SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 12/31 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:46 am    Post subject: SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 12/31 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

Worse for Wear but We're Wearing it Well... The injury bug has struck again. This time Kwame went down with the severe ankle sprain. Mihm, Odom, Kwame -- starters for the Lakers this time last season -- all down. Unbelievable.

The Sixers aren't going to threaten everyone on a nightly basis right now as they've gone into rebuild mode. Still, you have to win the games you need to win. Early on, both teams were able to get the rim. The Lakers came out in the second half trying to put more emphasis on holding the Sixers to perimeter jumpers. Not easily done sometimes, but they managed to keep the Sixers shooting 39.5 percent on the evening. A key to that was also the Lakers keeping their turnovers to a respectable 12, not allowing easy points in transition.

Kobe played a near seamless game, leading the team in points, assists and rebounds. The bench chipped in with 36 points as every Laker scored and every active roster Laker played.

Phil is considering starting Ronny and keeping Drew coming off the bench. He mentioned that the last time Kwame had a severely sprained ankle with the Wizards, he was back in a week. However, Laker fans are all probably a bit jittery when it comes to ankle sprains to our bigmen. So, who knows? We would dodge a major bullet if it were only a week. I imagine it will likely be longer. We're probably still three weeks away from LO returning. Just need to keep surviving.


Kobe -- -- Aside from the two-on-none lob pass turnover with Luke, Kobe put together a solid game, looking like money from the perimeter all night. He scored 35 points on 15-22 shooting (3-6 from three, a surprising 2-2 from the line...both on FTs he probably didn't deserve), he led the team with 6 assists with just 2 turnovers, and grabbed 8 boards. He also only had 1 foul in 38 minutes. Early on, he changed directions off the dribble with his left, the lane opened up and he scored a layup. He hit Cook with a behind-the-back pass on the break for a layup. He crossed over Iguodala badly and scored a layup. He pulled up in transition and hit an 18-footer from the wing. Good look spotting Farmar across court on a backdoor cut and we got a layup. He hit a pull-up jumper from 17 feet out. Kobe hit a series of shots to close the half: He sliced through the lane to his right and banked high off the glass over Dalembert; he stepped back and drilled a two-for-one three; he took a backdoor bounce pass from Smush, got into the lane and hit a fade from 9 feet. He had 15 points on 7-11 shooting, 5 rebounds and 3 assists at the half. He got some superstar love from the refs on a couple of And-1's to start the second half. On the first it looked like Dalembert had all ball as he grazed Kobe's reverse attempt and Kobe couldn't throwdown, but he still reversed and made the FT. On the next, Miller got over in time to draw a charge in front of the restricted circle and Kobe banked it in, he made the FT. He attacked the paint and kicked out to Smush for a three. He surveyed the floor, then drained the 19-footer from the wing. He crossed over Green and drilled a 21-footer. Next time down as Stu is saying "heatcheck" Kobe rose up and drilled a three. He attacked and wrapped a pass around a defender to Drew for a dunk. He looked a little too loose after a steal going in for a layup and had to use a little body language to coax the ball in. On the next breakout, Kobe was two-on-none with Luke and got a little too silly trying to give Luke a little lob and we threw it away (the Sixers hit a three on the other end). Kobe swished a long three on his next trip down and told everyone it's under control.

Walton -- -- Decent game from Luke offensively, although Korver got off on the other end for 29 (just in a zone at one point). Luke also covered Carney a little bit. Luke played most of his minutes as the Laker PF tonight to match up with a smaller Sixer lineup. In 34 minutes, Luke scored 11 pointes on 4-8 shooting, grabbed 7 boards and dished 3 assists. After Carney dunked on one end, Luke threw down a reverse dunk on him on the other. He posted up Carney, spun and drew FTs, making one. He posted up again, spun, drew a foul and made both FTs. He dunked off a baseline feed from Smush against the zone. Luke powered in a layup, pumping in the air against Dalembert. He scored another layup on a bustout in transition.

