CELTICS -at- LAKERS - 2/23 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

Finally!... Nothing like a Celtic/Laker game to get the blood flowing. Okay, maybe that lasted for only the first half...if that...before the Lakers blew them out 122-96.

The Celtics came out hitting their first several shots and Staples was getting irked and vocal. Kobe turned that around in a hurry, setting the tone on both ends. He pounced on the Celtics with a 22-point first quarter. He finished the game with 38 points, 9 assists and 5 steals in just three quarters of play.

The Lakers played a more aggressive defense, trapping a lot more and putting on some full-court pressure at times. Kobe and Lamar played defense with a sense of urgency and Phil used Shammond and McKie in the backcourt to steady the second unit. They provided some much needed hoop IQ, particularly on the defensive end. LO was one of the keys defensively with his trapping, rotating and active play.

The Lakers led by as much as 28 points, and the entire active roster scored. The Lakers had 32 assists. McKie played everything from lead guard to power forward to center for a couple seconds. Nice to have the blowout, but we still need Kwame and Luke back if we are going to get back to where we were earlier this season.


Kobe -- -- Kobe came out with an aggressive mindset and picked apart the Celtics. He wasn't going to lose this game and definitely had that inner fire back. Thankfully, he had the perimeter game to match it. Of course, both he and the team have looked good against the Celtics during their recent slump, so it's going to take more than one game against a bottom dweller to right this team. Maybe Kobe can use this one to go on one of those rampages of his. Kobe scored 38 points in 31 minutes on 13-23 shooting (5-7 from three and 7-9 from the line), he dished 9 assists and had 5 steals. He looked like that All Star MVP Kobe we saw in Vegas. He missed his first jumper. He threw up a wild shot on the baseline and hit the side of the backboard. He attacked and hit Bynum with an interior feed for a dunk. He faced up and knocked down a wing jumper. He attacked Pierce off the dribble and banked high over him. He stepped around Pierce to knock a pass free. He sank a wing three on his next attempt. On the next possession, he hit one again from the same spot. With Pierce on him, he pulled up again from the same left wing spot and sank another three. He busted out on the break, took the feed from Smush and dunked with both hands (should have been an And-1). He faced up a step behind the arc on the other side of the court and drained his fourth three in a row. He missed his fifth one from downtown on the other wing. He flashed to the FT line, took a pass and hit a jumper. He missed a tech FT. He hit Shammond in transition for a jumper. He split the double, pulled up and hit a 10-footer. He had 22 points on 9-12 shooting in the first quarter (it's crazy when he makes that look so easy). Back in after a rest, he forced a runner in a crowd and missed. He missed a pull-up jumper. He attacked the lane, again forced up a shot as players were really starting to converge on him (the dump off for a dunk was there) and he missed the shot. He hit Smush on the break for the And-1 layup. He stripped the ball from Pierce on an attack as Kobe was backing up in the lane, he then hit Turiaf with a long oop pass. He hit a tech FT. He had 25 points on 10-16 shooting and 6 assists in the first half. He spun backdoor for the lob on the first play of the half and scored the oop layup. He drew a holding foul on Pierce and sank two FTs. He hit a three from the corner like it was nothing. He took a handoff, drew the D, and quickly flipped it behind his back to Smush for a three. He attacked, got a hip-checked and drew FTs, making both. He hit Smush from the post for a three. He hit LO on the break for a dunk. He knocked an entry pass loose on help D. He blew past Green, turned the corner and scored a layup. He was fouled on a three and made two of the FTs. He sat with more than a minute left in the third. Nice to see him get some rare rest during a game.

