SONICS -at- LAKERS - 4/15 - Thoughts and :-)) ratings

[DancingBarry]

Playoffs Clinched... Sheesh. That was a long time coming.

Phil mixed up the starting lineup just a couple of games before the playoffs. Smush out, Farmar in. The result in this game: Farmar a team-high +18, Smush a team low -7. You could certainly see the difference defensively in this game.

It was an up and down battle. The Lakers bolted out to a big lead, up to 19 points, after a strong first quarter, which included an 18-2 run. The Sonics chipped away at the end of the first half and to open the third, erasing the lead. The Lakers closed out the game strong after Farmar and Luke came in off the bench, going on a late 11-0 run and winning 109-98.

Craziest stat of the night: Kobe's 50? Boring...(just kidding)...Not Kobe's 50, even if he did it on a remarkable 18-25 shooting. The stat of the night was 4 turnovers by the Lakers. That's far more rare than the Kobe showing his greatness, which happens with regularity. A season-low 4 turnovers is, almost, shocking. That will certainly help your D quite a bit, which allowed the Lakers to keep the Sonics under 100. The Lakers did a good job moving the ball with the pass a times in this game. That definitely made an impact in the turnover stat. I'm sure the Sonics roster also more than helped the cause.

Speaking of rosters..."We had a full roster back for the first time since this preseason," Kobe said. Full, of course, meaning everyone but Mihm available. That's certainly the biggest positive heading into the playoffs. Good to see Kwame back out there anchoring the D.

The Lakers need to work on chemistry. They need to find some semblance of a defensive game. And they need to hit their dang freethrows. They left 12 points at the line, shooting a poor 18-30 for the game.


Kobe -- -- Kobe with 50 points on 25 shots. Remember, this is not a bigman owning a team with a couple of go-to moves and overpowering strength. This is a highly skilled 50, showing a variety of moves and counter moves. Just amazing to watch at times. Inside, outside, turnarounds, fades, threes, reverses, runners and reverse power jams. Kobe dropped his 50 on 18-25 shooting (3-6 from three and 11-13 from the line) in 42 minutes. He also had a team-high 8 boards. He hit a 20-footer to start the game. He attacked the lane and drew FTs, making both. He pumpfaked Wilkens into the popcorn machine and drew FTs (sending Wilkins to the bench after 2 minutes), he made both FTs. He missed a three. He hit one of his turnarounds from behind the glass. He scored a layup off a sensational no-look feed from Lamar. He pulled down a missed three by Luke and powered up an And-1, he made the FT. He crossed over Lewis, then drew FTs on a jumper, he made both. He soared down the lane, pulled the ball down and flipped it in. He drew FTs on a breakaway after knocking the ball loose, he hit one. He hit a jumper on his tiptoes over a smaller man. He attacked from the wing and banked. He missed a long wing jumper. He got hit on the arm, missing a layup and then picked up another T (got to stop the T's). After that, he went on a one-man scoring spree. Next time down the floor he hit an open wing three. Hit hit another face-up three from the same spot on his next shot. He scooped up a loose ball and took it in for a layup. He hit a backhand layup off a jumpstep. He pulled up on the break and bounced in a 12-footer. Finally, someone else decided to score after that streak. He then closed out the third with three consecutive scores: He hit a stepback 19-footer; he hit a runner in the lane; and he swished a wing jumper with multiple defenders on him at the end of the quarter. He missed a wing jumper. He hit a three coming off a screen. Amazing shot with under 4 minutes to go, he flashed to the strongside, took the pass and turned to shoot, two men were on him, he hung, pumped and released while practically horizonal and swished from about 12 feet out along the baseline as he fell to the floor. Crazy. He stripped the ball from his man and saved it back to Farmar in the corner, he then drew FTs in transition and made one. He blew past his man with a quick first step and was nearly pulled down from behind, he made both FTs. He blew past his Gelabale again, this time with an upfake and quick first step, and he threw down a nasty reverse jam for 50.

