SUNS -at- LAKERS - 1/10 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

M-V-P... M-V-P... M-V-P... Kobe brought the house down in the fourth quarter with back-to-back slams, including a two-handed reverse alley-oop as the Lakers ran away with it down the stretch. He was a hoop away from reaching the 50-point mark in the 99-83 win against the Suns.

"Not bad for the 7th best player in the league," he said afterward, ribbing the so-called experts (and any fans who agreed with them).

He can throwdown off the court, as well, it appears.

Sensational game by No. 24. Even more amazing in that he can play through injuries like nobody.

"If you open him up he might be a machine," Mike Brown said.

While Kobe had the lead role in this production, his supporting cast gave an excellent performance. From the screen-roll D by Steve Blake and Pau Gasol to excellent minutes from Luke Walton at the back-up PF, the Lakers held the Suns to just 15 points in the fourth quarter.

"We were able to buckle down and get some good stops," Kobe said.

Hopefully, they can get their reserve bigman (McRoberts, Murphy and Caracter) healthy quickly because you don't want to rely on Luke having to deliver a second performance like this one.


Kobe -- -- Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash. Dunk. Dunk. Maybe that will silence the doubters? Probably wishful thinking. Kobe picked apart the Suns on his way to the high-point game of the NBA season. Sure would be nice to see him healthy in the playoffs (unlike the last two years). Just a bucket away from 50, he had it going on early with 17 points in the first quarter. He was scoring inside and out throughout the game. His deadly midrange game was set up off of the post iso's and off-ball screens. Not a tremendous amount of dribbling from him, just enough getting to his sweet spots at the FT line and wings. Very good spacing by the team tonight. And when the doubles came, he'd either shoot away from them or move it to a teammate. He had 42 points against the Suns last year, but that was in a triple OT game. Different beast than this one. His 48 points are the most ever scored in a game by a player who was in at least his 16th season. Kobe was named Western Conference Player of the Week. He eats those for breakfast. The Stats: He scored 48 points on 18-31 shooting (0-3 from three, 12-13 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He faked Hill into the air, moved over to the FT line and hit the easy jumper. He missed a long wing jumper next time down. He spun on the break and banked in the short one. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He swished a pull-up baseline jumper. He sank an And-1 face-up jumper from the baseline, he missed the FT. We got back his miss and he sank a line-drive jumper from the top of the key. He hit a short baseline jumper after posting up Nash. He didn't draw iron on a three in early offense. He posted up Shannon, pump-faked him into the air and swished the baseline And-1 from a tricky angle behind the board, he made the FT. He iso'd on Shannon and sank a step-back wing jumper. He then stole the ball from Shannon at the end of the quarter. He had 17 points on 8-11 shooting. He swished a pull-up 20-footer. He drew three FTs on Hill on a sideline three attempt, he made all of them. He made a tech FT. He missed a jumper, got it back, attacked, spun and missed another hanging attempt in the lane. He missed a tough step-back trying to beat the buzzer. He had 23 points on 9-16 shooting in the first half. Second Half: He sank a baseline jumper to beat the shotclock. He sank a 20-footer from behind a screen. He missed a tough wing jumper off a spin. He was called for a foul on what looked like a pretty good block on Gortat. Stripped in mid air, he airballed the jumper. He missed a wing three. He missed a long wing jumper off the high screen. Busted play, he tried to create at the top of the key, turnover just fumbling it away unforced, layup the other way. He made a tech FT. He forced up a tough turnaround jumper after his initial moves didn't work and he missed. Great seal under the hoop, Blake fed him for the easy layup. He was hacked on a double team for FTs, he made both. Back in after a rest and he quickly swished a tricky fading wing jumper against the shotclock. He pumped two defenders in the air an nearly made a one-handed chuck from the wing after taking contact, he made both FTs. He cut under the hoop off a screen and scored a layup when Barnes spotted him free. He iso'd on Hill, the D got worried about off-ball movement from other Lakers, Kobe blew past Hill to his right and with no help to stop him, he slammed. He missed a three and then as Hill tried to cheat down court and the Lakers recovered the rebound, Kobe cut to the hoop, took a lob from Barnes and threw down the reverse jam (Staples went crazy). He flashed to the strong side, took the pass and hit the step-back jumper. He sank a baseline jumper after freeing himself up. He was fouled on a jumper in the lane with 35 seconds left (crowd wants 50), he made both. They had a chance for him to go for 50 but ran the clock down and Kobe gave Shannon a hug for the last several seconds of the game.