Smush -- -- I liked the effort from Smush tonight, he even jumped over the first row of seats twice in the game while trying to get after loose balls. The effort was also shown in some strips and pass deflections on other men, meaning after he got beat he rotated, dropped to the level of the ball or generally just mixed things up. He still had some breakdowns, but the effort is what you want to see. He finished as the Lakers second scorer going for 12 points on 4-10 shooting (1-3 from three), he pulled down 3 boards, dished 5 assists without a turnover and had 2 steals. He missed his first jumper, but knocked down his next working off a wing split with the ball in Luke's hands. He attacked from the wing and drew FTs, making one. He faked the three, moved in a few feet and knocked down the 17 footer. He got backdoored by Ollie for an easy layup. He missed a three. He picked up his dribble on the baseline and was double teamed, then both defenders left him so he sank an open jumper. He hit Kobe cutting backdoor with a bounce pass late in the half and we scored. He found Luke for a dunk on the baseline against the zone. He swished a three off a kickout from Kobe. He attacked in transition and drew FTs. He then hit Luke off penetration with a bounce pass for a layup. Nice D, stripping a man under the basket to save a hoop. He then contested a transition layup well and it forced a miss. Good hustle to deflect a pass after his man beat him.

Kwame -- -- After blocking a shot early in the second half, Kwame came down with a lot of weight on Andre Miller's foot, whom he just blocked. It looked bad, the ankle rolling completely and his body jerking. He didn't put any weight on it as he was helped off the floor. "It's killing me right now," Kwame said afterward. "I was in pain. I couldn't say anything. I was about to start crying, but there's too many fans in there." He had some good activity early on, pulling down 8 boards (5 offensive) and scoring 6 points on 3-5 shooting in just 17 minutes. He got stripped in the post on his first attempt. He drew a foul and bricked both FTs. He gave up an alleyoop to his man. He pulled down a FT miss and it led to Laker points. He drew contact on Dalembert, missed with no call, got it back and dunked. Great, great job moving his feet and working the offensive glass for a putback score. He put in an Evans airball in the post. He had all 6 points and 8 boards at the half. Losing him will only expose other players weaknesses even more. Hopefully, Turiaf, Bynum and company can all step up.

Cook -- -- Again another team opted to go small, so we kept Cook out of the mix. He started, but played just 6 minutes scoring 4 points on 2-2 shooting and grabbing 4 boards in that limited time. He scored a layup filling the lane on the break. He then sat early when we matched up against a smaller lineup. Back on with a minute and a half left in the half and he quickly drained a wing jumper on an inbounds pass.

Radmanovic -- -- Vlad worked mostly with that second unit. He played 14 minutes and scored 5 points on 1-3 shooting, hitting his only three. He grabbed 3 boards and dished a couple of assists with a couple of turnovers. He missed a hook in the lane. He airballed or got blocked on a post shot and Evans dunked it in, Vlad was given the assist. He missed an elbow jumper. He cut from the weakside, took a pass from Bynum and missed an easy And-1, he made both FTs. Henderson tried to deck Vlad with a screen and then shoved him out of bounds for a foul. He tipped out a missed Turiaf FT and it resulted in a three from Sasha. He curled to the wing and swished a three with a man on him in the middle of a fourth quarter dry spell.

Bynum -- -- Drew missed some of his post-ups, but still managed to scratch a few points in 18 minutes. He had some decent moments anchoring the D, contesting shots and blocking a couple. He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting, making 3-4 from the line. He grabbed just 2 boards in that time and had 3 fouls. They are going to need him to elevate his game and effort with Kwame out for extended time. Bynum missed a jumphook in the lane. He drew a foul in the paint and made one FT. He missed another jumphook. He swatted hunter in the paint. He got tapped on a reverse, got it back and was fouled for FTs. He swatted Korver on a nice jumpout that surprised just about everyone in the building. Kobe attacked the paint and wrapped a pass around a defender and Bynum dunked it. He missed a little face up one-hander on the baseline. Out of the post, he hit Vlad cutting from the weakside for FTs.