Lamar -- -- Lamar threw one of the prettiest passes of the season. He pulled down a one-handed board from about 12 feet out and threw the no-look pass before coming down through traffic to Kobe under the hoop (who he knew was still there), awesome play. He missed an 18-footer. He missed a wing jumper. He and Kobe pushed out the break, LO ball-faked the defender off and scored a layup. He missed a layup. He sank a jumper from the top of the key to start the second half. Quick attack off the dribble and he drew FTs, but he missed both. He attacked and drew FTs, he made one. He swished an open three from the top of the arc. He dunked off a Walton feed in transition. He got a late foul in the backcourt and made both. He finished with 14 points on 5-9 shooting (just 3-6 from the line), he grabbed 5 boards and dished a team-high 5 assist. He also had a team-high 3 steals in 40 minutes.

Luke -- -- Luke shaved his head before the game. "It's do or die time now. You go to war, you got to shave your head," Luke said. Hopefully, he'll play better next time out with the new look. He played a poor game on both ends. I thought his team D at times had some issues. Phil put him on Petro at times and others, letting LO go up against Lewis. Offensively, they could leave him at times and try to deal with others. Luke shot a poor 2-10 (0-3 from beyond the arc), grabbed 4 boards, dished 3 assists and had 1 steal. He stole a pass and missed a jumper. He missed a three. He hit Ronny in the lane for FTs. He got blocked underneath the hoop when Kwame made an extra pass he probably shouldn't have. He made a 16-footer next time down. He missed back-to-back threes. He missed a reverse layup he should have had. He then hit a jumper in the paint. He bricked an open 16-footer. He drew the D and hit LO for a dunk in transition.

Kwame -- -- He looked pretty mobile to me. How about you guys? It seemed like Phil had to really push to get him back on the floor. In any event, he makes an impact for us defensively. Our D wasn't getting overwhelmed in the post and, once again, Kwame came up with some big defensive plays in crunch time...something this team has had serious issues with. Offensively, he was borderline competent, but his impact in this game was still felt. He scored just 3 points on 1-3 shooting (a horrible 1-5 from the line), grabbed 4 boards, dished 2 assists, had 1 steal and 2 blocks in 27 minutes. He took a behind-the-back feed from Farmar and was fouled, he made one FT. He contested a Wilcox jumper, getting a piece of it on the way up and it forced an airball. He sealed well, drew a foul and missed both FTs. He blocked Wilcox and it ignited the breakaway for a score. Nice contest on Wilkens, but he somehow banked in the three over Kwame. Quick first step from the elbow and he banked in the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He drew a charge, switching out on Wilkens again. He stepped in front of Lewis to take a charge with 4 minutes left. Good D again, recognizing a lob and it resulted in a turnover when the pass was thrown away. He drew a charge by Wilcox under the hoop with a couple minutes left. He missed a layup.

Farmar -- -- "Growing up in Southern California to be able to say I started for the Los Angeles Lakers, it's a beautiful thing," Farmar said afterward. He did a quality job defensively. Our guard penetration was noticeably different wtih him in the game versus on the bench. Offensively, obviously, we didn't have too many issues in this one. The team was clicking, few turnovers. All in all, he answered the call. He finished with 9 points on 3-6 shooting, 3 assists without a turnovers, 2 boards and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. Defensively, he was going under picks early until his man started to finally take jumpers. That helped deny penetration early on. He caused a turnover with his hops on one end, deflecting the inbounds pass, then on the other, he posted up and went to his money turnaround and hit. He filled the strongside Tri post with a speed cut, up-faked, then went behind his back to Kwame for FTs. He drained a wing three out of a timeout. On the other end, he set up for a charge and made sure he went down like a domino after getting slight contact and he drew the FT. Easy call blown by the refs when Farmar's runner at the buzzer was goaltended, it will go as a miss and blocked shot instead of two points he should have added to his stat line. Excellent first quarter on both ends, we never gave up penetration. To start the second half, he went over the top of the screen for the first time, but then picked off the return pass on the switch. He elevated through traffic and missed what looked like a sure layup. He and Luke ran into each other defending the screen-roll, not good. He went under the screen and the Sonics pulled up for a jumper. He missed a three. Back in to close out the fourth, he helped Kobe come up with a steal in the corner. He hustled out to Lewis on a rotation to contest and get a miss. He made one of two FTs. He sank a late three.

