Live from the game- Lakers vs. Pacers
Not quite as electric a mood in the building tonight as, say, last Sunday. I guess Jeff Foster doesn't have the same sort of cache as KG. Oh well. Hopefully the result is better. Your starting lineup: LO, Walton, Drew, Kobe, Fish. Inactives: Vlad Rad, Mihm.
BK with the first.
FIRST QUARTER: I heard a rumor that whoever scores first will be declared the winner. Fingers crossed it's LAL...
Uh oh. Pacers up 2-0. Fortunately, it looks like they're going to let them play it out.
10:00- I guess the magic potion the Lakers had against Philly has worn off. After 66% from the floor on Friday, LA has opened up 0-5.
8:40- Dunleavy Jr. drills a three, and the Pacers are up 9-0, and now have the ball after a second LA turnover. No makes from the floor, a couple TOs, and some less than stellar rotations on the other end. Not a great start.
7:37- There it is. LO makes a layup, Fisher follows with a jumper and the Lakers are on the board. But they're going to have to tighten up on their end, or they'll give Indiana an awfully large cushion to work with. That triple Dunleavy just hit- his second of the game- was the type that drives a coach nuts if it doesn't go in. He took the outlet, stepped back, and shot. Nobody there to grab a board, had he missed.
Not to worry. Nothing but cord.
6:22- Drew takes a nice pass from LO, and gets the and one on JO. He makes the FT, and now it's a 14-11 game. The Lakers seemed to have woken up and are now playing some ball. And now the Pacers are helping them out, as Dunleavy picks up a T, followed by Jim OBrien. Fish makes both Ts, then one of two (it was a blocking foul on Dunleavy that started the kerfuffle) and the Lakers are tied at 14. Momentum gone for Indiana.
5:41- Timeout on the floor, Lakers tied at 16 with Bynum going to the line. Nice little play there by Drew, who lost JO on a shoulder fake (O'Neal tried to flop and draw the charge, to no avail) then laid the ball in while picking up the hack from Troy Murphy. The Lakers are now on a 16-7 run after starting the game spotting Indiana nine points.
Drew comes out of the TO, makes the freebie, and the Lakers have the lead. After a slow first couple minutes, they've gotten their act together on both ends, forcing some TOs from Indiana, and getting the ball inside with some ball movement.
3:40- Walton picks up a personal, and from my end, I thought Kobe might have been dinged. That would have been his second, so it's a good thing I'm not the ref.
2:39- Great sequence there from the Lakers. Kobe misses a nifty little turnaround jumper, Drew outworks JO and another Pacer (couldn't see which) for the ball, feeds a cutting Walton on a nice bounce pass. JO cuts Walton off, so rather than force up a shot, Luke dribbles through, feeds Fish at the arc, who immediately throws it back to Luke, who has now set up in the corner for a wide open three. Great play all around, from the rebound to the passing to the shot at the end.
Hopefully it's a little bit of a turnaround for Luke, who wasn't very sharp in the first few minutes.
Lakers up 24-19. Farmar, Ariza in for Fish, Luke.
1:58- Drew picks up his first personal, on the offensive end. Nice aggressiveness going to the hold on the roll portion of the screen and roll, but the defender clearly had position, and saw it coming. Something he'll have to learn to recognize.
1:16- Kobe makes two FTs, and the lead is now 28-21. Kwame in for Drew.
:15- Nice pass from Ariza to Kwame. After hitting a triple, Ariza drew a little more attention from Indy's D. He drives the baseline, the sea parts as three Pacers come out to defend, and nobody is anywhere near Kwame. Good pass, easy dunk.
END OF THE FIRST: After a 9-0 start for Indiana, the Lakers outscore them 33-14 the rest of the way, for a 33-23 lead. Fair to say they've regained momentum. Indy hasn't done anything since the double T on Dunleavy and O'Brien, though they were starting to lose the momentum before that point, as well. Strong first quarter for Drew offensively, as he finishes with 12 points. LO has six boards, and Kobe, just as it was on Friday, hasn't had to do much heavy lifting.
AK with the second.
SECOND QUARTER
11:17 - Ronny's quickly called for a foul cutting off Marquis Daniels in the paint. Two freebies for Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal enters the game for Indy. A little most offensive action in the paint for the Lakers to now contend with.
10:59 - I'm stunned to see Kwame take an open jumper at the free throw line. I'm not shocked to see him miss badly. Wasn't shot with much confidence. There's a reason not much pick and pop is run with 54.
10:43 - Ronny and Kwame are both guilty of not boxing out Jeff Foster close to the goal. Dude's got a nose for the ball and snags Indy's miss.
8:53 - Kwame travels like a 747 in the paint trying to free himself space to put up a shot. Phil Jackson calls time out. To say the least, it's gotten a little raggedy of late with the second unit. Two points scored in the last three minutes and the percentage from the floor has dropped 5%. Probably a nice time for a pow wow.
8:42 - Dunleavy slips his man moving inside along the arc, but Kwame does a terrific job picking up and staying with him, eventually forcing a wild shot by the Clip Coach's son.
