KINGS -at- LAKERS - 4/1 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

 
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings Reply to topic
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:34 pm    Post subject: KINGS -at- LAKERS - 4/1 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

The Bench Steps Up... After just 6 points from the bench in the last game, the subs stepped up and poured in 59 bench points (no April Fools joke) as the Lakers blew out the Kings 126-103.

The Lakers shot 62 percent, not having to face any true zones in this one and taking advantage of numerous size mismatches. Six Lakers scored in double figures, and the team had 34 assists, led by Kobe with a season-high 13 dimes. The Lakers scored 68 points in the paint and finished the Kings off with a 39-22 fourth quarter.

Both Evans and Cook returned in this game, and Jordan Farmar made a little history by being the first player to play in both NBDL and NBA games on the same day. The Lakers held Mike Bibby to just 8 points on 3-15 shooting.


Kobe -- -- He didn't drop 50+, but he had the season-high 13 assists. "I like seeing my teammates being in a rhythm. I like seeing their confidence. I like seeing them smile," No. 24 said. "I don't like to see them second-guessing themselves on their shots or hanging their heads. So tonight was a big game for them to try to get their confidence back and their swagger back a little bit." Hopefully, this game is a sign that we can get back to getting a little more balance in our attack. We need others to step up or we might end up riding Kobe right into the ground if we have to rely on major scoring outbursts to get it done. Kobe shot 30 less shots in this game than the prior one, going 6-14 for 19 points in 38 minutes. He did an excellent job of surveying the floor for easy scores and dictating where the open shots would come from. His jumper wasn't especially effective early, but he still sliced up the Kings defense. We had so many other mismatches to take advantage of that Kobe didn't need to force the issue. First Quarter: He missed a wing jumper, short. He missed a 17-footer. He hit Mo in transition for an alley-oop dunk. He missed another wing jumper. He found Mo from the sideline for another dunk. He hit Cook across court for a three. He hit Kwame sealing his man for a layup. He found Kwame again in the paint for a layup. Nice D contesting Martin's layup on the break and it should have resulted in a clear-out foul. He didn't score, but had 6 assists in the first quarter. Second Quarter: He dunked when Smush found him under the hoop. He hit a face up wing jumper. Poor effort, not getting back in transition after he threw a pass away (probably wanted the foul, but he gave up numbers by standing there). He jab-stepped and hit a wing jumper over Artest. He lobbed to Ronny for a dunk. He hit Smush on a kickout for a three. He got blocked on a runner after stealing the inbounds to end the half. He had 6 points and 9 assists at the half. Third Quarter: He missed a wing jumper wide right. He hit a turnaround in the paint. He drained a sideline three off an inbounds. He attacked the paint and drew FTs, he made both. On probably the prettiest play of the night, he lost Artest with a hesitation move, tucked the ball and reversed around other King defenders. He kicked out to Smush for a three. He took a pass from Kwame and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a long three. He missed a runner in the lane. He drew FTs on an attack, he made both. Fourth Quarter: He kicked it to Ronny for an 18-footer. He found Mo in the corner for a three. He spotted Bynum in the middle of the lane for a jumphook.

Lamar -- -- Lamar got saddled with foul trouble and consequently had to watch from the bench for extended periods before we finally blew the Kings out. He played just 15 minutes, but still managed 7 points (3-6 shooting), 6 boards and 3 assists in that limited time. He reversed off an interior feed from Kwame. He scored a layup on an iso baseline attack. He airballed a wing jumper. He picked up two fouls and had to sit midway through the first. Back in and back out after picking up his third foul quickly. He picked up a cheap fourth foul to start the third, Phil left him in for a couple minutes then sat him for the rest of the quarter. After 9 games and 17 misses from three with his injured shoulder, Lamar finally knocked down a wing three with some good form.