Smush -- -- Smush didn't seem to sulk finally losing the starting job for the first time since becoming a Laker. He should have never been in the crosshairs to begin with as our starting PG, but the lack of talent put him in the hot seat when he was not quite skilled to be there. That's the state of our PG spot...not quite ready for prime time. He came in and gave a little extra punch to the second unit, but still had some issues, including some poor D, giving up a ton of penetration. He scored just 4 points on 2-6 shooting in 20 minutes, had 1 assist and 1 foul. He started the second quarter and hit a wing jumper off the two-man game with Ronny. He missed a runner off the glass. Nice attack off the dribble, he drew FTs, but then bricked both. He worked the two-man game with Ronny again, this time for a huge dunk from Turiaf. He missed a point-blank layup with no one on him (seemed like he was thinking about dunking or something). Horrible D, he went under a screen yet still gave up penetration for an easy layup. Next time down he gave up penetration again and an And-1 for a big. Off the bench to start the fourth and he gave up back-to-back layups off penetration. He hit a pull-up 17-footer straight away. He gave up another layup just overplaying on the perimeter without a screen, Staples started to groan and boo on that one. He missed a wing jumper. Note to Smush: Reality Check...Phil just benched you for a rookie. Time get your mental game together. It's killing you. It's do or die time for you, too.

Bynum -- -- Prior to the game, Phil said he would play Bynum a bit less in this one with Kwame back and how well Ronny was playing. Bynum's run was reduced to just 4:25. He scored 2 points on only one attempt and picked up 2 fouls. He faced up and hit a 15-footer from the wing for his score.

Evans -- -- Mo led the bench scoring, bringing that extra energy that helped spark the team. He scored 10 points on 5-10 shooting in 14:11, and he pulled down 4 rebounds, all on the offensive boards. Mo is at his best when he's crashing the offensive glass and hitting his jumpers. He had three straight scores midway through the second: the first was a pull-up jumper in transition from 10 feet; the next was another 10-footer this time on the baseline; the third was a missed layup with his left, he popped back to pull it down and score the putback in a crowd. He missed a corner three. He missed a putback at the front of the rim. He missed another corner three. He hit a 19-footer from the right of the key. He crashed the boards, tapped a Smush miss to himself and went back up for the score in traffic with 4:26 left.

Turiaf -- -- Ronny is probably the happiest guy to see Kwame back. Hell, he's always the happiest guy. But, having another bigman back to take on those stronger players will lighten the load we've put on Ronny of late. Turiaf scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting in 16:25 of action. He also had 4 assists and 2 boards. He hit a face up jumper from the elbow. He posted up and hit a 10-foot turnaround. He missed a 20-footer. He missed another turnaround. He worked the two-man game with Smush and threw down a huge dunk in the middle of the lane. He took an interior feed from Luke and drew FTs, making both. He drew a clear-out foul on Wilkins who was trying to drive on him (great lateral speed again against Wilkins).

Cook -- -- No notes on Cook. He played just a couple short stints for 3:08 of PT and didn't shoot the ball. He grabbed 1 board.

Radmanovic -- -- Vlad played 6:37, pulled down 3 boards and had 1 assist. He pulled out a missed FT rebound and it led to a three for Sasha. He missed his only attempt (I don't even remember it).

Vujacic -- -- Decent minutes from Sasha. He hit a couple of shots and helped maintain the lead with Kobe out for a stretch. He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting in 10:20 of action. He hit a pull-up wing jumper with his toes on the three line on his first touch. He buried a wing three when Vlad pulled out an offensive board. He missed a wing three. Great feed to Smush under the hoop for a sure layup, Smush bricked it.