Gasol -- -- Excellent defensive work on the two-man game. The Suns offense bogged down when they had to go up against Blake and Pau/Luke defending the screen-rolls. Brown gave Pau a lot of praise on that end of the floor afterward. Offensively, Pau and Kobe led the team down the stretch (a great sequence where Pau had set some screens to free Kobe for scores, then Pau popped out for his own score as the D was concerned with Kobe). Pau was aggressive with his shot throughout. While he missed some jumpers early, he dialed it in as the game went along. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-13 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 12 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 39 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He missed an open 14-footer from the wing. Great bust out and Barnes hit him for the soaring breakaway dunk. He missed a lefty jumphook. He missed a jumper just inside the elbow. He missed another 15-footer short. He tapped out a missed FT to get another possession. He missed a two-footer. He had 2 points on 1-6 shooting and 4 boards. He gave up a putback jam getting out worked by two bigs at once. He was called or offensive interference on a putback. He swished a wing jumper off the two-man game with Blake. He kept a board alive to Luke, who then gave it back to Pau in the lane for the short jumper. He had 6 points on 3-8 shooting. Second Half: He slammed off the corner entry from Barnes. He couldn't grab a lob pass at the rim and we blew a sure hoop. He had a basket erased on what looked like a great And-1 as he was falling backwards in the lane, the didn't give it to him for some reason (he made both FTs). He scored a lefty jumphook at the front of the rim after grabbing a missed jumper by Luke. He swished an elbow jumper behind a Bynum screen. He popped out to the FT line and hit the jumper (the D was concerned about Kobe who had scored off a Pau screen on the previous play). He airballed a long wing jumper, getting off balance and the ball with the shotclock winding down.

Bynum -- -- With the perimeter-oriented Suns and the continual screen-roll action that had to be defended, the Lakers saw more success with the smaller Pau/Walton front court. While Bynum isn't as quick-footed, I really think the defensive issues had more to do with DFish. He was at least two steps slower than Blake and also got caught switching on defenders for mismatches (these would sometimes result in open shots elsewhere). Drew did get stuck not showing on some screens and that resulted in two-on-one situations with the ball in Nash's hands and Fish in no-man's land. You will lose against that. Offensively, Drew had a bad force attempt against a double and another airball against a double. The team again seemed to struggle to execute with Bynum leading the second unit to start the fourth. They looked good in the first half and Drew had some very good moments then (offensive board for FTs, nice iso jumphook and a layup off a spin). The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 8 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He missed a lefty hook in the middle of the lane. He backed his man down, spun away from a double and hit the jumphook with his left. He took a board away from Lopez (snatching it from behind him) and then drew FTs on the shot attempt, he made one FT. He posted up on the right block, faced up, backed down with a dribble and hit the baseline jumphook. He gathered a lob pass and scored a layup. He was stripped trying to back his man down (too many dribbles). He tried to force a shot through a double team and was blocked easily, got to hit an open man on that. Second Half: Not close on a jumphook, we fed him again on a duck in and he drew FTs, he made one. He cleaned up a poor attempt from the wing by Kobe with an easy putback. Looked like he mis-timed a pass from Kobe instead of dunking it and was fouled as he went up to score after grabbing it, he made both FTs. He airballed a jumphook, spinning away from a double team. He swatted Brown's drive.