Lamar -- -- Lamar didn't score a lot, but he was the anchor of the team defensively. He was rotating and doubling and more active on the defensive end than he has been. He was in on a lot more defensive stops than I've seen from him since he's been back. Very nice to see. He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting, grabbed 8 boards, dished 6 assists and blocked 2 shots in 37:36 of action. On to the action: Nice block on West who tried to throwdown. He hit Evans cutting down the lane in transition for a dunk. He was late to recognize a bust out for Shammond, threw the pass and it was picked off when the D caught up. With Kobe on the bench, he posted up, reposted, then faced up and attacked, drawing FTs, he made both. He cleaned up a Cook missed reverse in transition with a layup. He swished a long wing jumper against the shotclock. He had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half. He missed a three. Nice two-man game with Bynum, throwing it up high and Drew gathered it and scored an And-1. Long alley-oop pass to Mo on the break for the And-1 dunk. He challenged Telfair's penetration and drew a clear-out foul. He dunked on the break, filling the lane and taking the feed from Kobe. Good help D, dropping to help on penetration, then tying Green up for a jumpball. He got back in transition, challenged West to save a hoop, then had some words with him. He missed a turnaround and a long three before sitting.

Bynum -- -- Offensively, very smooth game from Bynum, as well as some nice activity on the offensive glass. On the defensive boards, he got a big goose egg. He and Smush were the only Lakers without a defensive board. He was reasonably active and challenging shots, but he still needs to work on his strength and boxing out...and just flat out saying "that ball is mine" when a shot goes up on the defensive end. Bynum was efficient with the few shots he took tonight (get him the ball more), scoring 16 points on 6-7 shooting to go with his 4 offensive boards, 2 assists and 1 block in 32 minutes. He dunked off an interior feed from Kobe. He sealed in the lane, took the entry pass and hit a quick jumphook. He tried to throwdown a reverse dunk but was called for the walk (might be the first time he's tried that). Good challenge on Jefferson on one shot and Pierce on another to force bricks. He hit Kobe flashing to the FT line for a jumper. He gave up an offensive board out of position then fouled his man. He got the ball stolen in the high post to ignite the break (one of 3 turnovers). He finally timed one of those high lob passes, gathered it and scored an And-1 layup, he made the FT. Nice effort on a couple offensive boards, one just outreaching his man, the other disrupting it enough to get us the possession back. A rare post-up, he took it to the middle, faked the jumphook, drew a double, then just shot the jumper from 8 feet over them. He missed a turnaround from the left side. Cook flipped him an interior pass and Bynum scored an And-1 at the front of the rim, he made the FT. He pulled down back-to-back offensive boards outreaching the smaller Celtics and then he was fouled to prevent a hoop, he made both. He scored a layup, working the pick and roll with McKie out on the perimeter. One gets the sense that the Celtics could end up with a very good bigman out of the draft this years. We might have a future rivalry in the paint if it happens.

Smush -- -- Decent minutes from Smush tonight. He mixed it up on both ends and gave the Lakers some defensive spark at times. The Lakers rarely had to worry about guard penetration tonight collapsing the D. Smush played just 24 minutes and scored 12 points on 5-10 shooting. He had 3 assists and 2 steals. He missed a three. He got back-doored by West for a layup down the lane. He hit Kobe with a long pass over the D in transition for a dunk. He missed a three. He had the ball stolen in the backcourt. Nice fast break, giving it up to Kobe, getting it back and flipping in an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He took the Kobe post handoff, attacked on the baseline and scored a reverse. Excellent anticipation when Kobe and LO were doubling, Smushed jumped the lane on the pass out and took it the distance for a finger roll. He then bounced off a Pierce screen like DFish and drew an offensive foul and tech on Pierce. He sank a three working the two-man weakside sequence with Kobe. He missed a corner three. He hit a three off Kobe posting up. Nice help D, picking a pass and igniting the breakaway.