Phil -- -- Prior to the game, Phil laughed when asked about whether he had his rotations set for the playoffs. It's true. I've laughed about the same thing. So, going into the second to last game, he changes his starting point guard, sitting Smush. How do you like them apples? That's the state of constant flux this team has been in all season... He started the second quarter with a Turiaf, Lamar, Evans, Sasha, Smush lineup. Smush/Sasha in for Farmar/Kobe... Phil said he took some blame for losing the lead because of his rotations, trying to work on some chemistry things. He kept Farmar on the bench for the entire second quarter. The Lakers had their big lead cut in half at the end of the first half, giving up too much guard penetration. "I thought Smush did a pretty good job there for the first 8 minutes, then we kind of lost it in the last two and a half, three minutes of that quarter," Phil said... He varied it slightly in the second half. He ran Smush for the first 8 minutes of the fourth, before going to Farmar to close... We stopped giving up guard penetration and Kwame, once again, showed an ability to make clutch defensive plays down the stretch. We've missed that. The Laker finally closed out a team... Sad FT shooting by Lakers in this game. Outside of Kobe, they went 7-17 from the line. Not good... They've got some bumps and bruises, some bad wheels and shoulders, but they've got warm bodies again. The problem is, they've got one more game before the playoffs start to build up some chemistry again. Can they do it?... Phil could mix up the roster in the next game. "We're still searching for the right combination," Phil said...

[8750]

my thousandth post is dedicated to express my great appreciation for your terrific work here, DB...

[DancingBarry]

Thanks, 8750. It can be a bit tiring, but I do it for you guys. I think when the season is all said and done, I will have put in roughly 240,000 words. That's two novels worth per season.

[CorkyTomjanovich]

I think Luke shaved his head to impress Britney.

In other news, a steady diet of Turiaf, Kwame and Bynum is going to be needed to top the Suns if that is indeed the 1st round opponent.

[LaxT]

Have been waiting for a smile rating for games. A relief to see that and a playoff berth. I have a very low expectation for them in the playoffs, but still, it's better than lottery.

[A Mad Chinaman]

I apprecate your "two novels worth per season" and the tremendous amount of work it entails!

Your "bottom line" analysis distinguishes itself from the vast majority of rants and raves that normally resides within LG and other similar groups.

Phil must have something up his sleeves, given his great auro of confidence he brought to the interviews prior to the Supersonics game!!

[NestT]

Wilcox killed us on the glass and slowly sucked the life out of the Lakers in the post. Again.

Well, maybe not.

Gee I wounder Why?

I guess Chris Mihm could do just as well defending and boxing out Wilcox if his ankle was ok.
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Let the PAB hold out 2 years and walk without his Bird rights if he chooses.

OJ Mayo
Derrick Rose
Nicolas Batum
Michael Beasley
Chase Budinger
Darrell Arthur

[CorkyTomjanovich]

I will tell Phil what the right combination is

Farmar at point with Smush off the bench, if Smush is not bringing it, quickly go to Sasha. Against Phoenix I like how Sasha has checked Nash the last few games.

Kobe/Evans. Hot or Cold Evans? If cold go with Sasha

Odom/Walton at the 3

Turiaf/Kwame at the 4. Ronny is the guy to defend Amare

Bynum/Kwame at the 5

Cook should only be used in special situations, when the offense needs a punch. Bench Smush if he doesn't catch on with his new role. Shammond is done.

[nikehair]

I was able to attend the game and sit in a luxury sweet. It was ok.

Things I noticed:

Kobe is ridiculous. He's the only reason the Lakers won the game. The guy makes shot no one else ever will.

This team, other than Kobe, SUCKS at free-throwing.

Jordan Farmar, even when he does nothing on offense, brings an energy that Smush doesn't. Smuch is pretty much the PG version of Gump.

Maurice Evans is a good bench player and he attacks the rims for rebounds.

Kwame can't catch a pass, but he plays well on D. I really wish he'd DUNK the ball more.

That's all for now. Most of this is probably already obvious to you all.

[ProjectAB]

It seems like Bynum is showing us flashes of a new shot here and there. However, until he actually refined them enough to where he can make them consistently, they will just be for show. Like Phil said, it's up to them(the role players) to take the shots from Kobe, i.e be consistent enough such that when Kobe throws them the ball in a critical situation, they have to be able to create and make that shot automatically.

[dot3]

[NestT]

[703Soulja]

Just want to thank DB for doing these after every game. I'd hate for him to stop doing them, and if i didnt say thanks at least once it would be like when ABC canceled that show I loved but had only downloaded the episodes as opposed to giving it ratings...

so yeah.. thanks

[AboveTheRim]

That's a lot of work man. How do you do it. lol Good job.