Barnes -- -- Great passing game from Matt. He spotted Kobe in the fourth with a couple of long passes from the wing spot that resulted in easy scores and Staples going crazy. He also hit Pau with a nice corner entry for an easy score and a breakaway dunk. Nice job supporting your two All Stars. He also hit the boards with his usual activity. Too bad he couldn't connect on one of his threes, he might have had a 7-7-7 game. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 7 boards, 7 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a three, got it back and missed another. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. Nice hustle on the boards (an offensive board led to a Bynum score). He had 5 boards in the first quarter. He cut off Luke, took the pass and missed a bank (looked like he was fouled). Second Half: Nice corner entry to Pau who sealed his man for a dunk. Horrible outlet pass to Kobe, went right out of bounds. He scored a layup getting out quickly off a rebound and taking a pass from Fish. He nearly fell out of bounds, but gathered the ball and swished a baseline jumper. Great feed to Kobe who cut along the baseline off the Pau screen under the hoop for an easy score. Nice hustle to close out on a three after the D scrambled (we got the miss). He spotted Kobe busting free behind the D and lobbed to the front of the rim for the two-handed throw down (Staples went nuts).

Fisher -- -- Nash was able to get just about whatever he wanted against DFish. He was never concerned about a shot challenge and could easily probe the middle of the D off the screens. The Laker defense was Swiss cheese. Had Fish closed this game, it's very likely the Lakers lose, even with Kobe going off. The difference was night and day between Fisher and Blake. You see it on the run the Suns went in the first quarter with DFish the main issue...and then the run the Lakers went on, the moment Fish sat. Fish also got caught switching on mismatches that collapsed the D and resulted in open threes for Frye on several occasions. Offensively, he finally hit a three. I think those sideline three's might be more in his range right now. He just looks much more comfortable shooting from there than out on the wings or top of the key. Mitch had some pre-game words that mentioned their concern about Fish starting at the PG spot. Hopefully, they can find a good upgrade before the trade deadline. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -17. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper off the screen. Brown called a timeout when Nash went past him for an easy layup on the other end. He swished a baseline jumper after letting a man fly by and moving in closer. He threw a sloppy pass into Pau's shins (led to a three the other way). He missed a wing jumper wroking off the Kobe screen. He attacked in transition the next trip down, charge (at this moment DFish was a -12 and Blake is a +17). Second Half: He missed a wide open sideline three. Finally, he knocked down an open sideline three off the Kobe skip pass. He hit Barnes busting out for a layup.

Blake -- -- Battle of the Steve's. Just some superb defense by Blake throughout the game. The difference between Blake and Fisher was about as big as the +/- differential. Fish had a -17, while Blake had a team-high +33. He battled through screens again and again, recovered much quicker and shut down plays. That was some high quality D against a very tricky cover. Offensively, he also led the team in assists (had as many as Nash). The Lakers kept their turnovers to just 14. The Stats: The Action: Nice entry to Kobe over a fronting Nash for an easy jumper. He drained a corner three on the swing pass from Luke. Nice lob to Drew who gathered it and scored a layup. He missed a long three trying to beat the shotclock. He had Bynum wide open for a lob off the post spin, but threw it way too high. He set up Pau for an open jumper off the two-man game. He had 5 assists in the half. Second Half: He missed an open sideline three off a Metta kickout. Nice entry pass to Kobe who sealed his man under the hoop and scored a layup. Great D to force Price into a bd pass after driving. He should have at the FT line instead of trying to thread the needle to Kobe, turnover. He plowed Nash over going for a loose ball and the Lakers were given the ball, wow. Superb D on Nash working through the screens and forcing the Suns into a bad shot.

