LAKERS -at- WIZARDS - 12-2-15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Return of the Black Mamba… He’s been showing a few flashbacks, vintage moments here and there. Tonight was a vintage game. On the second night of a back-to-back, four games in five nights, 20th year in the league, Kobe dropped 31 points on 10-24 shooting to lead the Lakers to a 108-104 road win against the Washington Wizards.

The atmosphere was once again electric. It’s like Staples Center is there with the Lakers every game, win or lose on the road. People trash Laker fans, but they are representing. The chants were loud. “Kobe… Kobe… Kobe” or “Let’s go Lakers…” A roar erupted when Kobe sank a big three to force a timeout midway through the fourth quarter. In the final minute, he dropped a huge three to take a 2-point lead. He iso’d and drained a wing pull-up jumper with 30 seconds left. Amazing night.

The Black Mamba returned to close this game out with 12 points in the fourth. But he wasn't alone. Behind some clutch FT shooting by Jordan Clarkson, timely steals (7) by Lou Williams and a beastly 19-rebound effort by Julius Randle, the Lakers pulled off their third win.

Fans are out in huge numbers to get one more glimpse of Kobe. They got a great one tonight.

“It feels surreal,” Kobe said afterward.

“I think he’s going to have a whole lot more like this before it’s all said and done,” Scott said. Let’s hope. Enjoy it, Lakers fans.


Kobe -- -- Sensational game by Kobe. Much more controlled that last night (hard not to be). It’s amazing he had his legs there for him in the final quarter. He had a great first half with 18 points on 11 shots. He kept it going throughout the game, but dropped 12 points in the fourth to close this. “Tonight, I was just trying to move as much as possible and not stiffen up,” Kobe said. Whatever he did, he needs to keep it up. Some nice passes mixed in by Kobe that helped as the team energy was pretty impressive. “I don’t know how many more performances he will have like this, but I expect him to play with that type of passion that he plays with every single night.” Remember when this was an average night for Kobe? I’ve been saying for the last few years, enjoy the shot, it won’t last forever. The Stats: He scored 31 points on 10-24 shooting (4-11 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: His pass to Hibbert wasn’t quite on the mark and picked off. He drew FTs probing off a high screen, he made one. He swished a top-of-the-key jumper. He sank a three from the top of the arc. He hit a tech FT. He missed a long three. He missed an elbow jumper on iso. He swished an elbow turnaround jumper. He sank a wing three on a kickout from Nance. He missed a wing three. He backed his man down and swished the baseline turnaround. He got his man worked up trying to defend him, he pumpfaked, and drew FTs on the perimeter, he made both. He missed a turnaround on iso. He missed a wing three. He attacked a crowd from the wing and drew FTs, he made both. He had 18 points on 5-11 shooting in 16 minutes. Second Half: He worked a series of moves and came up short on the jumper. Nice backdoor bounce pass to Russell cutting for the layup. He hit Randle rolling off the wing pick and roll for the layup. He made a tech. He missed a wing three. He missed a forced sideline three, not close (these are the ones he just needs to drive on or move the ball). He missed a turnaround over a double team. Quick first step and he scored a layup off glass before going to the floor. He missed a forced three. He drained a wide open three in transition to a roar from the crowd. He missed an elbow turnaround, short. He iso’d, attacked to his right and swished the step-back 17-footer. He missed an open jumper working off the screen next time down. He missed a baseline turnaround. Huge three by Kobe working off the Hibbert screen with a minute left to go up by 2. He iso’d, sized up his man and hit the wing pull-up with 30 seconds left to go up by 2.

Clarkson -- -- We went to Clarkson down the stretch for a good chunk of offensive in crunch time before handing the keys back over to Kobe. Good experience for him. He got the line and made all of his six FTs. Another steady 18 points from Jordan. Last time I looked, he was second in scoring for sophomores behind Wiggins. Kid is getting it done. He missed a couple of corner threes tonight, but good everywhere else on the court. Defensively, he had his hands full with the speed of the Wizards guards. Between Russell, Clarkson and Williams, they had 14 steals. The pace was fast, but they handled it like you’d think. Wish we could get more uptempo ball for our young guys. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-14 shooting (0-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) The Action: He sank a floater off Randle’s drive and dish. He hit a midrange wing jumper working the two-man game. He scored a layup on the break. He missed a corner three. He missed a three from the other corner. He attacked left and banked over a couple defenders. He was called for a weak clear-out foul to erase a hoop, wow. He missed an off-balance shot in the paint trying to hold his pivot foot after slamming on the brakes. He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting Second Half: Good hustle in transition to get a the ball back. He hit the pull-up jumper at the FT line working off the high screen. He missed a tough one on a drive. He jumped a passing lane, swiped it and took it the distance for a score. He missed a floater working off an excellent screen from Bass. He attacked in transition and had the ball stolen. He missed an elbow jumper, short. He was undercut on a pull up jumper at the FT line for FTs, he made both. He attacked away from the screen and drew a blocking foul on the floater (that was close), he made both clutch ones. He missed a pull-up short, got it right back and short-armed the next one, then fouled in transition to give up FTs. He was fouled with 5.5 left and made both clutch FTs.