Luke -- -- Easy points for Luke in this game, overpowering smaller defenders again and again. And...most importantly and somewhat amazingly...we actually milked it. Luke scored 18 points in just 24 minutes on 8-11 shooting. He also pulled down 5 boards and dished 1 assist. He scored a layup in semi-transition, getting Miller into the air. He drew his second foul and had to sit 5 minutes into the game. He took a pass in the middle of the floor, attacked the paint and hit a jumphook. He hit another easy jumphook from about 4 feet out. Smush made an extra pass and Luke scored the easy layup. He took a feed from Kwame and overpowered Garcia for a layup. Out of a timeout, he posted up Garcia again and hit a short jumper over him. He posted up a drew a foul on Garcia and made one FT. He was 6-6 in the first half for 13 points. He swished a three on an inside-out sequence. He missed his first attempt, trying for a wing three. Smush lobbed to him on the break and Luke laid it in. He got swatted on a jumper in the lane.

Kwame -- -- He's just too big, too strong for the Kings. We could have milked our advantage there more if we wanted. Kwame scored 10 points on 4-4 shooting, grabbed 7 boards and dished 3 assists in 26 minutes. Good numbers, likely a double-double with starter's minutes, which is what you want from him. He hit Lamar with an interior feed for a score. He took the pass off a weakside cut and drew a foul on Miller, he made one FT. He swiped an offensive board from the Kings and powered in a layup. He rocked Miller back in the post and powered in an And-1, he made the FT. Good angle to seal his man, Kobe hit him from the sideline and he powered in a layup. Kobe found him again in the middle of the paint and Kwame finished the layup. He had all 10 of his points at the half. Sheesh, worst non-call I've seen in a while, how do the refs not see Kwame getting his jersey pulled and arms wrapped up by Kings defenders, pulling him into Kobe when he and Kobe are trying to run the two-man game? Result, turnover Lakers. Bizarre. He was also called for a bogus offensive foul trying to post up.

Smush -- -- Some quality moments from Smush in this game, particularly with his passing. Some up and down moments on D, with some poor defensive position at times, and excellent anticipation at other times. He also played a little SG. I sure don't recall him chucking 9 three attempts, for some reason (must have spaced them out nicely), but he hit 3 of them. He finished with 13 points on 5-12 shooting with 8 assists in 29 minutes. He airballed a three and wanted the foul. He missed another three. He saw an open lane in transition, attacked and flipped in a layup. He hit Bynum on a corner sequence for an And-1. He hit Kobe from the same corner for a dunk. He wrapped a bouncepass around a defender to hit Bynum on a slip screen for a dunk. Poor angles on back-to-back defensive plays and it resulted in easy scores. Quick first step to blow past his man and he scored a layup. Nice extra pass to Luke under the hoop instead of settling for the jumper and Luke scored an easy layup. He pumpfaked his man on the fly by, took a dribble and hit a three. Out of a timeout, he threw a lazy perimeter pass that was picked off for a score the other way. On the next possession he drained a wing three. He hit a three of a kickout from Kobe. Nice job on back-to-back possessions anticipating passes for steals and pushing up the break. He missed a wide open three.

Bynum -- -- He has scored 40 points on 17-20 shooting in his last three games against the Kings. They have no answer for him, even with Miller out there. Tonight was no different as Drew scored 14 points on 7-7 shooting, grabbed 4 boards, gave out 2 assists and blocked 1 shot in just 22 minutes of run. He hit a jumphook in the lane on his first touch. He winged a jumper with a nice contest. Excellent angle sealing his man, then he took the corner entry and scored an And-1, he missed the FT (this will be a bread-and-butter play once Bynum gets his strength up and the guys start executing that corner sequence with purpose). He slipped the screen, took the bouncepass from Smush and dunked. Nice contest on Salmons to force a miss. He had 6 points on 3-3 shooting at the half. He swished a good looking jumphook over Miller. Kobe hit him again in the paint and he knocked down another jumphook. He hit another jumphook in the lane, this time over the smaller Salmons. He cleaned up a Farmar miss with a putback, getting hit hard on the arm with no call.