Evans -- -- Back to back strong games from Mo. Phil gave him the start after his 23 points against Portland and he delivered. His energy tonight was on another level compared to most of the players out there. He was active on both ends and teamed up for some of the bigger highlight plays of the night. Mo finished with 11 points on 4-11 shooting, 6 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists and 1 steal in 30 minutes. Early on, he wasn't watching as Bynum tipped a ball loose and Mo's man took it and scored. Great help D to block Pierce, he then busted out and was rewarded from LO for a dunk. He missed a turnaround, then blindsided West in the backcourt for a steal and he drew a foul on the layup miss, he made both FTs. He pulled up from the elbow and sank a jumper. Great effort to tip an offensive board, track it down and throw it off a Celtic (it led to three points after the inbounds). He missed a turnaround jumper. He swished a long pull-up jumper at the end of the third. Mo had the highlight play of the night when Lamar hit him in stride from halfcourt for an alley-oop dunk.

Cook -- -- Phil put Cook on the bench in this one and started Mo. He came off the bench with a strong shooting stint to start the game. He couldn't score in the second half and fouled out. He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting, grabbed 2 boards and had 1 steal in 13 minutes. He worked the two-man game with LO, had a mismatch and swished a turnaround over the smaller man. He faced up and drained an elbow jumper. He sank a wing three out of a timeout. He missed an easy layup under the hoop against a smaller man. He found himself wide open on the wing and drained a three. He missed a long three off the Kobe kickout. He had all 10 points in the first half. He traveled trying to take off on the dribble. He took a backdoor pass from Lamar, nearly fell over, gathered it and flipped it to Bynum for the And-1. Powe snatched a rebound from Bynum, then Cook snatched it right back for his steal.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny made sure to use all his fouls tonight in just 16:43 of action. During that time, he also scored 6 points on 1-3 shooting, grabbed 5 boards and blocked 2 shots. He missed an elbow jumper. He picked up a foul going over the back (those kind he has to watch if he's going to be contesting everything on the D end and picking up fouls). He drew FTs on the defensive glass and made both. He busted out in transition, took a long pass from Kobe and flipped it in over his head while still in the air. He swatted Powe and it led to a breakaway hoop. He was blocked on a crazy, garbage-time turnaround. He drew a foul and made two FTs.

Farmar -- -- Jordan played the fewest minutes of anyone on the court tonight, going just 8:07. He pulled down 3 boards and scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting. He found Cook wide open for a three. He took a Ronny blocked shot on the D end and converted it into a breakaway layup on the other.

Vujacic -- -- With the blowout, Sasha got more minutes than Phil was planning to give. He held down the fort and helped maintain the lead with some three shooting. He scored 9 points on 3-5 shooting (3-4 from three) and had 2 boards in 15 minutes. He came in after Mo picked up 3 fouls late in the second. He missed a wing three on his first attempt. He hit a corner three off a Shammond swing pass. He got blocked under the hoop. He hit another three off a Shammond swing pass. He drained another three on the next possession from the wing.

McKie -- -- He scored his first hoop of the year and even played some PF and C for the Lakers. Okay, the C-spot he had to cover for only 3 seconds, but he was at PF for a few minutes going up against Powe. Good help D and team D throughout the game. McKie scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting, had 3 boards and 3 assists in 12:22. He nearly turned the ball over while bringing it up. Great defensive sequence on iso against Pierce, he cut off the baseline with a good angle and forced Pierce to throw the ball away. He swished a baseline jumper off a drive and kick from Shammond. Nice two-man game, wrapping the ball around the defenders to get it to Bynum for a score. He faced up and took Powe off the dribble for a layup on the baseline.

Shammond -- -- Last, but not least. He played some very smooth minutes tonight. I can only think of one sequence where he was out of sync in the offense. Defensively, he played smart, active and with his head up. The hoop IQ on the floor was definitely elevated with the veteran presence. "We should have gotten a lot more wins, we shouldn't even have been in this position," Shammond said. "A lot of elements of the game, we take for granted and don't understand the things you need to do as a team." Shammond led the bench in minutes with 20 tonight. He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting, had 4 assists without a turnover, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. He swished on an 18-foot pull-up in transition on the baseline. He back-rimmed a half-court attempt at the first-quarter buzzer. He swished a wing jumper behind the Turiaf high pinch post. He swiped a ball with some nice scrambling help D and ignited the break. He ran the high pinch post with Ronny, attacked and scooped in a layup around a help defender. He found Sasha for a couple of threes, swinging the ball quickly. He missed a three. He attacked the lane, elevated and kicked out to McKie for the jumper. He outplayed the Celtics bench PGs, Rondo and Telfair.

