WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 4/11 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

 
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:36 pm    Post subject: WARRIORS -at- LAKERS - 4/11 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

The L.O. Triple-Double... Lamar Odom, who had been a stat short on a triple-double a number of times as a Laker, finally got the numbers to line up in the 111-100 victory over the Warriors. He scored 15 points, grabbed 13 boards and dished 10 assists in just 33 minutes. Those numbers shouldn't overshadow the 15 points and 15 boards that Kwame put up. If you get the A game from those two, you generally get the Lakers A game.

The Lakers trailed early, as they did in the last game with this new lineup. They turned things up near the end of the first half. The Lakers scored 72 points in the second and third quarters, while holding the Warriors to 43 during that stretch. They had a 33-8 run between the quarters.

Kobe scored 30 points in the first half and cruised in the second half. Phil was able to get Turiaf, Bynum and JJ some minutes in this one.


Kobe -- -- Kobe was attacking relentlessly in the first half. He took a shot to his injured leg that had Staples a little worried, but he took it easy after that. As mentioned he scored nearly all his points in the first half. He attacked the baseline, showed the ball high and pulled it back down for a reverse on the other side. He hit a wing jumper off the pinch post with Luke. He sliced past defenders and flipped in a layup with an outstretched arm. He crossed over between the legs, attacked the baseline and missed an And-1, he made both FTs. He attacked, missed, but Kwame scored easily as the D had to help on Kobe. He attacked and kicked it to George for a three. He attacked again and drew FTs. He swished a long wing jumper. He got a high bounce to drop on a turnaround from the midpost. He swished a three from 29 feet away. He drew FTs, hustling for a loose ball. He swished another turnaround over the smaller man. He attacked the lane and went down in pain after getting hit on his calf, he made one FT. In transition, Kobe took a two-for-one three, letting the defender fly by before he drilled it. He blew past JRich, attacked the rim and scored with his left while going to the floor with 0.2 left on the clock. He had 30 points at the half on 10-19 shooting. He attacked the baseline and drew FTs, he made one. He spotted Smush for an open three. He missed a couple more FTs. Kobe finished with 31 points on 10-22 shooting (2-8 from three and 9-14 FTs), 4 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes. Regarding his injury, Kobe said he's "in great hands" and complimented the Laker staff.

Odom -- -- Fun game to watch Lamar on the floor tonight as he made a series of highlight reel type of plays. Whether it was a creative pass or using his length to score, he put on a good show. And, also did the dirty work on the boards, too. "He's beautiful to watch going to the basket making these moves he's been making in the last few games," Phil said. "[He's] getting to the basket on one dribble and two giant steps from the top of the key that are remarkable." He scored his 15 points on 7-10 shooting, he grabbed 13 boards (5 offensive) and dished 10 assists with 3 turnovers. He also got to sit the entire fourth quarter. So much for averaging 6 points a game against the Warriors this season. With JRich on him, he went to the post early. He backed him down and scored a reverse. He overpowered him again for another layup at the rim. He set up Kwame for FTs with a behind the back pass from the low post. He pulled down an offensive board off a FT miss and flipped it to Kwame for a dunk. He then set up Kwame off a drive for another layup. Next time down, he dove to the floor for a loose ball, then threw a long pass to Kobe under the hoop for a 360 dunk. He grabbed an offensive board, head faked and then scored at the rim. Nice long outlet pass off a jumpball to hit Smush in stride for a dunk. Lamar had 6 points, 6 boards and 7 assists at the half. He hit Smush in transition for a three. Lamar grabbed a board, pushed up the dribble, fed Luke who missed the layup, but Lamar tipped it with his right hand and reached at it with his left as he was falling down and got a little help from Dunleavy and it fell in. On the next play he came down the court and drained a long three straight away to force a Warrior timeout. He hesitated at the wing then stepped on the gas to score an easy layup. He ran the pick and roll with Turiaf, fed him in the lane and Turiaf dunked. Lamar...finally...got his first Laker triple-double when he hit Sasha who swished a three in the third quarter. On the next play, LO attacked the baseline, holding the ball high in his left, he then brought it down low and around the other side of the basket for a pretty reverse. "You can feel the energy in the crowd, the energy everywhere," Lamar said about the Laker stepped up play as they head for the playoffs. "Everyone's getting excited. It's a beautiful thing to be part of."

