minutes. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-16 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 13 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 47 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He missed a turnaround fallaway from the post. He sank a baseline jumper off the kickout from Ron. He swished an elbow jumper. He was blocked on an attack across the lane. No one covered him and he dunked under the hoop on the pass from Shannon. He was tied up from behind trying to power up, he lost the jumpball. He swiped the ball and pushed out the break. Quick attack from the elbow and he scored an And-1 on Cousins (sending Cousins to the bench with his third foul), he made the FT. He missed an awkward reverse attempt. He blocked Evans drive at the rim. He attacked across the lane and scored a layup. He missed a jumper in the lane. He swatted Dalembert under the hoop. He had 11 points on 5-10 shooting and 6 boards in 22 minutes. Second Half: He and Lamar denied an Evans drive. He came up short on a jumphook in the middle of the paint. He missed a long baseline jumper next time down. He faced up and attacked Cousins for the And-1 layup (sending Cousins to the bench with his fourth), he made the FT. He fumbled a ball away trying to iso. He scored a layup off the screen-roll with Lamar. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting in the third. He was swatted by Dalembert on iso. Overtime: He tipped in a Kobe miss.

Lamar -- -- Although Pau is more of a focal point in the offense, Lamar has gone about out-scoring him in the last two games. It sure is nice to have him come off the bench and drop back-to-back 20+ point games in must-win situations. He needed to get double-digit boards in this game. The Pau/LO combo was overwhelmed on the boards and that nearly cost them. Those two have really struggled to play tall lately. Some very nice screen-roll sequences involving Lamar in this game (both passing and scoring). He was also finishing strong around the rim. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-16 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 7 assists, 1 block and 2 fouls in 45 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He tied up Evans to deny a drive and win a jumpball. He attacked off the pinch post and powered in a layup. Left alone, he drained a wing three. He missed a wing three, way short. Early position, he took the pass and powered up quickly to earn FTs, he made both. He missed a wing three. He missed a pull-up jumper when the offense stalled. He had 7 points on 2-5 shooting and 3 boards. Second Half: He scored a layup off the screen-roll with Kobe. He attacked Cousins in early offense for a layup. He slammed off the bustout when the Lakers forced a turnover. He slammed off the jump pass from Kobe. He hit Pau on the screen-roll for a layup at the end of the half. He had 8 points on 4-4 shooting in the third. He missed a top-of-the-key jumper. He was stripped in the post, but hustled back to challenge a shot, grab the board and tip-toe the baseline to keep it. He flashed off the screen, took the pass and hit the jumphook in the middle of the paint. He missed a drive left. He missed a three. Overtime: He slammed off the jump pass from Kobe. He scored an And-1 layup trailing the scary Fish/Artest break, he made the FT.

Artest -- -- A tale of two halves for Artest. In the first half, he filled in very well at the PF for the Lakers. He scrapped for points, assists and defensively had 4 steals to help ignite the break. He was even pushing the ball up the court with speed. In the second half, he couldn't do a thing right. He was firing blanks down the stretch, playing right into the Kings hands in regulation. Everything earned in the first three quarters was given right back. That was a total train wreck. Too bad because he really was a catalyst in the first half. In the fourth, we've got to play to our strengths and Ron has to be really careful about not putting himself into bad situations. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-11 shooting (1-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 47 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: Poor entry pass and it was knocked away. He posted up Evans, drew the D and hit Pau for the jumper. He swiped a ball from Evans, pushed it out and airballed a wing jumper. He shed Evans in the post for a layup. He blocked a jumper in the corner. He was blocked by Evans on a layup attempt. He drained an early offense wing three off a screen. He gave up three FTs on a swing through move on the other end to give it back. He made a bad read defensively on an unneeded switch and his man scored a layup (Phil called a timeout and Ron owned up as Johnson was involved in the miscue). He couldn't finish a layup on a drive. He pushed up the break and hit Shannon for the jumper. He sealed down low and earned FTs on the layup attempt, he made both. He swiped a bounce pass and pushed it up with speed. He swiped a pass and it led to a Shannon breakaway dunk. He had 7 points on 2-5 shooting, 3 assists, 4 steals and 1 block in 20 minutes. Second Half: He was hacked working off the low-post handoff from Pau, he made one FT. He airballed a long heave trying to beat the shotclock. He was blocked on a step-back in the paint (he wanted the foul). He fumbled the ball away on a push out (three-pointer the other way). He missed a corner three off the inbounds return pass. Too short on a post up fade in the paint. He missed a wide open corner three on the break. He attacked and threw it away for a dunk with 3 minutes left. He missed a three on the next possession. Overtime: Horrible pass, turning it over with over a minute left trying make a post entry. He got out on the break, took the Fish pass and hit Lamar for the And-1.

