TWOLVES -at- LAKERS - 3/18 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

Encore Performance... Kobe Bryant. First Laker in 44 years to drop consecutive 50-point games. After the 65 in his last game, Kobe kept the throttle down for an even 50 points against the TWolves Sunday evening. With Luke back in the lineup, the offense clicked again, tallying 36 assists, in the 109-102 victory.

Good to see us back up in those assist numbers. It's no coincidence that Luke's presence on the court has us working the ball for easy scores. In addition to Kobe's fantastic 50, the Lakers had three others with near triple-doubles: Smush had 19 points, 9 assists and 7 boards; Luke had 10 points, 11 assists and 8 boards; and Lamar had 16 points, 8 assists and 9 boards. Sensational production from those four players tonight.

We lost a couple of leads in this one, our largest lead of 19 points was cut to just 3 late in the game...but the team held on. With LO and Luke out there to initiate the offense and playmake, the Lakers can take a lot of that burden off of Kobe's shoulders and let him play the assassin role. They faced a lot of zone tonight and had some bad stretches where they settled for threes, but managed to get through it. The best sequences were when they'd come up with a steal and quickly attack in transition. Very nice to have our playmakers back and seeing that tempo pick up.


Kobe -- -- Kobe took over the scoring leader board with the massive jump in his last two games. He's now averaging more than 30 points a game. What matters more, however, are the two W's the team got in the process trying to stay in the fight for the playoffs. Kobe's intensity and fire on the court was evident a number of times tonight. He displayed his usual insane variety of scoring skills throughout. Kobe scored his 50 points on 17-35 shooting (4-9 from three and 12-14 from the line). He had 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals in 44:33 of action. First Quarter: He missed a wing jumper on his first attempt. He knocked down a top-of-the-key jumper. Jaric went for a steal, missed and Kobe took it in for the two-hand dunk. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He sank a baseline jumper. He missed a reverse on the break and wanted the foul. Aggressive again trying to finish at the rim and he drew the call, he made both FTs. He pulled up and missed a three in transition. He gave the ball to Luke, cut down the lane, got it back and reversed around KG. He caught the ball on the wing, turned and drained the 18-footer. He missed a jumper and wanted the foul. Second Quarter: After a short rest at the end of the first quarter, he came back in to start the second. He was hit on a jumper and made one FT. He missed a tough turnaround over a double team. He missed a three, then a runner in the lane trying to beat the clock. He swished a baseline jumper. He missed a step-through in the paint after stealing the ball. He swished a sideline three off a kickout from Smush. He attacked baseline and reversed around KG. He was called for a carry (sheesh, they could call that type about a hundred times a game). He missed a long three at the end of the half. He had 22 points on 8-19 shooting at the half. Third Quarter: The offense stalled on our first sequence of the half, so Kobe rattled in a tough turnaround at the top of the key. He hit a stepback jumper from the wing. Somehow, he managed to flag a long outlet pass and keep his tip toes in bounds (NFL touchdown), but no other Laker trailed and he had to throw it away. He swiped the ball then hit Smush in transition for a layup. On the next play, he got out on the breakaway with Luke, who stole the ball, Luke fed him and Kobe hit the And-1 layup, then gave Luke a couple fierce high fives. (Love it!) Next time down, Smush kicked to Kobe and he drained a three. He swished a wing three and ended up out of bounds. He missed a long three trying to beat the shotclock. On the last shot of the third, he leapt, turned and swished a 28-foot three from the top of the arc, crazy shot. Fourth Quarter: He missed a three to start the quarter. He sank another tough jumper, this time from the top of the key. He took a pass from Luke in transition and drew FTs, he made both. Luke hit him again off an offensive board, Kobe attacked and banked in a tough, falling And-1 in the middle of the lane. He drew FTs on a fade, he made one, got his rebound back and missed a quick putback (should have pulled it out to run clock late in the game). He was fouled and made a couple FTs. He busted out on the break, Luke hit him in stride, he took a dribble and dunked for his 50th point.

