CLIPPERS -at- LAKERS - 11/2 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Three in a Row... A few weeks back, Mitch made this statement in Sports Illustrated: "There's been a lot of positive publicity surrounding this team, but I know when you lose three in a row that all of a sudden it's going to be 'Break up the Lakers.'"

I doubt he expected three losses to start the season -- something the Lakers haven't done in 34 years, no matter how many new systems and new players they've added. Come and gone have been greats like Kareem, Magic, Worthy and even tough years with journeymen ranging from Sedale Threatt to Chucky Atkins.
Look up in the rafters of the cavernous Staples Center to that Chick Hearn jersey. If you listen closely you can hear Chick calling those games in '78, his voice echoing through the smoky upper levels of the old Forum and it's 17,505 onlookers. I wonder what he said then.

One thing we know, this team will get better. Much, much better.

Without Steve Nash tonight, the Lakers slugged their way through another ugly loss. This was the Lakers most spirited effort of the 11 losses we've seen. How much of that was simply Kobe being Kobe? Seemed like a lot of it.

Some day a No. 24 will hang from those rafters next to Chick and the banners. Kobe scored 40 points on 14-23 shooting in 43 minutes, Brown running him hard on the third game in four nights on a bum wheel. Kobe would leave the arena in a walking boot.

"Feels like it's about to fall off right now," Kobe said of his foot. Offensively, this game was more reminiscent of last year when we had no PG, no system and had to rely on Kobe.

There was seemingly less system tonight than other games, but you have to go back to turnovers once again. They are bleeding the Lakers of possessions and shots. In turn, they give opponents opportunities for easy scores. Tonight, the Lakers had 20 turnovers off which the Clippers scored 23 points. Meanwhile, the Clippers had just 12 turnovers. It's hard to keep spotting teams so many extra possessions and points. The losses pile up as the Lakers haven't so much as sniffed a win.

"It's been the same song the last couple games," Brown said. "We play well in stretches and then we get bogged down by our turnovers."

A 105-95 loss. Brown is feeling the pressure now.

"We need a win. I'm not here trying to fool anyone. We do need a win," he said.


Kobe -- -- He had a 14-point first quarter, but a turnover prone third, then another high-scoring fourth. A lot of minutes and wear on Kobe in this one. The offense needed someone to bail them out on multiple occasions and lacked anyone or any system that could create. His 40 points were sensational. The 6 turnovers with 1 assist, not so much. He's averaging 5 turnovers a game, 13 of those in the last two. Ouch. He was aggressive and got to the line. His perimeter shot was dropping from all over. At times when he came up empty around the rim, a big was there to clean it up. We've lacked that dribble penetration that allows our bigs to do that. Good to see some more aggression there. Despite the hurt foot, Kobe looked pretty spry. Of course, it's November still. We need to keep him fresh later in the season. Hopefully, his foot doesn't worsen from the wear. The Stats: He scored 40 points on 14-23 shooting (2-3 from three, 10-10 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 6 turnovers and 1 foul in 43 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He reversed after cutting off the Pau high screen and taking the pass. He swiped a pass to save a dunk and missed a layup, but Pau tipped it in. He threw a lob pass behind Pau and out of bounds. He iso'd and swished a pull-up jumper. He missed a hanging jumper. He drew FTs getting obstructed on a cut, he made both. He made a tech FT. He missed a hanging 4-footer. He drained a 31-footer to beat the shotclock. He attacked off the three line into the heart of the D, drew contact and FTs, he made both. He attacked and had his up-and-under goaltended. He had 14 points on 4-7 shooting (5-5 from the line in the first quarter). He hit Jamison under the hoop for a layup. He missed a tough reverse, but Pau cleaned it up. Second Half: Easy steal on a bad pass and he took it for the uncontested layup. He missed a wing three on a split play. He threw a pass into the backcourt getting stuck in bad position on the baseline (that's a Princeton turnover with the D sagging into the paint to muck up his options. Just one of those team learning situations that we've seen a lot of). He iso'd, pumped several times and muscled in the And-1 elbow jumper, he made the FT. Too hot with a pass in the interior to Pau, turnover. He hit a pull-up 22-footer with a man on and the shotclock low. He missed a runner. He was fouled creating off the dribble, he made both FTs. He tried to create and threw it away. He had 23 points on 7-15 shooting and 5 turnovers after three quarters. His bank in the post was goaltended, hard to see exactly (that was close). He iso'd and swished a wing jumper. He attacked in transition and hit a pull-up FT jumper to force a timeout. He attacked a gap and swished the runner. He iso'd and hit a three. Next time down, he was trapped and it led to a Pau/D12 lob. Nice hustle to challenge a breakaway and we got a stop. He swished a baseline fade over Griffin. He barely hit rim on a heatcheck step-back three. He attacked baseline out of a timeout and reversed. He was fouled by CP3 on the perimeter, he made both FTs.

