Extra! Extra! (3.15)
When Ron Ron is bad, crowd members run for their lives, mediocre albums get released to little fanfare and the NBA is up to its neck in suspension related paperwork. But when Ron Ron is good, folks just have a lot of trouble scoring. And thus was the case with Kobe Bryant, as Artest blanketed him during the Kings 114-98 victory. To be fair, Artest may have benefited a touch from good timing, since #8 is currently struggling through a shooting slump. Said struggle might have also allowed Artest to preserve some extra energy for the other end (28 pts on 8-15 shooting). Whatever the case, Artest's energy was contagious, juicing Mike Bibby in his quest for 29 points and a 4th quarter Lakers collapse. There's also energy in motion, as in Sacto moving ahead of L.A. in the playoff race. The Lakers are back in the 8 spot, a game up on the nosediving Hornets.
On the plus side, Jimmy Jackson's sporting double digit minutes in a Lakers box score. Yeah, the 1-4 shooting makes "plus" a bit exaggerated, but we're trying to stay positive on the blog.
Those who've been cursing that fateful October day when they dropped two bills on an Aaron McKie Lakers jersey, your time has come! Well, sort of. McKie has been cleared to practice, and donned purple and gold on the bench to help fill out an active roster. But he remains not quite ready to contribute in an actual game. At this point, it's all about evaluating his potential to help during the playoffs.
AK/BK,
I am not peeved that the Lakers lost yesterday since I know the Queens are hot right now and we are short-handed. Disappointed? Of course. But I am peeved at three things, which I politely ask what your take is on them:
1 – What the F@#$ is going on with our offense? I have seen this more and more as the season has progressed, but it’s been happening very frequently during the last few games: What is the deal with dribbling into the lane and getting stalled with no one to pass it to? I have seen this a lot from Smush and Luke. The guy attempts to dribble penetrate, gets stopped, then holds the ball for 5 seconds while trying to find someone to pass it to. Nobody runs out to the ball until Kobe goes and gets it with about 4 seconds left on the shot clock. Two things are happening when the ball handler is penetrating: either (a) players are standing there and saying “what the F@#$ is he doing?” and lock up in total shock, or (b) the players are not where they are supposed to be on the floor. It’s too late in the season to be running a stagnant offense like that!!!
2 – What is the deal with Jim Jackson? Is it me or does he look every bit his age? We got him because he can hit jumpers. We certainly didn’t get him because of his defensive skills. Yet he can’t seem to hit a J anymore. I am worried about the fact that he hasn’t done a thing in a Laker uniform. With most players you can tell early on if they are going to make an impact (look at the immediate impact Artest, Stojakovic, Watson, and Radmanovic had on their new teams once they were traded). The JJ signing doesn’t look good so far. Is there reason to think that it should get better?
3 – I am so sick and tired of Smush’s “swipe and release” defense. He seems to think that playing D means swiping at the ball for a steal and letting your man get by you. That is why our defense is horrible; our guard play is horrendous. The opposing guards are shredding our perimeter defense and taking advantage of our poor interior rotations. It’s frightening to watch our front line collapse on the ball like old people during last call for meds at a retirement home. The result: layups 101. There is no way we are going to stay above .500 if we keep letting teams shoot over 50%. But there’s the formula to wear us out; dribble penetrate. What are we going to do on D?
Thank the good lord that Utah and the Hornets are struggling.
Posted by: LoLo | March 15, 2006 at 06:38 AM
I place this loss mostly on Luke Walton. He had one or two good games and got back in Phil's rotation, but the guy is just awful out there. On a team full of subpar defenders, he stands head and shoulders above the others as the worst. He cannot guard ANYONE out on the floor. He also makes poor decisions with the ball and, if you stop is one, single, move around the basket will either force up a terrible shot, a terrible pass, or cough it up completely.
Also, for everyone complaining about Kobe, witness that when he played the first quarter we ended up by 7. He went out for the first two or three minutes of the second and we never recovered the momentum. Kings took the lead while he was out quickly and easily and we never really got it back.