Peace -- -- Good game from Metta. He was able to make some things happen offensively off the dribble and in the post. He still again shot blanks from three. I thought his form looked better, however. Perhaps, he'll start to knock a few down. Missing doesn't seem to be stopping him right now. Defensively, he was very active on the glass. That extra bit of energy and hustle out there was apparent. Those are the things you can control, so hopefully he continues to bring that. Brown gave him more minutes in this one and mentioned him after the game for his rebounding. The Lakers won the rebounding battle 49-35. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +23. The Action: He blocked a shot on help D to save Blake in the post. He posted up and hit a baseline step-back. Nice dish to Pau off a drive, Pau couldn't convert and Metta missed a tip. Great Triangle sequence feeding Luke from the corner as he cut baseline for a layup. He was called for a clear-out trying to create off the dribble. He missed a sideline three (better form on that one). Nice job on the boards and better offensive execution in his first stint. Excellent read of Nash in trouble and he snagged his kickout, he was then fouled, he made one FT. He had 3 points on 1-3 shooting and 7 boards. Second Half: He attacked off the dribble (in control) and hit a short, open baseline fade. Not close on a quick-fire three off a screen (worst attempt of the game). He missed a baseline turnaround over Shannon.

Goudelock -- -- Rough minutes for the rookie. The Lakers want more dribble penetration, so he's trying to do a little of that. However, he had a couple bad turnovers off the dribble that aren't what you want to see. Just poor court vision. He might be suffering from a little tunnel vision right now with the speed of the game and the athleticism out there. Still, got to get the rookies some minutes. This game, however, could have brown thinking about giving Morris a little time. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting from three to go wtih 2 turnovers in 9 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: Poor D on the screen roll, getting burned for a layup. Second Half: He attacked and threw a pass away after jumping in the air. Another on a drive and pass out to where he was hoping would be an open player. He missed a wing three.

Ebanks -- -- With Murphy also out, there was a thought that Ebanks might get some minutes. He came in with 30 seconds left in both halves for Luke. So he got a minute.The Stats: He didn't score on 0-1 shooting in 1 minute. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He hit the shotclock on a halfcourt attempt at the buzzer. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Walton -- -- Luke picked a great time to have his game of the year. No Murphy (or McRoberts or Caracter) tonight and with the Suns in town, Brown went with Luke at the back-up PF. He moved the ball well, killed the Suns on the offensive glass and even scored a few times. Brown let Luke finish the fourth while Bynum sat. This won't happen often, so enjoy it and give Luke some props for looking ready to play. His defense on the screen-rolls was very strong. He was able to use the mobility at that spot to help contain the PGs and recover. His mobility also allowed him to kill the Suns on the offensive glass again and again. "I can't say enough about Luke's effort tonight. He played extremely well," Kobe said. Brown mentioned that Luke gave a good example as a veteran for the younger guys on how important it is to stay ready. Luke's teammates gave him some great support. "Just like I would be excited for them, they were excited for me to get a chance to play," he said. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 8 boards (5 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +32. The Action: Nice box out to secure a defensive board. He somehow got a stop against Gortat in the post. His shoe came off, forcing Brown to burn a timeout when Blake was doubled. Extra pass to Blake for the corner three. He got tapped on a wing three. He cut baseline out of the strong-side triangle, took a pass from Metta and scored a layup. He got to another offensive board and reset the offense. He grabbed a board tapped out to him and then hit Pau in the lane for the short jumper. He had 5 boards and 2 assists. Second Half: He swished a 20-footer off the Kobe double team. He got completely tapped on a baseline jumper that rattled down and out (Pau cleaned it up). He missed a corner jumper, short. He was a bit foul prone in the third. Nice job tipping an offensive board away from Shannon and scoring the layup. He found Pau popping open at the FT line for a jumper. Great offensive board, beating several Suns to it and it led to a Barnes to Kobe lob.