Howard -- -- He got strapped with some very cheap whistles in the first half, and that limited his minutes going forward. A couple of those really didn't need to be called. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying this was the case at all, but just using this as an example. If I were a betting man, I would have taken the Clippers who were favored by 1.5-4.5 points. That was easy money, but it was certainly made even easier by those types of calls. In no way am I saying the officiating was screwy, but if you want to see how easy it was for a guy like Tim Donaghy to manipulate a game, it's a simple couple of extra whistles. Back to tonight's reality. Howard didn't have quite the space to work like in the last game. Our passing sequences were also few and far between to set him up. If our execution isn't sharp, it's not as easy to make those over-the-top passes against the athletic Clipper bigmen. Offensively, there was zero cohesion out there. Defensively, he had some flashes where he was more in the right position at the right time for blocks than showing any sensational athleticism. He's still a ways from that. But his reads were better and more like himself. On the boards, he's still not a dominating presence yet. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-7 shooting (5-10 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 5 blocks, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He attacked baseline and drew FTs, he made one. CP3 flopped and drew a foul on Howard as Dwight was moving into the post in early offense, not a foul. He should have gone glass on a short jumphook miss after a nice rim run to get low position. He nailed his man to the ground with a ball fake, attacked baseline and scored a layup. He choked an easy And-1 layup (he knew he should have had that one), he made both FTs. Wow, another cheap foul in the lane with Butler initiating contact and he had to sit after 6 minutes. He missed an 18-footer. He kicked out to both Morris and Blake for threes. He hit Jamison cutting for FTs. Looked like a good strip, but he was whistled for his third foul (you can't gamble like that if you are already in foul trouble). He had 5 points and 2 boards in just 10 minutes. Second Half: Not close on a lefty jumphook on iso. He dunked off the high-low from Pau. He swatted Griffin twice in the post (could have been a foul on the first one), he controlled the second and taking it away the second time. Kobe set him up on the other end for FTs, he made one. He iso'd, attacked baseline and dunked. No box out and his man dunked it back in on a miss (Dwight picking up his fourth in the process). He was stripped in the post. He picked up an offensive foul trying to post up (extremely weak call again, you can't call those seriously). He posted up next time down and drew FTs, he missed both. He dunked off the Pau lob. He rejected a guard while standing. He was fouled fighting for a board in transition D, he made one FT.

Gasol -- -- Just not enough pressure by Pau against the Clipper D. I barely have notes. He did hit the boards hard and got some of his scores on the offensive end. This is why you don't get too high when he has a good game one night. He may be followed by a sluggish one shortly later. Defensively, he had his hands full against Griffin, but made him work for his 15 points on 15 shots along with 4 turnovers. Pau got faked onto Griffin's back a couple of times, but luckily didn't hit the floor too painfully. Pau's offense may fluctuate with the smoothness with which we run the system. He led the team with 3 assists, sad number. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-9 shooting to go with 14 boards (3 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He tipped in a missed Kobe layup. He missed a baseline face-up jumper. He missed a 16-footer on a kickout. He put back in a missed Kobe layup. He posted up and hit a jumphook with his right off the right block. He missed a short runner. He threw a pass away trying to hit Jamison in the interior. He had 6 points on 3-6 shooting and 8 boards. Second Half: He hit Howard on a high-low for a dunk. He missed an open elbow jumper. He cleaned up a Blake miss with an easy putback. He banked in a floater against token D.

Blake -- -- With Nash sidelined with the leg contusion from the last game, Blake got the start. Some really solid D against CP3 at times. Not easy to do, especially when there were plenty of iso sequences where we left him out on an island. Plus, our help D is still lagging. Offensively, he hit a couple of threes. He can trick anyone into thinking he's going to shoot a layup and then pass it out to someone at the three line. Doesn't matter how far deep in the paint he is or how open you think, it's never a given on whether he will try to finish or give it up. It's almost always the latter. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-6 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 6 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He bricked a layup in transition. He kicked out instead of trying to finish a couple of layups. He drained a wing three on a kickout from Dwight. He missed an open three straight away. Nice challenge on Paul to get a stop on iso. He was fouled on a drive by CP3 and lost the ball, no call, though (cost him a layup). He drained a corner three, left wide open. He had 6 points on 2-4 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He attacked CP3 with the shotclock low and drew FTs, he made both. He saved a layup with a semi-flop in transition. He got run over by Jordan and they called a foul on him, bogus call that was a very smart defensive play (thankfully Jordan missed both). His post entry pass was picked off. He missed a long wing jumper. He missed a baseline jumper.

