LAKERS -at- WARRIORS - 2/25 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

Road Blowout... And I don't mean we hit a bump and got a flat tire. With a performance very similar to the last one--the Lakers trailed early, pushed back and kept their foot firmly planted on the gas--the Lakers cruised to a 102-85. (Okay, maybe that was a bit too much with the automotive metaphors.)

We saw a very similar game plan: Get aggressive early with Kobe, start Mo, bring in the vets in the second unit, keep the pressure on and hold to close out the game. Bottom line: More intelligent effort...on both ends.

Mo Evans had a career-high game for the third time this season, scoring 26 points. After 19 points in the first half and getting into the lane again and again, Monta Ellis had just 3 in the second half.


Kobe -- -- Very nice, well-rounded game from Kobe. He again looked aggressive from the start instead of sitting back and setting up others. Defensively, much better efforts on that end. I suspect looking at the game film has helped to see his positioning. Kobe also does a sensational job on the defensive glass whenever he mixes it up down there. You know if he's in the battle, somehow he's going to come up with the board or tap it to a teammate. He did that a few times tonight. He scored 26 points on 9-23 shooting (2-8 from three, 6-7 from the line...should have been more), he grabbed 6 boards and dished a team-high 6 assists. He also had 3 steals, giving him 8 in the last two games. We were able to keep him to 36 minutes tonight to go with 31 in the last game, so that may pay off a little tomorrow. He took the Lakers first three shots, hitting a face-up wing jumper, a turnaround and missing a three. He hit Bynum in transition for a dunk. He hit Bynum on the two-man sequence and it drew FTs. Nice dive on the D end to save a loose ball from going out of bounds off Bynum. Working again off the Bynum handoff, this time he drew the D and whipped it under the hoop to Mo for a dunk. He missed a layup and wanted the foul, complained and his man scored at the other end trailing the break. He swished about a 32-foot three on the next trip down. He got hit on the wrist trying to score under the hoop, but no call. He got blocked by Pietrus on a jumper. He popped out from the weakside, took the Bynum kickout and drilled a jumper. He dove to the floor for a loose ball, called timeout and was slow to get up. He missed a three. He attacked off the dribble, drew contact and made one FT. He had 10 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds at the half. He anticipated a pass, jumped the lane and took it the distance for an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He backdoored his man, took the bullet oop from Smush and dunked it. He missed a three. He got hit in the head trying to score under the hoop, didn't get the call and picked up a tech. He attacked from the corner, stepped around defenders and scored a layup. He drew a foul on a cut and made both FTs. He was tripped on an attack and made both FTs. He threw a couple of bad passes to Ronny, one behind his back off the screen-roll, the other giving up a probable dunk trying throw it backwards on the break and it was deflected out of bounds. Phil then sat him with a minute and half left in the third. He brought him back to start the fourth. He sank a high-arching corner three. He attacked on the baseline, took contact and flipped it over his head and in with no whistle. He missed a three and then sat midway through the fourth.

Lamar -- -- Some smarter use of his size in this one despite not getting the stats. He went to the block when Kobe rested and we were able to run some offense through him there and collapse the D at times. You'd still like to see it a lot more. He wasn't quite as active defensively, but he kept the guys he was defending in check. Lamar scored 8 points on 4-13 shooting, grabbed 8 boards and had 5 assists with 2 turnovers in 37:31 of action. He attacked, took contact with no call, and missed a reverse. He missed a turnaround over a smaller man. (Bynum cleaned up both of those misses.) He took an offensive board and banked it back in. He hit a stepback fade on the right baseline. He attacked from the top of the key and hit Ronny cutting under the hoop for an And-1. He had a jumphook swatted, he thought it was goaltended. He posted up and lost Pietrus on an up-and-under and dunked. He missed a fade on his next post up. He missed a two-for-one three attempt. He scored a layup when he lost his man on a cut and Mo found him.

Bynum -- -- Decent numbers in a short time. He didn't get too many back-to-the-basket touches, nor seemed to work for it. But his energy was a little better overall on the glass (even if he did let a couple go he should have had). He scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting, grabbed 10 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists and 1 block in 26 minutes. He spun and dunked getting out in transition after contesting and taking a pass from Kobe. He cleaned up a miss by LO with a layup. He used his length to slap an offensive board into the air, he then gathered it and scored a layup. He handed off to Kobe, got it back and drew a foul, he made one. He picked up his second foul and had to sit with a few minutes left in the first quarter. He hit Kobe popping out from the weakside of the Tri for a jumper. He worked the two-man with Lamar and rattled in a left-handed hook from about 6 feet out. He found Mo coming from the weakside for an open jumper. He missed a chippie with defenders swarming him.