Turiaf -- 8) -- With Kwame down, Turiaf will turn into a key player regardless of his nagging injuries. We're just too thin right now. Cook will split some time there, too. Hopefully, Ronny can string some good games together for us and stay out of any foul trouble. He scored just 2 points in 11 minutes on 0-2 shooting and 2-4 from the line. He grabbed a couple of boards, blocked a shot and had just 1 foul in that time. He took an extra pass from Farmar who got penetration off the pinch post and drew FTs, he made one. Good D to help on one man, then recover on his own and block his shot at the front of the rim, unfortunately no one else was helping and another Sixer scored. He kicked out a Kobe pass to Farmar for a three. He hit Sasha for another three. He missed a 15-footer, getting tapped. He drew FTs in the lane and made one.

Evans -- -- He didn't have the greatest shooting night, but he had some nice energy on the boards, pulling down 7 rebounds. Phil gave him some extended tick trying to match up and Mo played 37 minutes. He scored 8 points on 3-12 shooting (1-4 from three, a couple of those were buzzer beaters). In early to match up with a smaller lineup, he missed a couple of elbow jumpers before knocking down a jumper at the FT line after flashing to the strong side. He got tapped on a wing three at the buzzer. Nice putback dunk when Vlad turned in the post and airballed, Evans swooped in to throw it down. They were kind to give Vlad an assist on his, Evans had a similar play where he airballed with his left and Kwame put it in, but got no assist on that one. He got the start in the second half against the smaller Sixer lineup. He crashed the glass and drew a foul, he made one FT. He missed a long three at the third quarter buzzer. He missed a three with a couple minutes left. Kobe then kicked it to him again and he drilled a three from the same corner on his next attempt to ice the game with a minute and a half.

Farmar -- -- Seemed like an average outing for Farmar. He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (heavy on the threes, going 1-4). He dished 3 assists wtih 2 turnovers in his 14 minutes. He missed a three on his first attempt. Great backdoor cut and Kobe fed him for a layup. He charged trying to penetrate against the zone. He set up Turiaf for FTs making an extra interior feed off the pinch post. He drained a three from the corner off a kickout from Ronny.

Vujacic -- -- Although he led the team with a -9, I think that's a deceptive number. He gave the Lakers a solid 8-point fourth quarter and had some decent moments. He had his jumper going and drained a couple threes to help the Lakers run some extended second-unit time in the fourth. He finished with 8 points on 3-6 shooting in 19 minutes of action. He missed a corner three. He and Shammond had some good switches on one defensive sequence to cover for each other, switching three times. Then in transition they both left Iguodala open thinking the other was going to cover him (or wanting the other to cover him) and they gave up a dunk. He knocked a ball loose from his man, then took a return feed on a breakaway for a layup. He hit a three on a feed from Ronny. After we got back a FT miss, Farmar swung it around to Sasha and he drained another three straight away that buried the Sixers in a huge hole.

Shammond -- -- A Shammond sighting. He had a decent little stretch out there, playing a 5-minute stint in the second quarter. Phil brought Shammond in after the Sixers went to a zone. He quickly drained a corner three on his second trip down. He got completely tapped on a 19-footer that went in and out. As mentioned, a couple moments of decent D with Sasha and then that one breakdown in transition.