Kwame -- -- "I just wanted to go out and grab every rebound," Kwame said after the game. That's the attitude he needs to bring to every possession. He was the dominant bigman on the floor tonight. He had a nose for the ball and pulled down a season-high 15 boards (6 offensive). He also was productive on the offensive end, shooting 7-10 for 15 points, although he was only 1-5 from the line. Kwame was a +30 on the night while on the floor. He drew FTs, when Lamar set him up under the hoop. He dunked with both hands after Lamar grabbed an offensive board and fed him. He scored off the glass when Lamar attacked and hit him for the score. He cleaned up a Kobe miss with an And-1 off the glass. He tipped in a Lamar miss at the front of the rim. He drew a perimeter foul and missed both FTs, airballing one. He called for the lob, Kobe threw it up and Kwame tapped it in. Kwame finished the first half with 11 points and 12 boards (6 offensive). Nice backdoor feed to Smush who hit the pull-up J. Diogu pulled down an offensive board, tried to give Kwame a head fake, Kwame didn't flinch and Diogu then traveled. He scored a finger roll on the breakaway with Kobe. He took a shot to the face and trailed the offense, he got a head of steam down the lane and Cook found him for the throwdown. Asked if there was one aspect of his game he wanted to improve going into the playoffs, he quickly responded with "free throw shooting."

Smush -- 8) -- Solid game from Smush as he was quitely the second scorer on the night for the team. He finished with 18 points on 6-13 shooting (3-9 from three) and pulled down 6 boards and led the team with 4 steals. He missed a couple of threes early, had a very quiet start. Back in, he attacked the smaller Ellis, missed, got it back and drew FTs. He swished a jumper off the dribble. He took the long Lamar outlet after busting down court on a jumpball and he dunked with both hands. He created off the dribble and drew a foul, making both FTs. Out of a timeout in the zone, Smush stripped JRich to ignite the break. He drained a transition three on a kickout from Lamar. He swished another three the next time down. He missed the heat check three when Kobe spotted him on the next trip. Nice hustle, diving to the floor on the play before that to recover a loose ball on the D end. He took the backdoor bouncepass from Kwame and hit the baseline jumper. He swished a corner three off a pass from Kobe. He and Kobe seemed to discuss their weakside D strategies a few times during the game.

Walton -- -- Luke couldn't finish around the rim tonight, missing a ton of layups. He finished 1-7 with 6 points, 5 boards and 4 assists in 21 minutes. Defensively, pretty soft on some tough match ups. The Lakers offense hasn't quite clicked in the start of the last two games with Luke in there, but they seem to get it together. They trailed by 11 early in this one. Great move attacking the baseline, but he couldn't finish the easy reverse. He stole a pass with some nice anticipation. He sealed his man and scored in the post. He attacked the baseline and missed the reverse again, but drew two FTs which he made. Good D reaching in on Dunleavy and forcing a clearout foul. He missed a layup on the break. He grabbed a Kobe bricked three and missed a layup, but drew the foul, making both FTs.

Cook -- -- He sent Pietrus to the floor with a couple of hard shots. And, he yapped at the refs to pick up a tech on another foul call. Cook finished with 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-5 from three), 6 boards, 2 assists and 5 fouls in 20 minutes. He grabbed an offensive board and was swatted trying to go for the putback. He came in off the bench for a brief first quarter stint and quickly hit a three. He hit a jumper from 18 feet. He faked the pinch post handoff to Kobe (two players went with Kobe) and Cook dribbled to the FT line and hit the open jumper...great job using Kobe on that play. He found Kwame trailing the break and Kwame dunked down the lane.

George -- -- He was aggressive, shooting-wise, but couldn't knock 'em down. He shot 3-10 in just 21 minutes, scoring 7 points and pulling down 4 boards. For his three makes: He hit a three off a Kobe kickout; he faked the jumper, attacked the lane and scored a finger roll; and he swished a long wing jumper.

Vujacic -- -- Not much to comment about Sasha's game tonight. He swished a three off a pass from Lamar and helped get Lamar his first Laker triple-double at the end of the third. He hit a baseline jumper in transition. He finished the night with 5 points on 2-3 shooting and 4 assists, playing 23:47 of game time.

Jackson -- -- He played 8:15 of action and scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting. He had some pretty decent D when he was out there. He stripped his man cleanly on a drive attempt. He helped cause a travel on Pietrus with good D. For his one score, he attacked the lane and hit a floater. I'm not sure what, if any, role he will have on this team come playoff time. The Lakers were able to get some solid basic Tri work in practice and with all these home games should be able to do some fine tuning, but it may be too late in the season to get him into the mix to a point that Phil is comfortable.