Peace -- -- Metta spent a lot of time defensively against Crawford, which left some bizzaro lineups on the floor by Brown. On occasion, we tried to go into the post against Crawford, including once out of a timeout for a score. When we have Dwight off the floor and Jamison in you can see more post opportunities for Metta, which would play to his strength versus the 1-7 three shooting we saw tonight. At times, Matt Barnes wouldn't even guard MWP. He'd leave him and pressure the stars. That's why you need to get some shooters like Meeks out there, sliding Kobe to SF on occasion. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-10 shooting (1-7 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 assists, 1 board, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He was forced into a flat-footed chuck from three to beat the shotclock when a teammate gave him the percentage-buster pass. He posted up, took the pass and set up Howard for FTs with an interior feed. He missed an early offense three out of a timeout. He dribbled into a crowd, turnover (where you going, Metta?). He sank a wide open three in transition, he had all day and, thankfully, hit it. He posted up Crawford out of a timeout and made a layup. Second Half: He attacked and flipped in a layup over Butler. Nice job disrupting a lob pass to Griffin. He bricked a three. He stripped Paul with a reach on help D. He missed a wing three with the offense busted. He bricked a face-up jumper against Griffin. He drew FTs in the paint, he made one. He missed an open corner three. He missed an open three.

Hill -- -- He grabbed his back after getting blocked on a jumphook in the first half. I think that limited his action tonight. He's trying to fight his way through things as best he can, but it seems like every other game, he's wincing in pain. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 turnover and no fouls in 9 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He scooped up a ball in the paint and hit the jumphook. He missed an 18-footer straight away. His jumphook was blocked. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Jamison -- -- He switched between the PF and SF spots tonight. The Lakers simply need more from him. He's played very unselfish, almost to a fault, passing up open looks. Where he seems to excel is cutting off ball and getting open under the hoop. Some good reads there that few others seem to be making. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-2 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He passed up on an open three and it resulted in a Howard 18-footer a few seconds later. He cut off Dwight and drew FTs in the lane. He made one FT. He cut off Kobe and hit the layup. He stripped a man under the hoop to save a basket. He missed his scoop hook with the shotclock low. Second Half: He threw a pass away out of a timeout. He was fouled when Kobe hit him under the hoop, he made one FT.

Morris -- -- Brown gave him run as the first PG off the bench. Morris promptly gave up back-to-back offensive boards. Not exactly the kind of effort you want. He also coughed up a bad kickout for an easy score. Brown stayed true to the stint, and after a few bumps Morris settled in some. He was still extremely sloppy with the passing, and that cost the team on a couple of occasions. He led the bench in scoring with 7 and showed some aggressive D out there, at least. He didn't get much for it, but the PG D between both Blake and Morris was very serviceable. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: No box out and he gave up a putback. He couldn't secure another defensive rebound, fouled and got Kobe telling him something. Horrible kickout right to a Clipper for a layup the other way. He swished a sideline three on a kickout from Dwight. He missed a pull-up jumper with the shotclock low. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He turned the corner off a screen to his left with speed, attacked and hit he layup high off the glass. He choked a fastbreak, getting his bounce pass to Kobe picked off, uggh. He attacked against token D and scored a layup.

Ebanks -- -- I accidentally deleted his write up. If a tree falls in a forest does anyone hear it? He sank a three in the first half to help the Lakers reel in the Clips.

Brown -- -- With Nash already out for Blake, Howard picked up two cheap fouls and had to sit midway through the quarter for Hill, trailing 13-9... He sat Metta for Ebanks down by 7 with 5 minutes left... He sat Ebanks with 1:18 left for Metta and brought in Morris for Blake down 3. MWP had to sit after a cheap foul... Pau, Jamison, Kobe, Morris, Blake for a final possession... The Lakers trailed 28-23 after the first... Brown started a Howard, Hill, Jamison, Ebanks, Morris unit... He brought MWP in a minute later for Ebanks. So a Howard, Hill, Jamison, MWP, Morris lineup. That just happened... He brought in Blake now for Hill... Dwight picked up his third foul with 7 minutes left in the half. Brown sat Morris and Howard for Pau and Kobe... The Lakers cut it to 5 and forced a Clipper timeout... They posted up Metta against Crawford out of a timeout. Layup. Got to take advantage of that matchup... The Lakers trailed 52-47 after a three at the buzzer by Butler. The Lakers shot 44% (16-36, 6-9 3Pt, 9-11 FT). The Clippers shot 45% (19-42, 4-12 3Pt, 10-10 FT). The Lakers had 9 turnovers and gave up 8 points off them... Down 6, he sat Metta for Ebanks with 4 minutes left... He sat Howard for Hill with 3:30 when he picked up his fourth, down 6... This late third quarter, early fourth rotation time is when we've seen the team fade badly... He brought in Jamison to go with Pau, turnover out of a timeout and then an easy score for Griffin in the post... He picked up a tech when Blake fell and tripped CP3, not sure what Brown was arguing there... He brought in Morris against CP3... The Lakers, indeed, faded. The Clipper lead went from 6 to 16 in a couple of minutes... The Lakers trailed 82-67 heading into the fourth... He went with a Howard, Jamison, MWP, Kobe, Morris unit... Kobe helped trim the lead to 9 and force a timeout... LO hit a long buzzer beating three that pushed the lead back up to double digits. (Barnes would hit a lucky bank shot later that would also kill another potential rally)... He went back to the starters with 7:25 left down 12... He finally subbed out Kobe down 11 with 21 seconds left. He played the entire half and 43 minutes. On a bad foot. Not smart...