Phil -- -- Regarding the Kwame replacement, Phil said, "I'm not sure Andrew's quite ready to step into that role on a full-time level. I won't make that decision until I kind of check out how I feel about that. I might keep Andrew off the bench and use Ronny as the starter."...
Phil survived the road trip with his recovering hip. He'll try to hold down the fort until the reinforcements come. He played all 12 players tonight and will continue to try to match up with varying players with his rotations. Not an easy job when players' weaknesses are going to be more and more exposed with each injury... The Lakers had 3 layups and a dunk and a couple trips to the FT line, getting to the rim early to start the game. Then, they gave up a series of layups themselves... Very soft D by both teams. The Sixers went to a zone for a few sequences and limited our attack. But we still hit some shots. We shot 45 percent in the first half to the Sixers 34 percent... Phil liked the second-effort energy much better in the second half, and we kept the Sixers still shooting a poor percentage, finishing with 39.5 percent on the night... The Lakers won the points in the paint battle 42-34 and won the break 9-6...

P.S. Happy New Year Everyone!
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ForTheWin
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:02 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap I forgot when the game was and missed it
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angel
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:04 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

I hope Andrew starts.
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Klone_dd
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:11 am    Post subject:

Good to see Kobe back to his usual "Flame on" self. Nothing more fun to watch than Kobe in the zone, except of course for that silly lob to no one.

Sad to see another Laker go down with an injury. Kwame's ankle looked eerily like when Mihm rolled his ankle. I hope it's not too bad and I hope that Lamar comes back sooner rather than later.
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AllorNothing
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:11 am    Post subject:

I am wondering if Cook will play center again, especially for the second unit if Bynum starts.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:14 am    Post subject:

Yeah, Cook will likely see minutes at center. He was our third center last year when Mihm went down.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:33 am    Post subject:

DB - Happy New Year Salutations and Looking Forward to Your 2007 Analysis

DB Questions
Regarding Cook - With Sacramento (Miller) and Dallas (Dirk) coming up, there appears to be some PT available to him since they are perimeter players. Will PJ do this or do you think that Vlad will get many of those minutes?

How many minutes, considering Turiaff's injury, will be given to him?

Re: Kwame's injury - it appears that LO and Kwame will be coming back after the All-Star game, which would maximize their recovery time without losing needless games.

Re: Speed/Energy Line-up, could a speed starting lineup of Smush/Kobe/Evans/Luke/Turiaff be something that PJ could be considering? Boards would come from Turiaff/Kobe/Evans, scoring from Kobe/Evans/Smush, passing from Luke/Turiaff/Kobe and defense from Kobe/Evans/Smush/Turiaff
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:49 am    Post subject:

Even more questions seem to have been raised, than answered... Even this win brings a sense of uneasiness... Kwame going down is like one of my nightmares coming true. I sensed we would probably start regretting, our lack of one more true bigman, to play the 5 position. For the past few years, we have consistently stocked up on guards, and small forwards...

The win was marred, by our usual awkwardness, and mistakes. Most poingnantly, our awkwardness was portrayed, by Kobe driving the length of the court, and instead of executing an easy layup, he tosses the ball up, for Luke, or some other Laker, to slam home... Luke, unfortunately, had gone into one of his catatonic states...News may still be travelling to his brain, that a lob was tossed in front of him, for a slam dunk.

Kobe, again, got into his dominant role... This time, Kobe got into a good rhythm, and the team followed suit... I still see the magic that happens, when Farmar is allowed to instigate, and do a majority of the ballhandling. Still, Farmar contributes his own mistakes. The patterns that developed, out of Phil's substitutions, just happened to be fortuitious for us, like one of those toys, that you shake up, and you see all those beautiful snowflake designs.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:55 am    Post subject:

You're wrong about that block call on Miller. Kobe took off before Miller was set. If you watch the replay, it was a good call by the ref. He was still moving when Kobe went into his shooting motion. Yeah, thats what I said. The refs gave Kobe a call he deserved. Shocking isn't it? But yeah Dalembert's swipe was clean.
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limchrc
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:09 am    Post subject:

I was not able to watch the game. Thanks for the recap.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:29 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap DB. Sniff sniff
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:32 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB. "Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail... or New Year's?!?" You're a dutiful fellow DB, and your effort is appreciated.