Smush -- -- Smush tweaked his ankle, but still started, keeping his streak alive. He played so-so, but his minutes were limited to just 19. The toughest part was probably trying to defend when players switch directions. He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-5 from three), pulled down 4 boards and had 1 assist. He had a pass stolen for a dunk on our first sequence. He got fouled on a pull-up jumper at the FT line, he missed both. He missed a three. He attacked off the Kobe handoff and scored high off the glass. He drained a three at the top of the key off some good Laker ball movement. He missed a long three off a kickout. He quickly picked up his second and third fouls in a few seconds after returning to the game in the second quarter and had to sit. He missed a quick three in transition. He threw a beauty backdoor bullet alley-oop to Kobe for a dunk.

Evans -- -- Mo got the start and strung together his third-straight great game. He was an absolute handful for the Warriors. He extended his career high to 26 points off an efficient 8-13 shooting and 8-9 from the line. Sure is nice getting another player to the line that many times to manufacture points. He missed a FT jumper. He missed a pull-up jumper. He took a feed from Kobe under the hoop and crammed it down. He faked, then hit a corner three. He took contact on the break with no call and missed a layup. He stole a pass on the next defensive stand, took it up court, was wrapped up but powered through it and flipped in an And-1 over his head, he made the FT. He swished an open corner three getting in good rhythm. He posted up Ellis, lost him and knocked down a short baseline jumper. He tried to finish strong on the break, was undercut and went down hard, he made both FTs (after the game, he was holding his hip). He took a feed from Cook and tried to finish strong, drawing the foul, he made one FT. He led the Lakers with 16 points on 5-8 shooting to go with 2 steals at the half. He popped out from the weakside, took the Bynum kickout and hit the jumper. He faked, took a dribble and drew a foul, he made both FTs. He attacked the paint and kicked to Turiaf under the hoop for a dunk. He got hit on a baseline jumper, he made both FTs. He found LO under the hoop for a layup. He hit a step-back wing jumper to get a new career high. He missed a three. Farmar attacked the paint and dished to Mo for a two-hand dunk.

Cook -- -- Cook was the third Laker to reach double figures and led the bench scoring. This is really the role he is suited for, coming off the bench when we have favorable defensive match ups and helping the second-unit scoring. He scored 11 points on 4-7 shooting and grabbed 4 boards in 17 minutes. He hit a three with just 1 on the shotclock working the two-man game with LO. He worked the two-man game with LO, got Pietrus switched on him and hit a turnaround jumper. He missed back-to-back wing jumpers. He faced up and hit a quick step-back wing jumper over Biedrins. Great hustle to fight for an offensive board and draw a foul trying to score, he made both FTs. Very nice over-the-head touch pass to McKie for an open jumper.

Turiaf -- -- Some nice work by Ronny anchoring the D and bringing his usual hustle. He scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting (0-2 from the line), grabbed 4 boards, blocked 2 shots, dished 2 assists and collected 5 fouls in 18:34 of action. He knocked a screen-roll pass loose to force a turnover. He blocked Ellis's drive from behind and avoided a foul. He rejected Barnes off the glass to erase a hoop. On the other end, he cut under the hoop, took the feed from LO and scored a reverse while fouled, he missed the FT. He missed a jumphook. He picked up a phantom foul against Pietrus and had to sit. He dunked off an interior feed from Mo. He scored an And-1 layup under the hoop off an extra pass from Shammond, he missed the FT.

Shammond -- -- I thought if Smush couldn't go, Shammond would get the start in this one. Phil is pretty much planning to plant Sasha and Farmar on the bench...but the blowouts have provided some PT for both. Another steady game from Shammond...on both ends. A little trouble with time expiring at the end of quarters, but solid otherwise. The second-unit not only held their own, they extended the lead a little with him as lead guard. He sank a corner three out in transition on his first attempt (he should have been cutting to the hoop for a layup). He airballed a three at the first quarter buzzer. He hit a pull-up jumper when his man sagged off him at the top of the key. He traveled trying to set up a shot at the third-quarter buzzer. He made the extra pass under the hoop to set Ronny up for an And-1. He swished an open wing jumper. He finished with 7 points on 3-5 shooting, 3 boards and 1 steal in 18:23 of run.

McKie -- -- Another stint of good ball, holding down the fort with the second unit. McKie had 2 points on 1-1 shooting, 2 boards, 1 assist and 1 steal in 13:28 of action. Nice strip under the hoop showing some quick hands. Good switch and recover to double and pressure on the perimeter. He hit Shammond with a quick swing pass for a wide open jumper. He finished a circus play by the Lakers for his one basket...it started with Kobe going between his legs with a pass to Turiaf, who lossed it, Cook then threw it over his head on a touch pass to a wide open McKie who swished the baseline jumper.