Phil -- -- Well, Phil's longest losing streak of his career is over. It would be nice to try to string some wins together, but until we get healthy, we are going to have to scrap for every W... The Celtics got off to a hot start, but the Lakers reeled them back in behind a first-quarter outburst by Kobe... As was rumored, Phil went to the veteran back court to start the second unit. The Lakers had Turiaf, Cook, LO, McKie and Shammond on the floor. Pretty dang sure that's the first time we've seen that combination. We then went to a Turiaf, Cook, Kobe, McKie, Famar lineup... The Lakers bench outscored the Celtics 18-2 in the first half, led by Cook with 10 points. They shot 62 percent to the Celtics 46 percent... A lot more pressure D in the full court as well as some better effort and help D by the team. Shammond and McKie definitely made an impact on the defensive end... Phil closed out the game with a Bynum (or Turiaf), McKie, Sasha, Farmar, Shammond lineup... The Lakers had three straight quarters scoring over 30 points in each to start the game... Luke said he won't be back for at least a week, targetting next Friday. Let's hope that's finally the date he returns... Since this is usually the spot where I put the team/coaching stuff, I'll give some space here to Cap commenting on Dennis Johnson's sudden passing. "It was heart-rendering to hear about it. It really hurt," Kareem said. "He was a great player. He had the game all thought out. He knew how to execute and he knew how to compete. So many players have great skills but don't understand the game. His understanding of the game was encyclopedic, and he had the will and heart of a winner."...

Vlad Rad -- -- Snowboarding... Snowboarding?... Snowboarding!... Dude, what are you thinking? You should be resting your legs, but you are out hurtling yourself down a mountain in Utah. WTH? "Being young and sometimes immature," Vlad said, "I initially panicked and made up a false story about how I hurt myself. However, over the past few days my conscience has been bothering me terribly. I am not a dishonest person and could no longer live with this deception." Props for coming clean about it and owning up, that takes a bigger person than most. But damn, use your head. We're already thin to begin with and you are taking liberties at the expense of your teammates. Not cool.

Fox X-Mo -- -- What is cool? The X-Mo. Great feature this season, but I thought it was especially nice tonight. The tight shots on the jumpers of Kobe and Shammond, not to mention the big plays. Well done.

[angel]

Thanks DB!
_________________
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~

[waterman40]

what I loved about this game was Kobe scoring 20+ first quarter points, then Kobe goes to the bench and the players all start contributing. I loved seeing Shamu get some minutes and play well. It has taken longer than I expected, maybe he can start taking some of Smush's minutes.
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LAKERS 2019-2020: NBA World Champions!

[8750]

thanks, DB
it's obvious that if you want to win championships you have to play as a team... but first step to win championships is building some confidence winning games... in the last 17 games we are 5-12... in the five games we won kobe scored 42 with the warriors, 43 at boston, 39 at washington, 27 at atlanta (easy win), 38 in 31 minutes tonight... let's do the math...
tonight everything was nice... but our problem still remains the same: when everything flows these players look good, when something doesn't work these players disappear... softness, lack of character...

[he_is_the_one]

I'm glad to see Shammond and Mckie getting some minutes.
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That was Noiceeeee

[angel]

I bet the Celtics were worried Kobe might drop a hundred on them. Multiple player on Kobe can work wonders for the rest of the team. There were opportunities to score where he fed his team.
_________________
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that." ~~Martin Luther King Jr.~~

[froesel]

Thanks DB. I feels good to see the smiling face not a frown. Kobe hopefully will take over the scoring the rest of the season. He is incredible and he knows the can score when ever he wants. Hopefully Luke will come back soon to help. Wish we could give some one a month contract to help us. Sure would love to see Pippin in the Purple and gold soon to help our team.