I have to think that despite the obvious hit to the depth of the frontcourt, this is going to help the Lakers get off to stronger starts of games. Frankly, I don't think Kwame ever should have have resumed starting after returning from his shoulder injury.

We all remember how the team started off the season with Bynum in the starting five, then, for motivational reasons or otherwise, after a couple mediocre games Andrew goes to the pine. But if you look at the general malaise of the team at starts of games, a big part of it is attributable to Kwame's lack of energy on the defensive end and his inability to convert on offense. I can't recall the last time he made his first attempt to start a game, and having your starting center likely miss his first three shots while providing no basket protection on the other really puts the team behind the eight-ball early. Kwame's leash is a lot longer then Andrew's, and to me, the only thing he's done to earn that extra slack is simply exist longer than Bynum.

It's particularly important, when playing lesser teams, to establish very early on that there won't be any waltzes to basket, as those teams typically feel their way through things early, sniffing for reasons to believe, but easily crushed if you take away their spirit. Again, Bynum helps the Lakers in this department; Kwame hurts.

Where they'll certainly miss Kwame is:

a. when Bynum picks up two cheap early fouls

b. the odd second half energy Kwame brings, after he's taken his usual entire first half to get loose

c. against a guy like Dampier next week whose beef may prove too much for Bynum.

But all told, this might work out alright for the Lakers provided Kwame isn't just ceded back the starting job upon his return.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:24 am    Post subject:

Quote:
Kwame's leash is a lot longer then Andrew's, and to me, the only thing he's done to earn that extra slack is simply exist longer than Bynum.

Exactly.

To this day, Kwame screws up countless passes and plays. He makes mistakes that shouldn't be overlooked at times but Phil does and keeps him in the game.

On the flip, Bynum has a short leash and is quickly yanked for a mistake or two. Sometimes he'll have a strong start and Phil still benches him. I find it annoying to watch at times but what do I know ... maybe that's Phil way of maxamizing the team. He knows Kwame's paid 9 million and needs to be molded now as opposed to Bynum who is looked upon as the future Center.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:54 am    Post subject: Re: SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 12/31 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
both on FTs he probably didn't deserve


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 10:58 am    Post subject:

kwame's injury is definitely a major negative .

HOWEVER:
Quote:

positives & expected moves
1. it could improve our paint defense, (primarily shotblocking) forcing phil to give andrew consistent minutes; I say that 'Drew will start and Ronny/or 'Drew will finish the games.

2. I'll make an even bolder comment (that a few laker types already know); it will definitely help kobe & jordan's assists, when driving in the paint. 'drew's soft hands will be ready to finish at the basket; less of the fumbling on interior passes.

3. expect Vlade to see a few minutes (experimentally) at the post/high post, with certain matchups; if this experiement works, then it gives vlade a few more rebounds and foul shots. vlade has played some center in europe (albeit a different game).

4. brian cook to get BIGGER minutes (primarily at the PF ), mixed and matched with the tag team front court of turiaf/bynum;

5. expect phil to pull out the small(er) ball lineup on occasion(s) (phil DOESN'T have a choice***), e.g.
Code:

pos   player
1:     jordan or sasha or smush or shammond;
2:     smush or sasha or kobe;
3:     kobe or mo or luke;
4:     luke or mo or cook;
5:     turiaf or bynum or vlade (or cook :o )


6. kwame to miss 2-4 weeks (grade II tear; ankle(s) was (were) previously bothering him); kobe's already trying to work kwame's mindset about the recuperative process. I personally hope the injury isn't as bad as it could be.



Quote:

negatives
1. kwame's physical play (the banging) will be missed against the low post teams, e.g. SA Spurs & Miami (well EVEN moreso; given our big's poor performance vs. the heat) );
2. kobe's minutes go from (IMO) an overly extended 39+ mpg to 42 mpg (IMO he shouldn't be more than 28-29 mpg)
3. bynum's minutes already extended at 18 mpg, goes in the next few weeks from 22-24 mpg. the lakers however, are being VERY cautious on bynum's minutes. however, as it was at the start of the season, 'Drew will undergo the trial by fire.



injuries are a part of the game; we've got (or had) a deep bench. if a few of our guys return in the next 4-5 weeks, this could help our 2nd season (playoffs).

as it is, there's at least two players as potential candidates for off season surgery. I hope the list doesn't expand any further.