Lamar -- -- Although, his perimeter game wasn't there, Lamar still played impact ball. He attacked the hoop a number of times and also dished out some easy-to-score-off-of passes. Defensively, he challenged his man well a number of times and controlled the boards. He finished with 16 points on 7-12 shooting (0-4 from three), grabbed 9 boards (all defensive) and dished 8 assists with 3 turnovers. He also led the team with 2 blocked shots. Early on, he attacked baseline and reverse around KG. Great bouncepass in traffic to Kwame for the dunk. Nice challenge on Blount's turnaround and it forced an airball. He grabbed the board, put the pedal down, pounded out the dribble and found Luke on the break for a reverse. He scored in the paint off an inbounds play that we never saw. He kicked out to Smush for a three. He swatted KG's turnaround, sitting on his shoulder. He got blocked on a drive at the end of the quarter and wanted the foul. He whipped a pass to Kwame for a layup. He had 7 assists at the half with some great passes leading to easy hoops. He found Luke on a kickout for a three. He attacked from the shallow wing area and spun in a tough reverse around KG (shoulder looked good on that one). He changed speeds off the pinch post and blew past KG for another reverse. He busted out on the break when Kwame poked a ball loose and drew a couple FTs, he missed both, but Luke fought for the offensive board. He attacked and rattled in an And-1 off the glass, he made both. He missed a three. He attacked across the lane to his left and scooped in a sweet layup. He attacked to his strong side off a rub screen by Luke and scored an And-1, he made the FT. Great block at the rim on Smith who was trying to throwdown.

Luke -- -- There's no denying what his presence on the court means. I suppose you could, but you'd be fooling yourself. The playmaking that he and Lamar do for the team, helps take the burden off Kobe. It also allows us to get a lot more easier scores -- transition hoops or baskets in the paint. Luke's perimeter shot still looks a bit off and his conditioning is no where near where it was when he started the season. He finished with 10 points on 4-9 shooting (1-4 from three), 8 boards, 11 assists with 3 turnovers and 3 steals in 36 minutes. He hit a wing jumper just inside the three line on his first attempt. He swiped an entry pass. Nice bouncepass to Kobe on the break, but Kobe got tapped on the finish. He missed an open corner three. After drawing a double, he hit Kobe cutting for the reverse layup. He missed a wide open three. He got out on the break, took the pass from LO and reversed nicely. He attacked and kicked to LO, who swung it to Smush for a three. After 8 minutes of uptempo ball to start the game, he was absolutely winded as he sat down on the bench. Back in after a long rest, he threw the ball away trying to hit Kwame. He lost the dribble trying to push it out in traffic. He attacked on the baseline, drew the D and found Smush cutting for the layup. He drained a three over the zone from the sideline. Great steal anticipating the kickout pass, then he pushed up the break and no-looked it to Kobe for the And-1 layup. Another great effort fighting for the loose ball off a FT miss and it led to a Smush three. He overpowered Jaric in the post for a layup (hopefully, we'll see more of this to help give us more post play). He got blocked from behind after pulling down an offensive board. He hit Kobe in transition and drew FTs. Great offensive board with over 2 minutes left and it led to a Kobe And-1. He got the ball in the middle of the press and hit Bynum for the dunk. He was fouled and made one FT. He hit Kobe in stride for a breakaway dunk and his 50th point.

Kwame -- -- As the Lakers built a large lead in the second half, Kwame told Phil that he'd prefer to sit out if possible as his ankle was giving him problems. Unfortunately, the team couldn't hold their big lead and Phil didn't want to bring Kwame back in late in the game. So, as Phil said, things got a little "dicey". Kwame was the only starter in single digits, scoring 4 points on 2-2 shooting. He pulled down 5 boards, dished 2 assists, turned the ball over twice and stole it back twice in 27 minutes. He took a bouncepass from LO in traffic and dunked. He hobbled back to the other end. Nice block, jumping out on Foye's jumper. He scored a layup on a feed from Lamar. He poked a ball loose against a smaller player and it led to a breakaway. A series of bad plays at the end of the half: he dropped a sure layup right out of bounds not looking the ball into his hands before trying to go up; he reached on the perimeter on KG and gave up FTs; and he passed up an easy jumphook to throw a kickout away. In the second half, he poked the entry pass from KG away and it led to LO freethrows on the breakaway. And, he elbowed Sasha on the bench while talking to Bynum.