DB, your comments about the games are always like being at the game.

Thanks again. LG wouldn't be the same without you DB.
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Win or lose, for better or worse, always a Laker fan.

[LongtimeLakerLover]

^^^ - "heck yes!" to the smiley face!

I thought defensively they were much more active, which made a difference. I really liked the defensive rotations and the pushing the ball. Before he was injured LO was really active in facilitating pushing the ball. It was good to see others doing that last night.

One win down. Let's see if they can string 'em together now.
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I love LA........WE LOVE IT!

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB, but what's X-Mo?
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"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE

[The_Coach]

Thanks as always DB.

I realize this was the Celtics but Shammond looked VERY good last night. Not only did he seem to understand and flow well in the offense but his defense was solid. He played mujch better than Smush. Do you think that was real or was it just the poor caliber of the opposition?

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

Welcome back Mr. Bryant and the win column

Now that L.O. is there to facilitate, this is the Kobe we needed. If he hadnt exploded in the 1st we probably would have lost our 7th straight. we were down 11 so quickly but Kobe does what he does best. he demoralizes the opposition and frustrated Pierce enough for doc to leave him on the bench most of the second. I think McKie and Williams deserve more minutes. Ive always been a big Shammond guy since his days at UNC, but their veteran presence was huge. I actually wish we had a guard(other than Kobe) who could facilitate so Lamar can go down in the paint and stop shooting 3s.

what i liked most about Kobe.......

he was crashing the boards and boxing out on the offense end. i know he only got 2 rebounds but he was hustling rather than back peddling (as if he knows the shot is going in for his teammate) like he usually does

thanks DB

p.s. if Cook can continue to play like he did tonight.....VOID THE CONTRACT OF VLAD!
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[20,000]

DB and anyone else, do you think Shammond got plenty of minutes only because Phil needed to infuse some energy in the team, or do you think Shammond gets the offense and is able to run it well?

While he looked good out there, I couldn't quite tell how well he is running the triangle offense? Do you think he could get more minutes this season? Perhaps we did not need a trade for a PG after all. All we needed was sitting on the bench the whole time.
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Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[prisma8slg]

so glad to see a : -))

shammond's contributions were definitely a bright spot, until tonight I hadn't really seen him play for an extended period of time. he doesn't have the promise of farmar but he plays smart and isn't going to make boneheaded mistakes all the time.
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"I define success by championships, by winning..." Kobe Bryant

"I've seen it all. Sasha dunked on somebody," Kobe Bryant said. "I'm ready to retire now."

[LakerLanny]

Kobe was Kobe again and Evans effort and hustle was fantastic.

Much props to Shammond Williams too.
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Love, Laker Lanny

[drew4lakers]

[Addicus]

It was nice to see the Lakers play with energy. The only game they've lost lately and played with energy is the Spurs overtime game.

Someone posted a few days ago that our idenity is our depth and I have to agree.

Thanks for the recap and breakdown DB.
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Stop crying and start doing.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/addicusbrown

[DancingBarry]

[akk7]

Kobe guarded Pierce? If he did the box score says he did a great job. Anyone fill me in.

[DancingBarry]

It was a mix of Kobe, Evans and McKie.

[K08E_1_KEN081]

GO LAKERS!

[Mation]

[RYZ]

Thanks, DB.

Is it just me or did Leon Powe shrink 4-5 inches? I knew he was undersized at PF, but he looked to be about 6'8" at Cal. I swear he wasn't bigger than 6'4"/6'5" last night. Gerald Green had at least a couple of inches on him. Odd.

Anyway, great win, and nice to see your

[BigE32]

Thanks, DB. X-Mo is really cool.