Evans -- -- Good to have Mo back after sitting out a handful of games. The Lakers are in dire need of athleticism off the bench at the 2-3 spots. They have to depend on Mo for serviceable D and energy since they have very few players who fill that role. Hot Mo was on the court tonight, scorching his former team for 21 points on an uber-efficient 7-8 shooting (2-3 from three, 5-6 from the line). He also had 4 boards in 26 minutes. Out on the break with Kobe and he threw down the oop. Kobe found him again from the sideline and Mo hung in the air and dunked over a defender. He picked up two fouls and had to sit late in the first. Out in transition, he crossed over, ran his man into a Luke screen and scored over Miller with his left. He was fouled on the breakaway and swished two FTs. He was fouled on a backdoor lob and made both FTs. He sank a corner three off a kickout from Kobe. He took a feed at the FT line, attacked and sank a baseline jumper. He swished a wing three with the shotclock low. Down by 20, Artest purposely fouled Mo and walked straight to the bench, apparently done, Mo made one FT. He dunked, cherry picking after a Kings bust out.

Cook -- -- Some spot duty from Cook having to D-up against Artest early on when we had some foul issues. He survived well enough. After sitting out with ankle issues, he came back and scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting, grabbed 4 boards and blocked 1 shot in 14 minutes. He missed a three on his first attempt. He drained a three on his next attempt when Kobe found him across court. Cook hit a one-dribble 20-footer, those are usually misses as soon as he puts the ball on the floor.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny is stringing together some nice games. He mixed it up again tonight, but the best stat was a donut - 0 fouls in 14:30 of action. This well scoring 8 points on 3-4 shooting, grabbing 3 boards and blocking 3 shots. He came in the game in the second quarter, and he quickly came up with a big rejection on Abdur-Rahim to save a basket and force a shotclock violation (Your No. 7 play of the day on NBA TV). He threwdown a lob from Kobe. He drained an 18-footer off a pass from Kobe. He drained a pull-up 18-footer from the wing. He drew FTs on a breakaway lob and made both. And, he had his usual assortment of crazy-ass dance moves on the sideline.

Farmar -- -- With 7:38 left in the fourth, Farmar became the first ever player to play an NBA/NDBL double header. After scoring 18 points with 6 assists in 41 minutes with the Defenders, he scored 4 points and pulled down 4 boards in 7:38 with the Lakers. The Lakers can send a player/call him back up from the D-Leagues three times. They used that opportunity tonight to take advantage of getting Farmar some Triangle rhythm-building minutes. "I'll probably do it a few more times," he said. He certainly looked like he had a little spring in his step when he hit the floor. He picked up an offensive board and scored a layup. He pulled down a defensive board, quickly pushed it up, then exploded into the lane for another layup. He missed a layup but wanted the foul.

Vujacic -- -- Some quality minutes from Sasha, mixing it up as usual with the Kings. He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting, dished 3 assists and pulled down 2 boards in 23:38. Great job digging out a loose ball in a crowd after a bad pass from Kobe and he attacked the rim for a layup. He swished a long wing jumper. He drew one of his clear-out flop fouls against Martin. He faked the three, pulled up and hit an 18-footer. He cut, took a pass and attacked the lane, drawing FTs, he made one. He missed a wing three.

Phil -- -- Congrats to Phil for his imminent induction in the Hall. Phil said he hadn't heard "anything official" but added, "I've heard a few things." About as no-brainer a decision as there comes... On to the game: "I can't remember the last time we had a rotation that made sense," Phil said afterward. The word "rotation" even seems a little odd with this team. The rotation has been dictated by warm bodies for so long, so it was nice to have several choices again off the bench to go to... The Lakers SF position took a beating in the first with foul trouble. First Luke, then LO, then Mo all had to sit with fouls, leaving Kobe to man the spot. It also resulted in a Cook/Artest matchup... The Lakers scored 44 points in the paint to the Kings 16 in the first half. They had 20 assists and shot 63 percent to the Kings 40 percent, but led by only 5 points at the break. Two minutes into the second half and it was tied up... The coaches were ticked at a sequence of back-to-back calls where Artest backed down Lamar and LO picked up a cheap foul trying to get position. Kwame did the same thing on the other end and picked up an offensive foul. Go figure... The Lakers pulled out to a 15-point lead, then gave up an 11-0 run late in the third... Finally, they crushed the Kings in the fourth and the team got some extended garbage time...


Last edited by DancingBarry on Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:29 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
uberzev
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 25 Jan 2002
Posts: 19120
Location: SDSU

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:57 pm    Post subject:

Great job as usual DB!

Some things I noticed..

Farmar seems to grab like 4-5 boards in limited minutes quite often.