Fisher -- -- DFish, like several others, had a number of miscues in the fourth. Poor defense, poor execution...it was all at play. Once Kobe saved the victory and sent it to OT, it was on. DFish swished a huge three to throw the first punch. Later, he also led a breakaway that ended up with a Lamar And-1 score. I really don't mind that he had a couple of misses late in the fourth. The Lakers were shrinking and no one was getting it done. He has that knack for stepping up when others don't. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-9 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a forced 20-footer. He grabbed a blocked shot, moved over to the wing and banked in a jumper (there's the bank again). He put on a burst of speed and muscled a layup over Evans in early offense. He drained a wing jumper off the weakside screen. Second Half: He attacked the paint in early offense and scored an easy layup. He erased a 4-on-1 break taking a charge on Evans. He deflected a pass and it led to a Lamar breakaway dunk. He got a piece of the ball on a drive to help get a stop in the paint. He ball-watched and his man tipped in a miss. He missed a layup on the break. He was blocked on a drive. Overtime: He swished a three to start the OT. He missed a three looking for a foul. He pushed up the break aggressively and it led to a Lamar And-1.

Brown -- -- And we start at the bench write-ups with Shannon, a sign of the Lakers situation going into the game. Shannon had a great close to the third quarter sinking back-to-back threes on inside-out sequences. In the fourth, however, he played like he was feeling it and missed a couple quick-fire jumpers. During that stretch the Laker lead was trimmed in half. The Lakers couldn't put out the fire. But before we dwell on too much on those two misses, those two makes from beyond the arc are really a couple of the more important things to come out of this game. Shannon has got to get his game on track. The Lakers need his three shooting to find itself again. It had gotten progressively worse as the season went along. He's made 5-12 from three in his last 5 games. He needs to keep that rolling. To do that, just look back at the two he made in this game -- both came on inside-out, catch-and-shoot sequences. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting (2-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: Easiest post entry pass he's had all year (no one covered Pau as the Lakers set up and Shannon gave it to him for a dunk). He was stripped on a drive. He choked a layup on the break (dunk the other way). He hit a pull-up wing jumper in transition. He scored a layup on the break with Luke. He threw down the lob from Luke on the break. Second Half: He sank a wing three on a kickout from Pau. He drained a wing three from the other side on a kickout from Lamar. He missed a third attempt from three at the third quarter buzzer. He made a tech FT. He missed a long, challenged jumper in early offense out of a timeout. He missed a pull-up jumper on the break. Overtime: He scored a layup off the long bounce pass from Kobe.

Walton -- -- If arson investigators look at what helped fuel the flames tonight in the fourth quarter for Kings, Luke had a can of gasoline and matches on him as he left the court. There was a 20 second sequence where he had 2 turnovers and the lead quickly to 14. Just seconds prior to that, they had led by 20. There was just a whole lot of ball game left and the Kings took that momentum and ran with it. The Stats: He didn't score or shoot, had 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He bounced to LO in the post for FTs in early offense. He sagged off Thornton who was already red hot and gave up a three. He grabbed a loose ball, pushed it out and hit Shannon filling the lane for a layup. He lobbed to Shannon on the break for the throwdown. Second Half: He was called for a travel after a poor post sequence. He then threw a pass away in the backcourt for a dunk.

Smith -- -- In a very big game to close the season, Phil resorted to some crazy lineups: Lamar, Joe, Luke, Trey and Shannon to start the fourth? And we wonder why we couldn't sustain a lead? We can be harsh on the team, but look at that lineup again. That happened. So get yourself together, get out of the fetal position. The season isn't doomed because Lamar, Joe, Luke, Trey and Shannon couldn't hold a lead. The Stats: He didn't score or get credit for a shot, had 1 assist and 2 fouls in 3 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He swished a baseline fallaway to beat the shotclock (it was taken away several minutes later after a review). He posted up and hit Lamar cutting off the screen for an easy score.