____________________________________________________________________________
***following last night's game, kobe steadfastly volunteered to play MORE minutes!!! ..... however, the team LOVED kobe's gesture/commitment (of leadership & sacrifice)! i.e. your MOST productive (& INJURED) player asking to do EVEN MORE minutes hopefully, this gets a few of the other guys to step it up a few notches.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 11:27 am    Post subject:

thanks DB
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RYZ
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:17 pm    Post subject:

jeremysnow wrote:
kwame's injury is definitely a major negative .

HOWEVER:
Quote:

positives & expected moves
1. it could improve our paint defense, (primarily shotblocking) forcing phil to give andrew consistent minutes; I say that 'Drew will start and Ronny/or 'Drew will finish the games.

2. I'll make an even bolder comment (that a few laker types already know); it will definitely help kobe & jordan's assists, when driving in the paint. 'drew's soft hands will be ready to finish at the basket; less of the fumbling on interior passes.

3. expect Vlade to see a few minutes (experimentally) at the post/high post, with certain matchups; if this experiement works, then it gives vlade a few more rebounds and foul shots. vlade has played some center in europe (albeit a different game).

4. brian cook to get BIGGER minutes (primarily at the PF ), mixed and matched with the tag team front court of turiaf/bynum;

5. expect phil to pull out the small(er) ball lineup on occasion(s) (phil DOESN'T have a choice***), e.g.
Code:

pos   player
1:     jordan or sasha or smush or shammond;
2:     smush or sasha or kobe;
3:     kobe or mo or luke;
4:     luke or mo or cook;
5:     turiaf or bynum or vlade (or cook :o )


6. kwame to miss 2-4 weeks (grade II tear; ankle(s) was (were) previously bothering him); kobe's already trying to work kwame's mindset about the recuperative process. I personally hope the injury isn't as bad as it could be.



Quote:

negatives
1. kwame's physical play (the banging) will be missed against the low post teams, e.g. SA Spurs & Miami (well EVEN moreso; given our big's poor performance vs. the heat) );
2. kobe's minutes go from (IMO) an overly extended 39+ mpg to 42 mpg (IMO he shouldn't be more than 28-29 mpg)
3. bynum's minutes already extended at 18 mpg, goes in the next few weeks from 22-24 mpg. the lakers however, are being VERY cautious on bynum's minutes. however, as it was at the start of the season, 'Drew will undergo the trial by fire.



injuries are a part of the game; we've got (or had) a deep bench. if a few of our guys return in the next 4-5 weeks, this could help our 2nd season (playoffs).

as it is, there's at least two players as potential candidates for off season surgery. I hope the list doesn't expand any further.



Right on JS.

BTW, Was anyone else puzzled by Joel's constant references to some dude named Kevin Ali last night.

I mean, I'm sure it would be a convenient transition for the guy were he to convert to Islam, but he hasn't, Joel.
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TheProdigy
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:48 pm    Post subject:

I wasn't surprised by Bynum's block. When he's active, he can block a lot of shots.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:24 pm    Post subject: Re: SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 12/31 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

Mr. EiGhTy-OnE wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
both on FTs he probably didn't deserve


Blasphemy


Yeah, usually I'm on the other side of that coin, but both of those ones were questionable. Amazing that they were his only two attempts. Makes up for some of the handchecks he doesn't get that others in this league get to go to the line from. Bizarre game.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:33 pm    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:

DB Questions
Regarding Cook - With Sacramento (Miller) and Dallas (Dirk) coming up, there appears to be some PT available to him since they are perimeter players. Will PJ do this or do you think that Vlad will get many of those minutes?