Ronny was going against a swingman (Garcia) at the end there and Turiaf displayed some excellent perimeter shooting and defense out to the three point line. The guy is VERY skilled.
_________________
Lakers Gonna Lake
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:11 pm    Post subject:

uberzev wrote:
Great job as usual DB!

Some things I noticed..

Farmar seems to grab like 4-5 boards in limited minutes quite often.

Ronny was going against a swingman (Garcia) at the end there and Turiaf displayed some excellent perimeter shooting and defense out to the three point line. The guy is VERY skilled.


Ronny is way more flexible a defender than I thought he was in college. Maybe he had some injuries to deal with or the zones limit what you can see...I just don't recall as superb of lateral speed in Gonzaga as he has shown in the pros. I was hoping they were going to stick him on Artest instead of Cook for that one stretch.

Regarding Farmar's boards. Yeah, that is what we need from our guard spot. When our guards get back there it makes a big difference. One of the reason's JKidd's 10 boards versus Smush 2 boards a game would have made a big impact.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
ksmgf
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 5045

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:17 pm    Post subject:

Thank you Great read as always
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
- Sean -
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 23 Apr 2002
Posts: 7339
Location: L.A.

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:23 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
uberzev wrote:
Great job as usual DB!

Some things I noticed..

Farmar seems to grab like 4-5 boards in limited minutes quite often.




Regarding Farmar's boards. Yeah, that is what we need from our guard spot. When our guards get back there it makes a big difference. One of the reason's JKidd's 10 boards versus Smush 2 boards a game would have made a big impact.


I'll often see Farmar tap into his 42 inch vertical when he's going after boards...he'll rise up to grab or tap the ball in a way most players his size can't manage to do.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:27 pm    Post subject:

Sean, that's what I said about Farmar at draft time. His hops show more when he's grabbing boards or contesting shots. You don't think of him as a player who gets up, but you could see in college that's when he'd show those skills the most, on those types of plays.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
uberzev
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 25 Jan 2002
Posts: 19120
Location: SDSU

PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:43 pm    Post subject:

Maybe Farmar is like 'Drew in that sometimes he doesn't quite know how to take full advantage of his athletic abilities in game situations.
_________________
Lakers Gonna Lake
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
A Mad Chinaman
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 6121

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:22 am    Post subject:

uberzev wrote:
Maybe Farmar is like 'Drew in that sometimes he doesn't quite know how to take full advantage of his athletic abilities in game situations.
True - only with PT will he knows what he can do in games
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Sage_10
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 6668

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:19 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Always enjoy your game summary.
_________________
"You Must Be Willing To Give Up That Which Can Be Lost In Order To Gain That Which Cannot Be Lost." - FORTUNE COOKIE
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
ElginBaylor
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 05 Nov 2005
Posts: 10771
Location: Hoosier Nation

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 5:09 am    Post subject:

Quote:
Ronny is stringing together some nice games. He mized it up again tonight


Good use of verbage DB.

BTW: thanks again for the recap. Great Job.
_________________
Not a legend
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
LongtimeLakerLover
Starting Rotation
Starting Rotation


Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 785
Location: Murrieta, California

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 5:13 am    Post subject:

Oh how I love to see the ) !!!

Hey - is it my imagination or are our guys getting the ball into the paint much more quickly and efficiently? They're looking for the open man in the paint and whoever it is moves with purpose towards the basket if at all possible. I love this attack mode! It was a little different with Houston because of the D they play and of course, Yao, but I've noticed over the past two games this is what they do if at all possible. It's so different from the "let's wait until there's 10 seconds on the shot clock and THEN we'll start to run our offense."

Me like.