Smush -- -- Great game by Smush. He had a season high in both assists (9) and rebounds (7) to go along with 19 points on a superb 8-10 shooting (3-4 from three). Our guards need to do a better job rebounding, especially Smush. Glad to see the season high in that stat. Some excellent ball movement by Smush tonight. The ball never stopped moving and he did some nice moving off the ball himself. He sank a wing 17-footer on his first attempt. He drained a three off a pitch out from Lamar. He swished a hanging jumper from the elbow. He buried a three over the zone. Great cut to the hoop as Luke had the ball in his hands and Smush was rewarded for a layup. He had 12 points at the half. In the second half, he scooped in a layup off a fastbreak feed from Kobe. He faked the three, attacked and kicked it to Kobe for a wide open three. He got one of those "new ball" bounces with the old ball, as it rattled in, out, in, out and back in again for a three. He attacked, spun in the air and flipped a sweet shot off the glass and in over KG. He missed a three. He got the ball to Luke in the middle to break the press and Luke hit Bynum for a dunk. Smush on Kobe: "He's relentless. Relentless. He's proved that all season and ever since I've been here."

Bynum -- -- Drew took on the wrath of Phil for throwing/fumbling a pass out of bounds late in the game. There was an emotional exchange on the sideline and Shaw, Kwame and Sasha tried to calm things down. Prior to that, Bynum was putting together an okay 20 minutes. He never touched the ball in the post. Maybe once. Some of that has to do with the zone and our inability to pick it apart. Some of that has to do with our general reluctance to feed the post. And part of it has to do with Bynum's lack of strength and conditioning to fight for low position. Remember, this is the same team Bynum lit up earlier in the season for 20 points and 14 boards. Drew scored just 2 points tonight on 1-1 shooting, grabbed 3 boards and was whistled for 5 fouls. He gave up a missed FT rebound. He was called for three seconds. He found Evans for a short baseline jumper. Someone on the TWolves must have stole his lunch money or kicked sand in his face a few years ago, because Bynum just destroyed another shot attempt by Mike James, spiking it to the floor volleyball style. (Earlier in the year, he had a sensational swat out of bounds against the TWolves, as well). Bynum dunked off a feed from Luke against the press for his only score and attempt.

Evans -- -- Cold Mo back in action. He's suffering from the knee injury and can't quite be himself, but we'll take what we can get. He scored just 2 points on 1-6 shooting in 15 minutes. He had just 1 board and 1 assist. He missed a three on his first attempt, never a good sign. He was fouled with no call trying to throwdown over Madsen, should have been FTs. He missed a short jumphook with his left. He bricked a wide open three. He hit a pull-up baseline jumper off a kickout from Bynum. He missed a tough baseline jumper trying to draw the foul.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny got minimal run tonight, playing just 5:43 and neither scoring nor taking an attempt. He did have 2 boards and an assist during that time. He telegraphed an entry pass and it was stolen. He came in late instead of Kwame when Bynum was benched.

Shammond -- -- Some slightly more aggressive minutes from Shammond, which is what I want to see. He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting, hitting 2-3 from behind the arc, and he grabbed a couple boards in 11:47 of action. So, we got 25 points, 9 boards and 9 assists from PG spot tonight. Let's see it again, please. Shammond started the second quarter and hit a pull-up three on his first attempt. He missed a wing jumper. He rose up and hit a corner three shortly later, should have been an And-1. He missed a three in the second half.

Vujacic -- -- In for Kobe and he quickly bricked a corner three. After a couple fouls, he was benched. He played just 3 minutes and didn't score.