Caracter -- -- He came in for Pau with a couple minutes left in the half. This was one of our weaker stints. He looked a bit confused and out of sync. Phil didn't go back to it in the second half. One would think Phil will lean on his vets in the post season, if healthy. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting in 2 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He was immediately blocked by Dalembert on an uninspired post up after entering the game (switch gears to your pick and pop game). Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Johnson -- -- Very good first half stint in his debut. He worked out of the offense to create some points, showing some touch on a midrange jumper. That midrange area for the guards is something only really Kobe and Fish exploit with consistency. Blake's midrange game is probably the weakest part of his offense. Shannon always seems to take the shots when someone is right on him. Trey didn't have any real issues in working out of the Tri or off other players. Defensively, seemed to be the area where he really needed to think the game. Those team D rotations and help sequences have to be second nature. He did a decent job with that, but one wishes we might have had him for longer to get him up to speed. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a challenged wing jumper off the split play. Next time down, he worked the Pau screen and hit a leaning jumper at the FT line. He reversed directions off the pinch post to get into the middle of the lane and sank the leaning 12-footer (nice read out of the Tri and should have been an And-1). He took body contact on a head-fake and jumper and got a late whistle, he made both FTs. He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting in 8 minutes. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Phil -- -- This was Phil's last regular season game and he finished it in "Cow Town" as he had once dubbed Sacramento during the heated days of the Lakers vs. Kings battles. They gave the fans a show... No Bynum, Barnes or Blake and a new guard in Trey Johnson to shuffle the deck... He called a timeout with 4:37 left in the first quarter, leading 18-17. Too many points for the Kings early on... Phil brought in Shannon for Fisher and Luke for Artest with 2:22 left up by 2... The Lakers led 31-26 after the first quarter... Phil started a Pau, Artest, Luke, Johnson, Brown unit. They extended to a 38-30 lead, forcing a King timeout... Phil brought in Lamar for Luke and Fisher for Shannon with a 14-point lead. Some good work by that unit to push out on the break with Artest in LO's spot at PF... He brought in Kobe for Artest (extra run for Trey)... Artest returned for Trey to get the starters back in there to close. Pau picked up a foul, though, and Phil brought in DC. The 16-point lead was trimmed down quickly on an 8-0 run. Very poor close to the half... The Lakers led 56-48 at the half. They shot 51 percent (21-41, 2-5 from three, 12-12 from the line). The Kings shot 47.6 percent (20-42, 4-9 from three, 4-9 from the line). Kings had a 7-2 advantage on the offensive glass. Lakers had an 8-2 advantage in turnovers... Coaches got on the team for relaxing after getting the lead. (Just wait.)... After the Lakers pulled out to double digits, the Kings went on a 7-0 run to cut it to 6... Phil called a timeout and the Lakers came back in and busted out to a 17-point lead... Phil sat Kobe for Shannon with 2 minutes left up by 14... Nice close to the third (a couple Shannon inside-out threes) to get their largest lead... The Lakers led 88-70 heading into the fourth quarter... Phil started a Lamar, Smith, Luke, Trey, Shannon unit... A 20-point lead was trimmed to 14 when a timeout came with 8:30 left (thanks, Luke)... Phil brought in Pau and Artest for Lamar and Smith... It was trimmed to 91-81 a minute and half later and Phil called another timeout. He went with his entire starting lineup with 7:22 left. Going to close with the big guns... Horrible D by the team and the lead was trimmed to 4... The lead was just 95-93 when another timeout came with 2:35 left. A 23-7 quarter so far... The Lakers lost the lead 97-95 with 1:12 left... Down three with 9 seconds left, Phil called a timeout. They got the ball into Pau at the three, like Kobe took it and drilled a three to tie it up with 4 seconds left. "I felt like I was going to catch them off guard by shooting it quick and it did," Kobe said. They sent it to OT with a stop... They pulled out to a 5-point lead with 2 minutes left. After a series of stops, they finally scored again and took an 8-point lead. That would seal it... Lakers survived to claim the second seed... SacTown Closed. Tough break, Kings fans...

[lounger]

Playoffs, here we come!

Thanks DB!

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB. What a long slog this season was.

[sgtpepper1972]

Thanks DB!

[waterman40]

Thanks DB for your hard work all regular season.
_________________
LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[NoHarmNoFoul]

thanks very much, as always
_________________
***************************************
"What will you all do when Mitch has rebuilt this team?

Who will you aim your irrational anger at then?"
-PopcornMachine

[City_Dawg]

And now the hard part begins.

Thanks DB.
_________________
*sighs*

!...

[KobeJaws]

Finally the real season begins Sunday!

[Tanlentueux]

[limchrc]

thanks

[JM]

Thanks DB, feel aspeep with about a minute to go in the game. Horrible game. Your recap is most appreciated, as always. You perform a valuable service to those of us who cannot stay up late for OT games. Ha.

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

the price of the 4th quarter meltdown was almost the 2-seed...glad we were able to pull out the win.

can't wait for the playoffs to start!
_________________
"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."

[Rick12322]

to be honest, the first time Luke came in he did everything well and the Laker's went on a run. Luke was a part of those offensive sequences where Trey ran the offense and had success. It was his second run where the wheels fell off, beginning with Shannon who tried to force a couple shots, and when he leans back for a fall away, it generally clanks. That's what's so frustrating about him, he doesn't know how to operate in the offense to get the good shots, and he can't shoot worth a lick when shooting off the dribble or taking contested shots. Shannon needs to catch and lean into his shot. Fall aways brick.

Luke was surprised with traps twice by SAC, and simply was overwhelmed by the athleticism. But he wasn't alone in succumbing to the pressure, as even when the starters came in it took until the end of the 4th to break the pressure. I was surprised and who wouldn't be, here's a team that plays no defense and all of a sudden their defense springs to life.

[Luca Brasi]

DB,

thanks.
_________________
"i was born down in the valley where the sun refused to shine, but i'm climbin' up to the highlands, goin' to make that mountain mine" ~ Lakers, 2011

[Arbitrary]

Let's go win that ring!

[Big]

Thank goodness for Kobe

[Addicus]

I admire your ability to not only watch the lack of effort this Lakers team has put forth at the end of the season, but not let it make your write ups suck. Thanks DB.
_________________
Stop crying and start doing.

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

[Mr. Zero]

Kobe always plays well when he is facing a problem that is public.
_________________
Phil Luke