Posted by: Jimbo | March 15, 2006 at 07:16 AM
The Kings are one of the hottest teams in the league right now especially at home. Artest did a really good job on both ends of the floor. Kobe has had a tough stretch over the last week or so and we are still 2-2 in those games. The Chris Mihm's injury is a lot bigger than I thought because we have almost no offensive presence now from the five position. Our perimeter and interior defense was poor as it has been on many occasions this year. Turiaf and Bynum really looked lost at times last night. The Kings are just a better team right now (more talent, more depth, more experience). They are finally getting healthy and playing the way they are capable of playing. I expect Kobe to find his rhythm but everyone is going to have to raise their level of play offensively and defensively to cover for the loss of Mihm. This stretch could be good for Kwame, Turiaf, and Bynum because we will need them to play with confidence and energy come playoff time. Personally, I don't think the Lakers want any part of the 7th spot because we can't match up with PHX. If we can't work our way up to the 6th spot then I would rather stay in 8th. Hopefully, Dallas can be out SA for the #1 seed if we end up in 8th. Making the playoff's this year would be a heck of an accomplishment for this inexperienced ball club. This off season Mitch has to look to make some major moves to get Kobe some help. Things could be a lot worse! We could be like the Knicks. If we are able to have a competitive showing in the playoff's (and with Kobe we will) we can extract some valuable things from that for next year. Once we sign a couple of key players this off season we are going to make a run in the West next year! Hopefully we can rebound as a team on our home floor tonight and string a couple of solid wins together and perhaps get some help from the other teams jockeying for playoff spots. We certainly have our work cut out for us with even making the playoff's but I think these guys can pull it off. Go Lakers 6th seed or 8th seed....a competitive playoff run....key acquisitions in the off season... and a big playoff run next year and the years to follow
just a few random thoughts along with a positive outlook for fellow laker lovers during the most difficult part of the season!
db
Posted by: db | March 15, 2006 at 07:37 AM
Now Kupchak: Odom for Artest would have been bad???
Posted by: dc | March 15, 2006 at 07:40 AM
I'm from the Philippines and I'm a big time Laker fan since Magic, Kareem and Worthy. I'm about to give up on this current laker team. I'm losing hope on them.
I will no longer expect for a good finish cuz i think i would only be disappointed.
I am now hoping for them to bounce back next season and hope Mitch Cupcake will work his ass to make some great addition to this crappy team.
BANGERS, SHOOTERS, LOCK UP DEFENDERS, and for PJ to get his boys play a good TEAM DEFENSE.
IMPROVE GUYS, IMPROVE and give us some reason to celebrate.
Posted by: GLAD | March 15, 2006 at 07:49 AM
Paging Lamar Odom... Paging Lamar Odom...
Thanks for showing up in the 1st quarter last night... but then where'd ya go? 14pts in the 1st and then only 10 more the rest of the game... while shooting 75%? Your jumper was falling, yet you barely shot another one after the 1st quarter. You had the ball in your hands the majority of the time you were in the game, but your aggression took a serious nose dive after the first 12 minutes.
Lamar, shoot the freakin' rock man! Our success depends entirely on how aggressive you are, you've shown that sometimes you can get the fire going, but we need it every night for the length of the whole game!
Posted by: Kevin McK | March 15, 2006 at 08:19 AM
wow, in all my luke walton bashing... i never thought of pinning an entire loss on his reserve shoulders.
now that's crazy, jimbo lol
Posted by: CBuck | March 15, 2006 at 08:45 AM
This isn't really that big of a loss, we just need to get through Minnesota tonight.
Good to see LO play a solid game, I think he might be the only guy who's progressing this year. From the box score and game summary it looks like Bibby schooled Smush again. Gotta love Smush and his matador defense--Ole!!
Posted by: Andrew Z | March 15, 2006 at 08:53 AM
I'm not going to blame anyone for the game last night....
BUT if I had to it would be Sasha.
"Sasha?", you say.
YES Sasha.
When he entered the game in the 4th quarter the Lakers were on a roll, and cut the lead down to 5 points.
1st possesion w/ Sasha in the game, Bibby drives past him gets fould, makes 2 free throws.
Then a turnover by Sasha (bad pass)
Bibby proceeded to score 9 points while Sasha was in the game.
A couple 3's and free throws....
Also Lamar had 14 points in the first quarter 0 in the second.
Thats just terrible recognition of who's hot and who's NOT.
Is it the triangle? I think it is.
Why can't we have an open free flowing offense that utilizes our YOUNG & ATHLETIC teams strengths?
I wasn't expecting a win to be honest, but to say that I'm disappointed would be an under statement.
Guess what fellas (and fella-ettes) we play KG & Co. tonight, back to back games = Lakers play slow and slugish and typically lose.
I'll be happy if can just hang on to our playoff spot ....
--Scott
Posted by: Scott | March 15, 2006 at 08:54 AM
there you all go again!!!!!!!!!!!!
another loss, and you start talking about trades. first, crucify kwame, them odom, then george, then mihm, walton, recently kobe, now back to walton and odom. this is the nba, s#it happens! detroit lost to atlanta at home, they should have traded everybody, right? this is a young team, the difference between the lakers and the bulls, raptors, hawks is simply KOBE. its not over until it is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: emman | March 15, 2006 at 09:01 AM
BTW, great to see McKie in an actual Uniform last night! Apparently he's cleared to practice, so hopefully we'll be getting him back soon, if we can hang on to the 8th seed, our guard rotation will be so much better come playoff time.