Farmar -- -- Jordan was the only Laker not to score in this one. He was 0-3 in 10:28 of PT, he had 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 turnovers. Smush had quickly picked up his second and third fouls in a few seconds after returning to the game in the second quarter, so Phil brought in Jordan. Otherwise, we probably would not have seen him in the first half. He stripped a man and ignited the break. He hit Mo for an open three. He was called for a walk on a step-through move in the post. He back-rimmed a 75-footer at the halftime buzzer. He attacked the paint and set up Mo at the last second for a two-hand dunk. Some sloppy play at the end of the game. He stole a pass in the backcourt but the mustard came off the hotdog when he tried to hit Bynum with a no-looker that was no where close. He missed a pull-up jumper short. He airballed a three.

Vujacic -- -- Sasha had the fewest minutes tonight, going just 6:34 in the blowout. He got in a few seconds at the end of the first half. In in the second hald, he curled off a screen, got cracked on the head and drew FTs for his 2 points.

Phil -- -- He called a quick 20-second timeout to snap at Bynum for a defensive rotation just one minute into the game... Shammond was the first guard off the bench. Phil kept one of LO or Kobe in the game (had LO in the post on the Turiaf, Cook, LO, McKie, Shammond unit) and the second unit extended the Laker lead... The Lakers led at half, despite giving up a 30-18 advantage on points in the paint. In the second half, we kept even with them 18-18 and reduced the easy scores off penetration... To start the fourth, Phil went with the Turiaf, Cook, Kobe, McKie, Shammond unit... Nice bounce back with a couple of blowouts. Hopefully, the team is up to take on the Jazz...

[golakersgo121]

That was quick, DB. It is more pleasure to write it up after a blowout road win on a Sunday night, isn't it?

BTW, defensive rotation between McKie and Shamu is much better than it is for our first unit.

Lets' give Smush a pass for this uneventful game.
Farmar looks really lost though. His confidence left the building...

[DancingBarry]

[lakersflambe]

ah, the great mod does have to bow to someone, after all...

[golakersgo121]

[Mation]

Thanks DB, seven games above five-hundred--let's try to get back up to ten!

I like seeing our opponent's numbers below 90--keep it up guys.

[20,000]

The guard rotation, experimenting because of poor play, or because Phil wants to see what players he has and what they have to offer? Or C, getting players more rest so they are ready to really play during the playoffs?
_________________
Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying...'I will try again tomorrow.'

[CorkyTomjanovich]

There is no way on earth anybody can justify Shammond playing over Sasha and Farmar.

[insidepresence]

[DancingBarry]

[Laker_Holic]

DB are you surprised how well Evans has been playing?

[DancingBarry]

Only thing I'm surprised is he didn't have a bad game in between some of these good ones. Consistency is the key, regardless of what Mo says in the press. He was getting minutes and not being consistent...either very hot or very cold.

[Laker_Holic]

Am i crazy for thinking Mo is actually better then Luke minus the Passing?

Better athelete

Better scorer

Better slasher.....etc.

[cusu32000]

[ProjectAB]

I think Bynum is starting to learn that on the road, you have to try to take the charge, and force the guard to make the pass, which is not easy when he's running at full speed(most of the time though, they'll just take the shot.) However, he has to try to get outside of the circle, or he can still get called for a foul.

[BigEvil]

I must say, this was an impressive victory.

I was amazed at how quick Ol' Man McKie was moving on D. His rotations were great.

Mo, I'm a believer. The guy hustles. He may not always have the stroke consistantly, but he'll bring maximum effort each time. But here's the cunundrum. Does it benefit the Lakers more to have Luke playmaking for the second unit, or the first? You could argue that Kobe and Lamar could get it done for the starting line-up and then bring in Walton when either of those two sits for a rest. Does having a hustle guy like Evans in the starting line-up help the Lakers get going a little faster?

I'm beginning to think that perhaps the Lakers should try (when everyone is back that can be, of course) as Smush/Kobe/Evans/Odom/Kwame starting line-up leading up to the playoffs.

The second unit could consist of either Kobe or Odom staying on the court, with Walton and Bynum while bringing in Cook or Ronny if LO sits, or Shammond/McKie/Farmar if Kobe and/or Smush sits.

Just some thoughts on how to spread the wealth on this team.

[Alpha]

[*Purple&Gold*]

Whats the answer to stopping opponets from strolling down the lane for layup after layup after layup without any player wearing the purple and gold even contesting? We look like a bunch of card-board cut-ups standing there with our arms stretched straight above our heads. We need a shot blocker in the worst way!
This was why I was so opposed to the aquisition of Kidd. I see us needing a shot blocker much more than a Kidd. Points we can score, but we just cant seem to stop anybody these days.