Phil -- -- "I don't know how you can have 36 assists when Kobe is going one-on-one as often as he was. Maybe there was something to that I didn't see," Phil said with a bemused smirk after the game. Phil said that he talked with Kobe about getting going from the start. No more holding back until late in the game... Having Luke and LO out there will allow Kobe to play that scorer role more instead of that initiator/scorer role that takes a lot of heavy lifting. They're letting him work more on iso sequences as the ball reverse to him on the weakside. The zone will take some of that away, but look for more of it in the next games... The Lakers had a 17-point lead early, but the TWolves went on a run after Luke had to sit with 4 minutes left in the first. They went to a zone and closed out the quarter outscoring the Lakers 10-0... The Lakers had 18 assists and shot 50 percent in the first half. They kept that up in the second half... Great stretch in the third where the Lakers got multiple steals and bustout scores. Defense leading to offense... The Lakers only scored 4 points in the first six and half minutes of the fourth quarter and their huge lead they had rebuilt was erased... Phil went to Bynum late in the game instead of Kwame whose ankle was bothering him. He later benched Bynum for losing the ball and brought back in Ronny... Phil was ticked with the play of the team on both ends in the fourth quarter. Hopefully, that should give him a little mileage to keep the guys playing with a sense of urgency in the next game... The Lakers shot 52.5 percent to the TWolves 45.1. We outscored them on the break 18-14...

[NBAGirl04]

Another great analysis DB, thanks.

[KingKobe20]

Straight up awesome Luke and Lamar close to having triple doubles. Smush with 19 and 9. Kobe being Kobe.
Lakers on a two game winning streak

YES SUUR

[KingKobe20]

[AussieLakerFan]

We really need to learn how to play against a zone.

like... REALLY!!!

[LakerLanny]

[1hu2ren3dui4]

great overall game. everybody played well.
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-Most people learn by saying mother, numb, horse, angry... I learned mine by saying Lakers, add gas. - HRD.

[magic_bryant]

[George W Buss]

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[magic_bryant]

[B_Rabbit1212]

oh man, what is this strange feeling i have right now? i haven't felt it in a while. i don't think its the burrito i ate for dinner.

could this feeling be hope? good god, i think it might be. the season is not lost after all.


its amazing how short a memory is after two wins.


smush played a very solid offensive game, as did luke. lamar is starting to get it back (though he needs to find the range on that jumper). and kobe is being mega-kobe.

my only hope is that kwame's ankle issues clear up. then, heading into the playoffs, we will be nearly healthy! and that's best we'd have been in the 6 months!
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bonerkillcollective.tumblr.com - peep our art.

[DancingBarry]

Phil on passing the ball to Kwame:

[magic_bryant]

[George W Buss]

[Mation]

[prisma8slg]

[Sage_10]

Thanks DB! Good to be on the winning side again.
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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

[LongtimeLakerLover]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

MVP!, MVP!, MVP!




p.s. give shammond the greenlight to take more shots (he is the 2nd best shooter on our team)
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[Rick12322]

It was great seeing how Luke and LO can make the passes to a cutter. This should be MO's first priority this offseason.

[ProjectAB]

It seemed to me that what Kwame can do instinctively, Bynum has to focus and tries a lot harder. I knew Bynum was going to have a bad game. It's kinda easy to read how a 19-year old would react with such a big lead.

The good news is that I see that he has time to rotate. He just has to read when the refs are going to get tight(hint: it's usually when the other team is behind big) better and get outside of the circle. Otherwise, he's going to leave it up to the judgement of the refs, and most of the time in those situations, they're not going to give him the calls. Also, he had a foul on KG where he should have known that the refs were going to anticipate the call. If he had let go at the last moment, KG would have been forced to make a long layup against his body, and KG does miss a lot of layups when he has to do it against guys with strength.

Hopefully, all of this needing to pay attention to extreme details won't be necessary once he gets stronger. But for now, he has to remember to focus and play as smart and as hard as possible, EVERY TIME he comes into the game.

[Luke]

[Klone_dd]