I'm curious to see what they can do in the 9-10 or so games they have left, and VERY curious to see what they can do once a series starts. No matter who they end up against, there will be the ability to make changes during the course of the games because it's the same opposition for x amount of games. This is good. Phil isn't going into the HOF for nothing! I don't think they'll win it all, but I think they're gonna make some noise. Might be nice payback for just the crappy hand of injuries they've been dealt this year.
_________________
I love LA........WE LOVE IT!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
prisma8slg
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 4664
Location: Michigan

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 5:46 am    Post subject:

LongtimeLakerLover wrote:
Oh how I love to see the ) !!!


me too

thanks DB

did anyone catch what joel was saying in the first quarter about "the president" being on the floor. something to do with sasha and bibby, I didn't catch all of it.
_________________
"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."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Rick12322
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 19164

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:29 am    Post subject:

It sure was nice not seeing a zone. The Lakers just eat up and spit out this man to man coverage.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Klone_dd
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 11 Mar 2002
Posts: 7330

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:29 am    Post subject:

Kobe the distributor returns! You gotta love it when 6 players reach double figures, the team shoots 62% and gets over 30 assists in a game.

Good to have the hot Mo back. Hopefully his evil twin doesn't come back in the all-important game Tues.

Kwame & Bynum were 11-11, overwhelming Sac's front line. Great activity from the bigs.

Happy to see Phil give JoFar some run to make history. Was JoFar's stint in the NBADL a one-time thing? Or is he going to play double headers on all home games?

After a very tough March, finally a blowout win so that I could relax.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Rick12322
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 19164

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:05 am    Post subject:

The coach has talked about using Jordan a couple more times on the defenders. It's been reported that Jordan will not miss any Laker games, and that the reason for playing was to regain his timing in the Triangle offense because Phil plans on using him against Phoenix, if we meet them in the playoffs. Not sure if he expects to use him against San Antonio.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
ProjectAB
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 31 Jan 2007
Posts: 1729

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:21 am    Post subject:

It will be interesting to see how Duncan will defend Bynum. I'm guessing he'll overplay the middle, in which case Bynum will have to go to the counter on the baseline(and hopefully dunk on him like he did on Nene), or extend his hook even more so that he can shoot it while moving away(but still towards the paint).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Omar Little
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 90299
Location: Formerly Known As 24

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:50 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
uberzev wrote:
Great job as usual DB!

Some things I noticed..

Farmar seems to grab like 4-5 boards in limited minutes quite often.

Ronny was going against a swingman (Garcia) at the end there and Turiaf displayed some excellent perimeter shooting and defense out to the three point line. The guy is VERY skilled.


Ronny is way more flexible a defender than I thought he was in college. Maybe he had some injuries to deal with or the zones limit what you can see...I just don't recall as superb of lateral speed in Gonzaga as he has shown in the pros. I was hoping they were going to stick him on Artest instead of Cook for that one stretch.

Regarding Farmar's boards. Yeah, that is what we need from our guard spot. When our guards get back there it makes a big difference. One of the reason's JKidd's 10 boards versus Smush 2 boards a game would have made a big impact.


DB, Ronny dealt with a badly sprained ankle most of his senior year. It really hampered his mobility. The other factor was that the zags didn't want him in foul trouble, so tried to keep him closer to the basket. The young man is a highly underrated athlete, and he now seems to be both learning how the games are called and getting more respect most games. He's also a natural shotblocker, as you are seeing recently.
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:30 pm    Post subject:

ElginBaylor wrote:
Quote:
Ronny is stringing together some nice games. He mized it up again tonight


Good use of verbage DB.

BTW: thanks again for the recap. Great Job.


It's a good word. I was considering leaving it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:32 pm    Post subject:

24 - I had some vague memory that there was some issues with the ankle, but wasn't quite sure. I do remember the foul trouble, though.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Omar Little
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 90299
Location: Formerly Known As 24

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:17 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
24 - I had some vague memory that there was some issues with the ankle, but wasn't quite sure. I do remember the foul trouble, though.


The good part of the bad ankle was that the zags started bringing him out in the high post more, where he moved the ball around and developed that jumper a bit more. You'll notice how comfortable he is at receiving the ball in the high post and getting the offense going, a la Rodman. He developed that his senior year.

he's always struggled with fouls, but I see some big improvement in his discretion lately. He's a very bright guy (i get this from watching all of his games and meeting him a few times), and he will get better and better on this.
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1
Jump to:  

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum






Graphics by uberzev
© 1995-2018 LakersGround.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Terms of Use.
LakersGround is an unofficial news source serving the fan community since 1995.
We are in no way associated with the Los Angeles Lakers or the National Basketball Association.


Powered by phpBB