Randle -- -- He’s pretty much a rookie, you know? Sick numbers tonight. He nearly had a career high in boards in the first half, but got it easily in the second half finishing with the 19 boards. The motor was rolling tonight. He was everywhere. Bottle this, Julius. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. He imposed his will on the glass like a grown man. It doesn’t matter how things go on the offensive end, you can always make it happen in other areas. It wasn’t just that he was sometimes facing smaller players on the glass, he had a nose for the ball tonight and was chasing it well. Just a great effort. I think the pace of this one also helps him. The up and down ball is what he’s made for, which is why I’d like to see him as our small ball bigman at times. “His energy tonight was fantastic,” Scott said. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-15 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 19 boards (7 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He took his eyes off a pass and dropped it out of bounds. He attacked the paint and dumped it off to Clarkson for the short floater. Lazy perimeter pass and it was picked off. He attacked between defenders and somehow threw it up while avoiding the charge and travel. He missed an open wing jumper. Nice D on Dudley forcing him to throw a pass away. He missed an easy one over Dudley in the post. He tipped an offensive board to himself, iso’d and missed short one on the spin move. He attacked and made the runner. He was blocked on a putback attempt. He missed a baseline jumper. He dunked filling the lane with Russell on the break. He crashed the glass and tipped in the Russell dribble penetration. He missed the pull-up jumper straight away. He rejected a dunk attempt. He scored 8 points on 4-10 shooting and had 12 boards. Second Half: Short on an open elbow jumper. He missed a tip-in. He powered in a layup working the two-man game with Kobe. He gathered a lob from Lou in transition, powered it in and flexed afterward (love the fire). He fumbled a pass away. Back in, he finally got to touch the ball on offense, he sized up Dudley, attacked left and scored the layup. He crashed the glass and yanked an offensive board away from Gortat and then walked it back out to reset the offense. He was fouled with 12 seconds left after pulling down another defensive board, he got tapped on the first FT, made the second.

Russell -- -- “I was fan. Just to really witness it and see it in person,” Russell said of the Return of the Black Mamba. He said Kobe is making it feel like a home court advantage on the road. “Every game is like a home game,” Russell said. He struggled a bit again with the three ball, but scratched out a few points in different ways (pull-up jumper, three, layup on a drive, a fade in the lane, off-ball cut layup). I think the number of games in just a few days is definitely impacting his shot. He was short on a number of jumpers tonight. He like the chemistry he and Randle had in the team setting tonight, mentioning when he and Randle “get in our selfish ways, we both look bad.” Defensively, he had 4 steals. The Wizard guards were damn fast and that caused us issues. The team has to do a better job walling speedy guards off in transition. Russell also needs to do a better job meeting that speed and not getting caught too flatfooted or upright. He said he tried to get a good relationship with the refs to avoid fouls against Wall. He had to sit a little despite that. Lou closed the game, which was fine as he was playing a much better two-way game and Scott stayed with the unit that had it going. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-14 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 4 steals, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He lost his man with a behind the back dribble, kept him on his hip and swished the pull-up jumper. He airballed an open three, wide left. He intercepted a bad pass in the backcourt and drained a three from the top of the key. He missed a long three up against the clock. He missed a pull-up almost floater from the elbow. He lost the ball out of bounds trying to get around a sideline screen. He swiped a pass, pushed it out and hit Randle for the dunk. He missed a short floater in transition, but Randle cleaned it up. He missed a pull-up jumper short, looked fouled. Second Half: His pass in transition was deflected, points the other way. He probed off the high screen and scored a layup. He iso’d and hit the fade in the lane. Way short on a corner three. He cut backdoor on his man and Kobe found him with the bounce pass for the layup. He was picked on the perimeter, points the other way. He missed a three, way short. He missed a wing jumper, way short again. He swiped a pass using his length in the corner. Burst of speed down the lane and his layup was goaltended.