[Mr. Zero]

Thanks DB.
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Phil Luke

[mhan00]

This is getting depressing.

[AceFresh]

[dirka dirka]

Steve Blake managing just two assists in 38 minutes before fouling out in the final minute.

I mean, Blake had more turnovers than assists.

I get that he's feisty and we don't have many other options but my god.

MWP just looks awful, he needs to never dribble.

Why didn't Meeks get any run? I don't get it.
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[City_Dawg]

Thanks DB. Yea Coach, you aint fooling anyone anymore. Clock's ticking.
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*sighs*

!...

[hellsling]

I'm sick of Brown's rotation. They don't make a lick of sense. The Blake Morris, Ebanks, Jamison, Hill, and Howard lineup was awful. Couldn't we have seen a Blake, Meeks, Ebanks, Jamison, and Howard instead? It worked for Howard in Orlando why not in LA? Why isn't the media harping on Brown for playing the starters 40 minutes for the 3rd straight game and playing these crap rotations.

We may not have the greatest bench, but the Brown is completely mishandling it. Why does Ebanks get pulled for one dumb foul when Metta can tank the offense for the whole quarter without any repercussion. How doe Meek any up playing a few minutes in the 1st game of season and proceed to not see the floor? Why is Brown adamant in playing Ebanks, Blake, and Jamison out of their natural position? Brown needs to establish the roles for the role players and not jerk their minutes around.

[dino]

thanks db...

[Knowledge]

Super Massive Fail!
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#TEAM TANK

[Knowledge]

[thurloly]

Forget about D, our O is the problem.

No scorer and shooters (Meta, Blake, Morris, Duhon, Jamison, and Hill). Gasol doesn't have the mentality to score. He is just floating around.

So it leaves Howard and Kobe as the main offensive providers.

Now, TO will increase because of this:

1) Nobody can score = unnecessary passing around = fail shot clock management = TO

2) They just dump the ball to Howard = predictable for opponents = TO due to steal or disrupting passing lanes

3) Dumping the ball to Kobe = Kobe will try everything = TO

We don't have any fast break point or PnR points.

Fail offense will lead to fail defense because it doesn't give our guys any break.

[Knowledge]

Yeah its funny how many people think the offense is fine when we have the turnovers we have.

I remember arguing with a guy last year about this and he would say

"Offense has nothing to do with defense."

SMH
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#TEAM TANK

[TheBlackMamba]

What's up with Mike Brown playing the starters so many minutes this early in the season? Just not smart coaching at all. Brown is quickly showing that he has no idea how to manage a veteran team.

I really hope him playing Kobe the entire 2nd half is more a reflection of how badly Brown wants to get that 1st win, and not a sign of things to come in the next 79 games!

[mhan00]

[TheBlackMamba]

[Arbitrary]

Thanks DB!

[mhan00]

Rick adelman managed to win a game without Love or Rubio while integrating Roy and Kirilenko. Just saying . . .

[Hybrid27]

[City_Dawg]

[Knowledge]

[limchrc]

Thanks. Hope to get a W against Detroit.

[LakerEric]

Oh my...anyone who doesn't believe that Brown is the MAIN culprit is the ultimate optimist and the most naive SOB on the planet.

BYE BYE DOO DOO

[STiG909]

Brown will run this team into the ground, just to save his job. Howard isn't even close to 100% and Hill should never have been cleared to play. Why is Kobe Playing 43 minutes, three games in?

Mike Brown will be gone by the all-star game. You all know Mitch is already trying to contact Phil.

[lounger]

I can feel change coming!

Thanks DB!

[Chronicle]

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