How many minutes, considering Turiaff's injury, will be given to him?


I don't know, regarding Cook. Those teams may be content to go small at times, too, and Phil will match up. I'd imagine that Bynum and Turiaf will both go up against Miller. Vlad will have good opportunities in both games because of the mobility of their PFs. Hopefully, he makes the most of it.

Turiaf could be taking maybe 18-24 minutes or so. Bynum will get some increased run. Basically, Bynum probably gets the Kwame PT and Turiaf gets Bynum's numbers. That's what I would guess, but Phil is not easy to guess at.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 1:36 pm    Post subject:

TheProdigy wrote:
I wasn't surprised by Bynum's block. When he's active, he can block a lot of shots.


No doubt. When he anticipates and gets a step or two he can come out of the rafters. Hopefully, as he gets more experienced, he starts anticipating the action a lot more. On that one block, you could hear Staples kind of jump/scream when he rejected it.
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:52 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
TheProdigy wrote:
I wasn't surprised by Bynum's block. When he's active, he can block a lot of shots.


No doubt. When he anticipates and gets a step or two he can come out of the rafters. Hopefully, as he gets more experienced, he starts anticipating the action a lot more. On that one block, you could hear Staples kind of jump/scream when he rejected it.

Is there any doubt that Drew would be swatting 3-4 a game in College? People ooh and aah about college players swatting 3-4 a game, but IMO the oppurtunities are far more as guards take weaker shots inside as do the bigs.

Have you seen Thabeet, DB? How do you compare him and Bynum at this point considering Thabeet is basically the Bynum fill in for them (I doubt they pick him up if they had Bynum for 2-3 years)?
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 3:16 pm    Post subject:

Watching the replays... I can see, that the Sixers Defense wasn't that great... In fact, it almost seemed like they were a mirror image, of ourselves. Looks like two teams, that are, basically, playing an offensive duel. They looked pretty sharp, early, slicing like a hot knife, through our porous defense.

Lots of 3 pointers, early, by both teams, which I don't like that much... Kobe, however, was instrumental, with his three pointers, in keeping us ahead.

As I said, before, our game still looks too awkward. Looks like all Lakers have to come awake, instead of sleepwalking... We have to be ready, for those quick passes. We have to be ready, for whatever the ballhandler is ready to do. Along with that, we have to be more focused, on every shot.

I think I was right, in my instincts, about Kwame.. Kwame could have actually been injured much earlier... In the 2nd period, you see Kwame bounce off of someone, and land, hard, sort of clutching the side of his leg... Kwame's movements remind me of Elden Campbell. That plodding style, and lack of quick, immediate reactions, could lead to many injuries.

We still have more gelling to do. Hope we're ready, by playoff time. Decision-making process looks awkward, because, not everyone is on the same page.

I forgot another little comment... It looks like Kwame would be a really dangerous scorer, if he would develop a consistent hook shot... You can see many situations, where Kwame is thinking about what shot to take, with opponents around him... A quick, sure hook shot would be nice. Right now, Kwame looks more like a clean up man specialist. Some good clean up work, under the basket.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:07 pm    Post subject:

nice recap db...was at the game last night (my first live laker game!) and had seats in the 117 section...would like to share some of my observations from last night...

kobe - he had a great game...just seemed to be in such control...looked like he could do anything and get any shot he wanted out there...jumper was money all night...kobe moves so fluidly out on the court...also noticed he seems to have a really nice relationship with turiaf...during shootaround, ronnie was the guy grabbing rebounds off of kobe's jumpers and feeding them back to him...kobe and ronnie were talking a lot as well...on the bench kobe definitely had luke's ear in between timeouts...seems like, in lamar's absence, he really relies on walton a lot to help him organize things out there...i also saw kobe going over to lamar (he was sitting in a suit at the end of the bench) to talk to him and laugh a little...you can see from the way he interacts with the rest of the team and staff that he's got their respect and really is a leader on the squad...