Brown -- -- Nash chewed apart DFish and the bigs to start the game, so Brown called a timeout after 3 minutes, trailing 8-4... The Suns extended to a 19-10 lead, forcing another Laker timeout. He brought in Walton for Bynum, Blake for Fisher and Metta for Barnes. The Lakers took a 1-point lead on a 10-0 run just 2 minutes later... They closed the quarter on a 15-0 run to lead 25-19... He started a Bynum, Luke, Metta, Goudelock, Blake unit... They extended it to a 12-point lead... Up 8, Brown went back with his starters midway through the quarter... He sat Bynum for Luke a couple minutes later... He sat Fish for Blake (difference on both ends was pretty dramatic in this half)... Good job by the bench. Metta and Luke combined for 12 boards in 24 minutes. Blake played better D... The Lakers led 46-42. They shot 44 percent (19-43, 1-8 from three, 7-10 from the line). The Suns shot 41.5 percent (17-41, 3-7 from three, 5-6 from the line). The Lakers had 14 assists with just 6 turnovers... Coaches wanted better defense on Nash... Up by 2, Brown went with the Pau, Luke, Metta, Kobe, Blake unit with 4 minutes left in the quarter. They extended the lead slightly again... The Lakers led 73-68 heading into the fourth... He went with Bynum, Luke, Metta, Goudelock, Blake. He called a quick timeout a minute later with the lead cut to 1... He sat Goudelock (turnover prone) and Luke for Kobe and Pau up by 3 a couple minutes later... He brought back in Luke for Bynum shortly later... The Lakers extended to an 11-point lead off two Kobe slams... The Lakers had 27 assists with 15 turnovers this game. Better. The Suns had just 4 fastbreak points...

[forzaCOREA]

1st?! thanks db

[LakERIC]

After the first quarter, I was thinking "Can he get past 81??"...then reality set in.

[Dr. Laker]

Thx - missed the game so your recap is much appreciated.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[The_Joker]

I think this is a good weight for Bynum to play at. He appears as strong as he was last game, except he has more lift and is a little quicker.

One thing the Bynum trade crowd should keep in mind is that Bynum can still mature physically. He can very well overtake Dwight by the time he's Dwight's age.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!! Game started slow but what a fun 4th quarter to watch!!

[George W Buss]

The way Kobe is playing now reminds me of Jordan in his later days. Mostly post up and mid-range shots, but very efficient.

[magic_bryant]

[busym]

A good game and a win. Great writeup DB. Thank you.

[LakerEric]

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

even though Kobe scored a bulk of the points it was good to see others chipping in. was also glad to see that Kobe only had 2 turnovers.
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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."

[ChefLinda]

Thanks, DB. Nice to see Luke get some love. He earned it.

And the Black Mamba lives! Now we can really see how injuries plagued him all last season. I'd like to send some love to that doctor in Germany.

[Laker7]

Thanks DB. I was traveling to North Dakota last night for the birth of my second grandchild and missed the game. I really appreciate the recap.
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[LakersMD]

Bynum has really got to learn quickly how to pass out of double teams. Kobe was incredible. Happy for Walton though I would have liked to see Ebanks get some more run. I hope Brown lets Goudelock learn from his mistakes, I think he can be a player - most of his misses from 3 have been in-and-out and he does provide some offensive attack of the dribble that the Lakers need.

[AceFresh]

Went to the game tonight and yelled my arse off!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6669037743_979e290652.jpg
Had to make sure the 119's were loud.

I could of swore Kobe looked me in the eye when I yelled "You dropping 40 tonight Mamba?!" before he came in the fourth


Thanks DB!

[limchrc]

Thanks, nice win.

[Arbitrary]

Thanks DB!

No stats on Blake tho.

[DzLaker]

[RVCdesigns]

LUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Klone_dd]

Vintage Kobe. I was at the point where I thought everything he shot was going in and I started feeling sorry for Grant Hill.

Bynum's assist to turnover ratio for the year: 4:21. 5 times as many TOs. Yikes!!

Excellent steady game from Pau. Great help from Blake, MWP and Luuuuke! Luke looked like he needed the barf bag after his 26 minutes.

[Sister Golden Hair]

[yinoma2001]

Anyone know of how effective (from an advanced statistical standpoint, b/c our eyes know how much better Blake is than Fisher) the Blake-Kobe vs. Fisher-Kobe lineups are?
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals

[sec 110]

Thanks DB.

Absolutely amazing that Kobe can hardly dribble the ball with his right hand yet he still puts on a shooting clinic to the tune of 48 points...

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]