Hibbert -- -- The stat sheet doesn’t look great, but if we can get Randle rebounding like this while Roy is anchoring it makes a big difference. We won the battle of the offensive glass 16-8 in this one. Roy had a few instances where he didn’t stay vertical on challenges and was whistled for fouls. He also blocked a couple and did a good job hustling in transition. It won’t show in the stat sheet, but he also forced some bad passes by plugging the lane. Even though he didn’t do well offensively and we won, we still need a little more from him there. Who knows if we’ll ever see it, but getting more production from him around the rim or on the jumper would make life easier on the other guys. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a face-up jumper but hustled back to contest a shot. Low pass to Randle, right out of bounds. He choked a layup and the easy putback. Not close on a long hook. He forced a man into a bad pass, points the other way for the Lakers. He forced another turnover. He missed a hook across the lane. Second Half: He swatted Gortat. Great job challenging Gortat’s layup and tying him up. He changed directions in the post and scored the short one finally.

Williams -- -- That big steal in the fourth was actually Kobe’s doing. He told Lou to stay home with Beal, that Wall would be a decoy and they were setting up a kickout for the three. They passed it right to Lou waiting for it. That was a killer. “I was like, that’s crazy,” Russell said of Kobe calling that out. He was fouled right after that steal and made both FTs. So Kobe hits two big shots and sets up the steal that led to two more FTs to take control of the game all in the final minute. Good stuff. Lou seemed to be in the right place all game long with 7 steals. Great job in that regard. Offensively, I really liked his passing tonight. He also led the team with 4 assists, passes around the rim for instant scores. More games like this, please. A very nice mix. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 3-8 shooting (2-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 7 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He popped free and sank a three. He set up Bass for the jumper in the lane off the two-man game. He missed a wing three. He airballed a three chuck expecting a foul, luckily we recovered it. Good job keeping an offensive board alive. He swiped a pass, pushed it out, was blocked but was fouled on the putback attempt, he made both. Second Half: He spotted Randle weakside in early offense for the lob. Nice challenge in transition to get a stop after a sloppy handoff forced a turnover. He split a double team, drew a third defender and dumped it to Bass for the layup. He missed a wing three. He swished a wing pull-up in transition. He missed a drive. He sank a deep three off the high screen. He missed a three in transition. He didn’t take the three, the ball stopped allowing the D to catch up, then he attacked and threw it away (got to keep it moving). He got tapped on a wing jumper. He swiped a bad pass with 20 seconds left, parking himself in the perfect spot on the kickout, he was then fouled and made both clutch ones.

Nance -- -- Pretty quiet night from Nance, but our small ball second unit played really well in this one. Nance led the team with the +13, just a result of our bench doing a steady job and helping build a first half lead. Some good passes in this game, nearly a highlight pass on the break but it was too tough to handle for Bass. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot, he had 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: Quick feed on the break to Bass for the dunk. He kicked out to Kobe for the three. Second Half: Sloppy screen, turnover. Wild pass on the break, points the other way.

World Peace -- -- No Nick Young in this game. Scott went with Metta, who once again was an adventure offensively, but got a couple perimeter shots to drop. Afterward, he wanted to stress the importance of how well the team played, not just Kobe. They can’t win with just one person and several guys stepped up. “We’re in the foxhole right now,” Metta said. Scott: “They started hollering not only Kobe, but Lakers. That’s different.” The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He attacked the paint on the weakside of the Tri, missed, got it back and scored the layup. He swatted a shot off Wall in transition to get the stop. He sank a three on a busted offensive sequence, making something out of nothing. He panicked on a drive and hit the back of the board. He missed a wing turnaround. He sank an elbow pull-up creating off Hibbert. He missed a sideline three on a cross-court pass. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Bass -- -- One of Brandon’s better games this season. He was able to hold the line defensively with the small ball. We did a good job setting him up offensively for scores. A good two-way game. The second unit helped extend the lead in the first quarter. Rare we get off to such a good start this season. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-8 shooting to go with 5 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He sank a 12-footer off the two-man game with Lou. He got tapped on a layup off the two-man game, but tipped it back in. He finished a dunk a few seconds later getting out on the break with several other Lakers. Nice challenge on Gortat’s layup to get a miss. Second Half: He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Lou. He missed a putback. He scored a putback on the Kobe missed turnaround. He missed a one-handed jam on a lob from Kobe, uggh.