walton - luke didn't have a great game offensively but, while he was on the floor, it seemed like they ran most of the offense through him in the post...got most of his shots in the paint, partcularly a nice back-at-you dunk after a sixer player dunked on the other end...and korver just went off last night and not just on luke...

smush - thought smush had a decent game last night...liked his hustle out there (db mentioned the 2 forays into the 1st row)...smush looked really athletic out on the floor and has a smooth set shot...the thing is though it doesn't seem like his head is in the game if he's on the bench...i noticed a couple times when the team was huddled during a TO and he was just walking outside the circle by himself...ronnie had to call him over on one of those occassions...

kwame - they aren't kidding when they say the guy's a physical specimen - kwame is buff and huge...showed some quickness and a real ability to bang inside with dalembert and hunter...the "butterfingers" comments seemed to be well deserved - even during the layup line he seemed to have trouble palming the ball...guy had a couple of point blank shots that he just could not make...you can hear the collective groan of the crowd everytime it happened...i didn't catch who's foot he fell on but kwame was in real pain on the floor...he was clutching and flexing his left leg and wasn't able to put any pressure on it even after he'd been helped off...i thought it was a knee injury and am glad it's less serious...ronnie and vlad helped him off the court and he never came back...

evans - guy is a steal...built like a truck as well...very athletic...vlad air-balled a shot from the right post and evans swooped in to dunk it back in...remember thinking he has nice form on his J...also looked like he played iguadala pretty well while he was on him...

farmar - didn't see much from jordan offensively but, just watching him, you can sense he has a nice understanding of the triangle...was directing guys on the floor and was very active with his feet...

sasha - he had a very nice night...shot was going in and folks in our section were egging him to shoot everytime he had the ball...he also seemed to play really disruptive man-to man defense...was literally in his assigned guy's face...had a nice steal that led to a break...doesn't look to take it to the hole though...

vladrad - "teenwolf" is right - guy's hair and beard look unbelievably uncomfortable and funny...doesn't play his height but really has a great looking stroke...was surprised as his ability to post up a little though he seemed a little less comfortable than on the perimeter...also committed 2 quick fouls in succession - a charge and a reach in (i think)...

cook - guy came in after a timeout and drained a jumper off the left wing immediately...instant offense...kobe also found him to his left for a layup afte 24 cut through the lane and drew the defense...grabbed a couple of boards as well...

shammond - another guy with a great looking shot...was surprised PJ put him in...made his first attempt plus had one go in and out...

ronnie - the guy really is very animated...was always on his feet cheering people on...was the victim of a hard no-call and was on the floor a couple of seconds while play was on...guy is huge as well...

andrew - think andrew had about 3 or so blocks last night...the kid is tall and has some meat on his frame...although he had a nice dunk from the left side off a nice pass from kobe (?) was a little disappointed he didn't take it to the hole a lot stronger...bynum seemed like he was thinking too much out there whenever he had the ball in the post...also looked a little awkward at times and not very fluid...didn't see much of his athleticism but the kid uses his length very well...

PJ/staff - came out to the court about 5 minutes prior to the anthem...that's a very tall staff - PJ, rambis, shaw and cleamons are big people...PJ had a limp walking but was quick to get up from the bench during timeouts...didn't notice winter but saw kareem last night...guy looked cool in a dark shirt/pullover and jeans...almost missed him walking up the aisle to go to his seat...was taking notes every now and then during the game...

was a great night for me and my family...found myself constantly looking up at the banners in the rafters...had really good seats and had an unbelievable time...didn't have the special lighting for the game though but they had this real nice opening thing where thay had cloth come down from the jumbotron and projected team highlights on it...will try posting the pictures i took later...

oh, and miller looks like he still has a lot of game in him...wouldn't mind having him on the team...
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:09 pm    Post subject:

thanks for sharing dino
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