Posted by: Kevin McK | March 15, 2006 at 09:01 AM
I love the Lakers and no other but this cuurrent team is killing me. I don't think they can sweep the LA Sparks in a five game series. That's how F#$@**N' incosistent they are. what the hell is wrong with these guys??????
LET'S PLAY SOME GOOD BAAAASKEEEEEEHHHTBAAAALLLLL!!!!
WIN! WIN! WIN! PLEASE!!!!
Posted by: hurt | March 15, 2006 at 09:15 AM
I'm tired of hearing (on ESPN radio and in the press) Artest getting all the credit for the Queens turnaround. Before the trade it seemed like they had all kinds of injuries (Peja, Wells, Abdur-Rahim) but since the trade they've gotten healthy and young guys like Garcia and Martin have gotten better. It's not all Artest.
Posted by: rdlee | March 15, 2006 at 09:47 AM
YOUR # 8 IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE A POOR COPY CAT OF THE REAL THING SO FORGET ABOUT YOUR ILLUSIONS ABOUT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS. HE NEEDS TO STOP SHOOTING BLANKS AND START SHARING THE BALL... When are you guys going to admit that he is nothing but a ball hugging crocodile and a show off !!!!! Oraaaaaaahhhh.
Posted by: airam | March 15, 2006 at 09:54 AM
I think this Kobe vs Artest matchup is the best matchup the NBA has to offer. The Sacramento Kings are back.
Did you guys see the way Kobe was blanketed last night. It ws great for the game. Even though we lost, it made me very excited to see the game next week. Is going to study how Artest played him this game, and do the dam thing next Wed.
I can't wait and Kobe can't wait either.
I am starting to believe that the bottom half of the playoff groug, are going to win 3 out of 4 of the serious. The playoffs are differnt then the regular season. Just ask Phoenix and Seattle from last season.
Posted by: Zakee | March 15, 2006 at 10:16 AM
Although our team is gradually unraveling, I still think the Lakers can hold on to the 8th spot (of course, this is contingent upon New Orleans, Utah, Houston, Minnesota, etc. spiraling downwards even further).
Cookie - has the potential to be an offensive threat (ala Steve Kerr), but his defensive prescence is proving costly.
Lamar - needs to be in attack mode every game and all 4 quarters.
Sasha - young and inexperienced. Poor decision making. Maybe needs another elbow.
Smush - needs to watch Ron Artest/Bruce Bowen/rick fox (back in the day) film reel and learn how to play good defense.
Kwame - i give up.
Kobe - needs better teammates.
In the offseason (hope it starts later than sooner), our scouts/management have got to find us better people. Hats off to teams like the Spurs for being able to seek and lock in capable scorers and defenders (manu, parker, bowen). Heck, even the Clips have done a great job this year of putting together a solid squad with a good bench.
Why??? WHY CAN'T WE DO THE SAME!!??
Posted by: befuddled | March 15, 2006 at 10:21 AM
Hey Glad,
Laker fan to Laker fan,
Don't give up so easy. Utah and No has a much harder schedule than the Laker's. You just have to realize that we are not good enough to win every game. That game last night was a tough one. It was in Sac town and they were waiting for the Lakers to come up in their. Kobe just has not played against anyone like Ron Artest before. As a matter of fact this is the first time Artest has played in two years. Ron Artest is the best he has every been, because his body has matured over the past couple of years, and nobody has realized becuase, nobody played agaist him.
Kobe's anticapating this match now morethan every. This has now turn back into a heated battle again. I love it, it is the way basketball should be like. I am just glad that I am on Kobe's side.
So Glad, don't give up, just enjoy our rise to the top.
Posted by: Zakee | March 15, 2006 at 10:28 AM
dc,
I don't expect Artest to get any better than he is now. Odom is growing.
Posted by: Zen | March 15, 2006 at 10:56 AM
Hurt,
I'm still chuckling from that hilarious comment about the Sparks. That was some funny sh1t. I needed that one after last night. (The comment is made even funnier by the fact that you're probably right).
Posted by: LoLo | March 15, 2006 at 11:11 AM
Inconsistant Officiating
Checking out the box score, the teams played about even -- except for a couple things... the one thing that stands out is the Queens went 26-28 from the free throw line, where the Lakers went 11-15 (We average 20/27 for the season). Clearly, the Queens benefited from home court officiating -- and took advantage. They average 21/27 or less than 80% from the charity stripe. Last night they were at 93%! They scored 5 over their average, we scored 9 below.
Kobe's "slump" is just as much about inconsistant officiating as anything. Kobe averages over 9 points a game from the line on just over 10 attempts.
In the Loss to San Antonio he went 6-6
New Orleans 14 of 16 in a big win...