Scott -- -- The Lakers not only got off to a good start. They closed strong in this one. Two rarities… The Lakers scored a bunch of points in a flurry to force a timeout on a 12-0 run. They led 19-15… Turned into a 13-0 run in 1:20 of action… Up 4, he sat Kobe and Russell with 4 minutes left for Lou and Metta… Up 4 with 2 minutes left, Nance and Bass in… The Lakers led 34-22 after the first, one of their best starts to a game this season… He started a Bass, Nance, Kobe, Lou and Clarkson unit… He sat Clarkson for Russell a few seconds later, odd sub pattern… Up 16, he sat Kobe for Metta at the 7:36 mark… Randle in for Nance… Lakers forcing turnovers and getting out on the break… They led by 15 when the timeout came… Starters with Metta instead of Kobe. They pushed it out a little more, but the Wizards trimmed it back to 14 and Scott called a timeout… Russell picked up his third and had to sit with 2:49 left for Lou… A 17-4 run and the lead was trimmed to 6 (was once 19 points)… The Lakers led 57-51 at the half. The Wizards won the break 16-8 (Wizards average 17 points on the break)… The score was quickly tied just 2 minutes into the half… They rallied back and stretched it to a 6-point lead getting some points off turnovers during the first rotations… Randle out for Nance, Kobe out for Metta. Lakers up 1… Bass in for Hibbert… The Lakers led 78-75 heading into the fourth, second unit holding the line… He started the Bass, Nance, Kobe, Lou, Russell lineup… The Lakers trailed by 4 after 4 minutes and Scott called a timeout… The Lakers led by 3 when the timeout came midway through the fourth off a big Kobe three… Hibbert and Randle in for Bass and Nance… Leads changing back and forth again and again… A 3-point lead for the Lakers with 1:31 left when the timeout came… They gave up a quick foul and FTs, then missed, then fouled again for FTs and quickly trailed by 1 with 1:08 left… Two huge Kobe makes and a steal by Lou and the Lakers led by 4 with 20 seconds left and held on… The Lakers had 18 steals and scored 33 points off the 23 Wizards turnovers. That will get you a W. “Our hands were just a whole lot more active for whatever reason,” Scott said…

[mhan00]

Finally a good game.

[ChefLinda]

Second. ☺

[ReaListik]

Good to see Vino
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"We are the goodest." - Shaq ESPN interview

[mhan00]

[ryan_c]

Nice win.

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[TDRock]

Yay you got to write up a win!

And it was a fun game!

Thanks DB!

(Season started today! )

[Roon]

Thank you!

[Shaber]

What? We won? Can't be...
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.

Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[67ShelbyGT]

Thanks DB!
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Alltime lineup: Magic | Kobe | MJ | Hakeem | KAJ

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Missed this one dang it. Still, good to see a win!

Thanks DB!

Good to know Old Snake can still reel off a night like this!

[Andre2K]

Tonight's write-up must've been fun to write, so many flashes and flashbacks in this game...the future looks bright thanks DB
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My Dream Starting 5 next Season

Pg Lonzo
Sg Kawhi
Sf Ingram
Pf Lebron
C Dedmon

Bench: Caruso, Hart, Bullock, Kuzma, McGee etc

[SweetP]

Thanks DB. Fun one for once.
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB!

[Yong]

please kobe. don't retire. please.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Always glad to read your reviews during my travels in China to satisfy my "Laker Itch"

[yinoma2001]

Remember when we used to debate whether our Lakers were a high 50s or low 60 win team?

We'll be back soon...er, in 2 seasons or so.
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals

[70sdude]

Thanks DB. What the ... ? They played well ? They won ? Hmmmm, one of those days when it works. Momma said there'd be days like this.

3-15.

[Gimme_the_rock]

DB, I always read but have never said "thank you". Well, thank you very much. These are gems. And after the season we've been having, this one really shines brightly.
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We back.

[Lakersneuron]

[Lakersneuron]

https://streamable.com/os5j

and then....

http://i.imgur.com/xFa77eT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/la9dmnj.jpg
_________________
"I don’t give a [expletive] what you say. If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, 'Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.' Well, [expletive] you. Because I don’t play for your [expletive] approval."

[fiendishoc]

The Wizards have been killing teams with Jared Dudley small ball lineups this season. Randle completely blew it up with his rebounding and aggression, in addition to his rapid closeouts on the perimeter. A good sign for him as our power forward of the future.

[DShotMaker1824]

Finally seeing Kobe mix it up. I loved the type of shots he took.

Thanks again DB!
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"Through the legs to the left, through the legs to the right, we don't run them Laker plays, we just Kobe fadeaway..."

[Wino]

This is the game that made me think that if Kobe was at the top of his game, we become competitive with the guys we have. The team is just beginning to step up and Kobe is just beginning to get his legs back. Seems like Clarkson, Randle and Russell, (Hibbert and Lou too), can give solid support if they ONLY had a superstar to carry them.

Now what is worrying me is that Kobe will start to play better and we will win just enough games to lose our draft pick.

Personally, I think the team should tank to the max but right at the end of the season have Kobe step up and show what he has. But still keep us in the bottom 3.
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Never argue with stupid people! They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience!! - Twain