Bynum -- -- Bynum was back in the mix of things, getting 10:30 minutes of much-needed action after being sidelined with the injury. He didn't score on three attempts, had 3 fouls and pulled down 1 board. He closed out the first quarter at the C spot in his first stint. He contested one shot and fouled Diogu on another. In his second stint, he got the ball in a crowd, turned and missed the short jumper. He missed a short, left-handed jumphook. He drop stepped and tried to throwdown with one hand, but came up short.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny played an active 6 minutes, scoring 5 points on 1-2 shooting and picking up a couple of fouls. In for Kwame midway through the third, he faked, attacked and made left handed layup, but it was waved off as they said the foul was on the floor (should have been a continuation). He missed a jumphook off a nice move. He ran the pick and roll with Lamar, got the ball back and finished high with a big two-handed throwdown. He drew a loose ball foul for FTs.

Phil -- -- The Warriors were out of fouls with 2:09 into the second with Kobe attacking like crazy... At the end of the second quarter and through the first half of the third, the Lakers dominated the game on both ends... The Lakers relaxed and played a loose fourth quarter that Phil wasn't too pleased about... The team had 30 assists with just 12 turnovers. They also had 19 offensive boards. Nice to see the SlumpBuster Lakers didn't show as the Warriors continue their tailspin. "We want to end up going in strong," Phil said of the post season... Chris Mihm hopes to be back for the Suns game this weekend, but won't be anywhere near full speed. In fact, the team doesn't sound too confident about him being ready for the playoffs. "We're concerned about it, obviously," Phil said. "It's going to be a decision obviously that's going to weigh in. He's not going to be 100% by the time the season's over. We're just going to have to project where he can be." Chris says, "Every time I plant or change direction, it's pretty painful. Even when I come back, it's going to be something I'll be rehabbing after the season."...
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rwongega
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:46 pm    Post subject:

Kwame was a decent foul shooter coming into the league. I think he can return to that stage and maybe pick up a nice shooting stroke while he's at it. And Bynum looks a lot bigger than before which is nice.
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flashakadrano
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:46 pm    Post subject:

what a game.

i love what lamar, kwame, and smush have been doing.

those three guys are key to our success in the playoffs and beyond. if they can play to their potential, like they played tonight, the lakers have an extremely bright future...
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:00 am    Post subject:

As we continue to see the metamorphisis of Kwame into an actual top center, hopefully he will develop a "killer mindset" (ala Kobe) of dunking the ball when he has a chance that will demoralize the opponents and pump up the Lakers (and fans).

Memories of Kwame missing multiple "point blank" opportunities, in addition to the time where Kobe gave him the ball and he finish with a "tear-drop" layup - instead of dunking the ball, like how Turiaff did!

If Yao has seen the many positives of dunking the ball, when will Kwame understand this aspect of the game - though I'm glad that he's developed the defensive/rebounding aspects first?!?!?!?
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:38 am    Post subject:

This Kwame vs. the Kwame of earlier this season are like night and day. Pretty amazing actually, just seems like a completely mental issue. Phil talked about him gaining confidence on the D end and rebounding quite a bit all season. He's certainly a different cat than the one we had when Mihm was out earlier this season. Like I said a couple months back, if Kobe, Phil and Turiaf can't get Kwame's mental game going, no one can. I love the "just go out there and grab every rebound" quote. He needs to bring that to every possession.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:01 am    Post subject:

It's nice to see us manhandle a lesser team for a change. This Kwame-Odom revival is sweet to watch. Odom is set, and Kwame is going to be solid every game. Now if Smush could play starting PG like he did tonight, then the Suns could be in for a big suprise.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 5:50 am    Post subject:

Bring on the playoffs already!
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:19 am    Post subject:

Sweet recap.

Loved the way the team is playing together heading into the playoffs. The fact is, if somehow the Lakers can get past the Suns - the WCF is right there.

Also, SA vs Sacto would be a LOT harder for the Spurs than people think.

Great words from Phil on LO. This team is a contender whenever they have LO and Kwame play like that.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:24 am    Post subject:

Great read DB! Thanks for the recap.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:24 am    Post subject:

thanks DB I love seeing all those happy smileys
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:26 am    Post subject:

Anytime we can get a 3x2 from LO and a 2x2 from Kwame in the same game, the Lakers should win big. Props to them as the NKPOG's.