San Antonio only 6 of 7, but the team stepped up.
Seattle 4 of 5 !!!!
Queens 2 of 3 !!!! WHAT!!!!
Kobe has gotten Wacked Hacked and Mugged and hasn't gotten the calls. I don't get it. Sometimes Kobe turns it on when he doesn't get the calls. The last couple games, he hasn't been able too. Its getting BLATENT! It seamed like the officials were giving permission to knock him around. Give him his calls and his official attempts go down, his percentage goes up, and the slump is non-existant.
I'm all for letting them play, but it hasn't been consistant. The officials must be more transparent in the game. The NBA has to figure this out or they'll start losing fans.
--James
Posted by: James Mason | March 15, 2006 at 11:34 AM
You know, I'm not the biggest Kupchak basher, but since 2000, look at the draft picks of all the good teams in the west (with similar draft position). Sacto: Peja, Turkoglu, Kevin Martin, Garcia, Gerald Wallace. Dallas: Josh Howard, Marquis Daniels. San Antonio: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli. Lakers: Sasha Vujacic, Brian Cook, Slava Medvedenko, Kareem Rush. Notice a discrepancy in talent?
And we stock these guys up and they never develop any trade value so they continue to define our team. This one area may be as responsible for our dropoff as anything save losing shaq. If we drafted just on par with those teams, there'd be no question about our spot in the west. Anybody have any faith this is going to change soon?
Posted by: mannie | March 15, 2006 at 12:18 PM
I hate to keep on beating a dead horse (that's the expression right?) but Smush needs to play D. If he's not going to play and stay on his "swipe and hope it's a steal and not a suicide play" mode, then sit his a** down. Sometimes it's like he's letting them pass just so he can swipe the ball on their sides or back. His D, in the beginning of the season has lead to foul trouble for our bigs, now it's like heck if you're not guarding your man, why should I get into foul trouble (hence the barrage of layups...did u see that Sac game...it was like a teaching tape of penetration-layups).
Okay now for the good news---(took the medicine, now here's the sugar---geez I'm full of cliches today ;-) Kobe's tired, but he won't stay on this slump long. We'll be okay, come playoff time (and we will get there---8th is our best place to be actually) he'll be his same ol dominant self. LO has actually been playing consistently well (he just needs to do it for the full game). The loss of Chris is big, but it gives time to for our younguns to develop (and yes we need the help now, but it's no less important that we develop these future key guys)
GO Lakers! Beat minny!
Posted by: Faith | March 15, 2006 at 12:58 PM
Hey Faith,
Smush does have to play better defense.
Last night was tough for the Laker's though. The atmosphere in Arco Arena was incredible. None of them were prepared for Artest, plus a LOUD ARCO. I think that as long as you have faith then we will take care of our business on our home floor. Get it H-a-v-e
F-a-i-t-h.
LOL
Let's Go Lake Show
Posted by: Zakee | March 15, 2006 at 03:24 PM
Faith,
Do you think that Sasha has anything to do with 'your' problem (Smush).
I my opinion (I posted this earlier) Sasha is WAY less productive than Smush.
OK so Sasha got that steal on an inbounds play (WOW), then miseed the lay-up, got his rebound and scored.
Smush would have dunked that 'ish'.
With the Lakers down by 5 Sasha gave Bibby a free pass to take the lead up to 16 points before he got pullled (i monitored it)...
I like Smush more than Sasha (obviously) because HE CAN SCORE, Sasha has like 30 points this entire season.....
Yes Smush has to definetly improve his D.
Earlier you suggested starting Sasha instead of Smush, that would not be good, his D is just bad as Smush's, at times (overall a tad better) and he can't score (consistantly).....
--Scott
Posted by: Scott | March 15, 2006 at 03:30 PM
Saying Smush improved his D is like multiplying Zero by 100. Still the same thing.
Posted by: p ang | March 15, 2006 at 05:16 PM
Actually I didn't say that it would be a great idea to start Sasha over Smush...I'm saying I'd like there to be some kind of punishment for his "defense." Yes Sasha is worst, but once upon a time people had to earn (consistently) a starting position...and aside from the occational steal (which he tries to do 90 out of a 100 not succesfully)...he doesn't earn it (apart from his occational points also). Actually (it's not personal) but I think he got the starting spot by default...cause who are they going to put. I'm saying to "teach" him that his defense sucks a**, bench him just one game. I've never once heard him say...I need to do a better job to man up...stay in front of my man (then again that might just be me)
Offense is okay...but it's like Cook (except occationally worst cause of the pgs in this league and their impact)---we sometimes times get his offense, but lose points on his defence.
Zakee, lol
Posted by: Faith | March 16, 2006 at 07:46 PM