[Wolverine]

[prisma8slg]

thanks DB.

am I supposed to be this relieved about a clinching a playoff spot?
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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."

[Texas_Pete]

Great write up DB as usual.

One game is a microscopic sample, but do you see Farmar starting in the playoffs or Smush? I say that because yesterday's game was critical. Either we win or we could have conceivably went lottery. Instead of going with someone who has started over 170 straight games, PJ went with the rook. I didn't see that coming!

Regardless, great game Farmar!

...and it is nice to know my main man Kwame is back in the fold.

[20,000]

Unless these three things are taken care of, the Lakers will go away quickly in the playoffs:

1 - Defense. The Lakers spend too much time just watching, and losing sight of their assignment. There are other problems, as we can all attest to, but I find this one the most annoying.

2 - Rebounding. The Lakers overall seem lazy about going to the ball. They give up way too many second and third chance opportunities to their opponents.

3 - Free throw shooting. Do the Lakers practice their free throw shooting at all? Too many damn misses, particularly by those players (Smush, Odom) who have the ball in their hands the majority of the time. This needs to be remedied.

And while it is not something you can work on, these Lakers need to get that killer instinct. You get a lead, you build on the lead. You don't settle. Go for the throat and keep squeezing. Unfortunately, who on this team has it? As much as we say Kobe has it, if his teammates don't have it, it makes it difficult for Kobe to display the killer instinct.
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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.'

[cusu32000]

kwame looked great mobility wise...far better than the last time he came back...hopefully that lasts going into the playoffs...if the lakers play phoenix it will be very nice to have kwame, turiaf, or bynum on amare at all times

[Rick12322]

[Mr. EiGhTy-OnE]

the best part about the game........


you could hear the fellas actually talking on defense over the tv.
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

[RYZ]

Thanks, DB. And while I'm certainly very appreciative of your 240k, I'm sure your novels would have been much more compelling than the story of this $#&% b-ball team.

As I've said before, I often feel like I'm getting away with something reading "Thoughts & Ratings" for free: almost like sneaking the paper off the newsstand, reading the sports page, and putting it back without paying. The only difference (of course) is that one of your "T&Rs" contains 10x more basketball insight than a year's worth of Bresnahan, Adande, Plaschke, Simers articles combined.

My only hope is that when inevitably one of the local papers finally latch on to the brilliance of "T&R", they go to the man himself to get it done right, and not some know-nothing hack for a pale imitation.

And regarding that, do you think "Thoughts & Ratings" could even be pulled off by somebody live in attendance? I mean, I suppose if you could go home and review a Tivo'd game it could be done, but that definitely wouldn't make print deadlines.

Anyway, as always, thank you, thank you, thank you. You provide a great service to Lakers fans who know, and you've the perfect temperament for the gig.

Now on to the game: To answer your question about Kwame, yeah I did think he looked pretty mobile, which immediately made me ask, "Where in Hell has he been the few games?" Unless he had some sort of miraculous recovery over the day-and-a-half, he looks to me like he could have been going at least a couple games earlier.

As to Smush: I disagree with you about his countenance. I think his ridiculously bad "D" (even by Smush's standards) came as a direct result of his mopiness. Then again, maybe his defense wasn't any worse than usual; maybe just seeing Farmar play the first quarter provided a glimpse of defensive energy I'm not used to seeing, so that when Smush entered the contrast was so stark as to make Smush look even worse than normal.

I will say, as much as I like Farmar, it was nice that he got his first start against a guy like Wilks who wasn't really looking to get his.

Good move Phil: My you not look back.

[RedSnapper]

I was at the game - 12th row in front of basket on Laker's defensive end in second half.

The difference in the offense between Smush running it and Farmar running it was huge... Our O seemed to stand still when he was the intiator - in fact, Lamar had to take over that role a couple of times when smush was out there just to get something going.

During one run, about after about the third layup Smush gave up, I hollered down to him that he ought to buy a ticket. I don't know if he heard me, but the next time down was the only time he actually stayed in front of his man and denied penetration all night.

The "Smush hate" in the arena was palpable. I mean people were really hammering him pretty hard, and nobody seemed to mind. He's definitely burned some bridges. Seems he finally got some humility out of it, though.
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[DancingBarry]

[RYZ]