From Phil's comments regarding LO after this game and the Clips game, it really seems like Phil has found a way to inspire LO because he's been a dominant superstar against two teams that he's struggled against this year.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:41 am    Post subject:

Mr. Triple Double, Lamar had a great game, Kobe had a great first half.


did yall notice starters played less tonight? I guess Phil is saving em for playoff time.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:02 am    Post subject:

AirKobe8 wrote:
did yall notice starters played less tonight? I guess Phil is saving em for playoff time.


Good thing we played the Warriors who have just quit on the season and their coach, which then allowed Phil to sit everyone.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 10:11 am    Post subject:

Klone_dd wrote:
Anytime we can get a 3x2 from LO and a 2x2 from Kwame in the same game, the Lakers should win big. Props to them as the NKPOG's.

From Phil's comments regarding LO after this game and the Clips game, it really seems like Phil has found a way to inspire LO because he's been a dominant superstar against two teams that he's struggled against this year.
...it is obvious to me that LO won't be going anywhere if Phil has anything to say about it...he was practically gushing over him last night...Phil normally doesn't do that. 'He's beautiful to watch going to the basket'. Amen to that, Phil.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 12:12 pm    Post subject:

"Money" made the comment that with the current development/maturation of LO, Kwame and Luke - the Lakers don't have to blow-up the Lakers, just tweak the roster.

This game is another example of potentially how true this statement is.

Thoughts?

p.s.: Artest might be a good tweak, but would Sac trade w/us - nah
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:28 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
I only heard the radio feed and caught the 30 second SportsCenter highlights, but there was plenty of "showtime" going on last night. Lamar's "Magic like" between the legs bounce pass while on the floor to Kobe for the 180, Kobe's no looker off the crossover to Kwame (who should have dunked that), Lamar swooping in for the reverse. I hope Google has this game to download soon. Im sure their are plenty of smiling faces in LakerLand today.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:46 pm    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
"Money" made the comment that with the current development/maturation of LO, Kwame and Luke - the Lakers don't have to blow-up the Lakers, just tweak the roster.

This game is another example of potentially how true this statement is.

Thoughts?

p.s.: Artest might be a good tweak, but would Sac trade w/us - nah


I'm trying not to be too giddy about this win. GSW is truly an awful team, losers of 9 in a row, just playing out the string before vacation time.

However, as I've said before, Mitch has really positioned this team well. If LO and Kwame continue to develop, then minor tweaking can be done to get the team into a top-4 position. Or he can now deal them for a superstar since they've now proven themselves.

The Lakers could well have been a 50 win team this season, but they lost too many close games due to lack of experience or triangle knowledge or simply bad breaks. Also, imagine LO and Kwame playing at the level they're playing at right now from day one. There is reason for optimism!
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:57 pm    Post subject:

It's good we're going into the playoffs playing good basketball.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:37 pm    Post subject:

Just a short observation... I feel that our team is at a very sensitive stage. The feeling is that if you even breathe too hard, you can upset everything... It's like you're afraid to believe that we're coming together, because we don't want to feel that disappointment again. Is it a mirage, or is it real this time?

We're at a stage where I don't really feel like calling Lamar "O'dumb", or using the term "Kwame The Clown"... I've actually come to respect all our players.

I just continue to wish that we would 1.) defend the paint more consistently; 2.) focus on each shot; 3.) show more patience, don't rush a shot; 4.) continue running the triangle, and 5.) continue that new ability to keep our composure, under pressure, stay together, and make a comeback. One of the latest things, that has made a big difference, is this newfound ability to withstand some pressure, keep our composure, and stage the comback, in a controlled fashion. As a team, Phil may have succeeded in instilling a sense of trust, in running the triangle, in spite of the pressure. We were allowing the pressure to tear us apart.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 1:43 am    Post subject:

was at gsw-dallas game (won by GSW!); reviewed the tivo recording later & found the baron davis interview interesting (to say the least).

baron davis appears to be suffering from the "shaq" syndrome, i.e. the guy needs to lose weight. BDiddy is the vocal leader, however, if you come into camp 10-15# overweight, what does that tell your other teammates?

I am personally glad the lakers did not sign BD (or more accurately, let him slip on the wayside). damaged goods, weight issues.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:38 pm    Post subject:

Baron Davis, Watson, Anderson, et. al - all players that posters said WE NEEDED are not even being used by their own teams. Lakers don't need other team's rejects, just a key strategic addition
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:17 pm    Post subject:

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