7:43 - David Harrison may have actually tipped Kwame's layup attempt in, but whether friedndly roll or unintentional help, it still counts as two points. And I like seeing Kwame attacking the basket two possessions in a row (the last of which got him a trip to the stripe with two converted freebies). Like BK and I often say, it's not about how many points Kwame actually scores (although it's obviously nice if he racks some), it's about him having to be accounted for by a defense. Too many times, Kwame doesn't even appear to be looking at the rack, much less looking for his shot.
5:52 - Again, another possession where Kwame faces up, puts the ball on the floor a few times and takes it to the hole, this time drawing the foul on Jeff Foster. After the timeout, he misses both freebies, but again, it's the act of doing, not necessarily scoring. Twenty seconds later, Kwame's greeted with a sea of cheers upon exiting for Drew. Can't say I blame the crowd.
5:15 - Danny Granger makes a wide open jumper from 22-feet out. Of course, it's pretty easy to be open when you blatantly push off, as Granger did while Luke was guarding him. I mean, arm fully extended after administering a full on shove. But at least it was right in front of the ref.
4:43 - Murphy buries a triple with Drew in his grill. Lot of wingspan to shoot around, but that's still not where you ideally want Bynum guarding a guy. Defintiely out of his comfort zone. The Lakers need to be conscientious of this and try to arrange themselves so LO is on Murphy whenever possible and Drew guards Foster. Otherwise, Murphy's just gonna draw Bynum as far away from the basket as possible.
3:43 - Kareem Rush's layup cuts the lead to three and one possession (and a Luke Walton turnover later), it's down to one after Foster follows suit. Granger quickly steals the ball from Kobe and gets fouled by LO heading to the rack. One freebie of two is converted, with Bynum securing the loose ball. But the damage is underway. It's now a tie game, 44 all square.
1:44 - The game's briefly knotted at 47 after Rush buries a three ball, but The Lakers regain advantage with a Bynum dunk. Fish with the feed after penetrating the paint. Good things coming as we get closer to the basket.
57.6 - The Lakers pay for Murphy connecting from 21 feet, but nobody paid as badly on the play as LO. The southpaw got absolutely leveled by Foster while running into his screen. As Mr. Miyagi would say, "Squish like grape." Someone needed to let him know that bad boy was lurking.
27.1 - Drew gets fed yet again inside and draws a crowd of Indianians looking to stop him. Showing patience, he passes out to Luke in the corner. Money ball from behind the arc. Again, work the ball inside, then out. Not the reverse.
The half ends with Kobe hounded and slipping on the ground during the final seconds, a 55-53 Laker lead going into the locker room. Not the prettiest of second quarters. Cold shooting. Four turnovers. And only 7 boards snagged to Indiana's 17. Good showing from Drew (21 first half points), whom hope will be fed even more after Phil instructs his team to keep looking the kid's way. We shall see. BK with the third.
THIRD QUARTER:
Good start for LA offensively. Two possessions, two layups from LO, off good ball and player movement. That's what they didn't have in the second quarter.
Fish follows with a bucket, and the Lakers are up by six, 61-55. Perhaps they recieved a sternly worded talking to at halftime?
9:00- Two plays by Drew in one defensive stint, one good, one bad. He did a great job sticking with JO on the face up, dribble penetration, forcing a bad, bad miss by O'Neal. But he didn't recognize that the Lakers didn't get the board, and had released up the court, leaving O'Neal open for an easy dish from Foster. Love to see him working to get up court, but he has to completely finish the play.
7:28- Timeout on the floor, Lkers up 67-59. They've been much more efficient on the offensive end in this quarter. LO already has six points on three easy lay ins, and the Lakers have four assists in the quarter on five FGs. Much healthier percentage, for sure. Nice play by Walton on the last bucket, as he quickly returned an Odom feed on the wing to LO for an easy lay up.
Defensively, the Lakers are forcing the Pacers to play set offense much more- as they did in the first- and the results have been much better.
5:17- Kobe drills his second consecutive three, in the face of a fairly defenseless (metaphorically and literally) Dunleavy. Timeout on the floor for Indy, as the Lakers have come out and run the lead to 16 in the third. Much more like what they did in the first. The shooting has been incredibly hot, but that's in part because they're moving the ball and getting good looks at the rim.
4:40- LO hits a three, in response to a Dunleavy triple. Lakers up by 16, 80-64. They've beat up on the Pacers in Q3, 27-11. 10-13 for the quarter. That'll get it done, for sure.
3:11- Timeout on the floor, Lakers still up 15, 82-67. At this point, it's about maintaining. They just showed a preview for that "Cloverfield" movie on the Jumbotron. Try as I might, and I've seen a few different versions of the trailer, I can't figure out what the hell that movie is about. Anyone have an idea?
Ariza and Farmar back on the floor after the TO.
1:22- Kobe to the line, to try and push the lead to 18. The MVP chants are going. I'm wondering if that guy who was chanting for Coby Karl on Friday is joining them. The make on the second shot gives the Lakers a chance to press, and they force a jump ball. The refs call a stolen tip on LO, who hit the ball back while it was still on the way up, but it's nice to see the Lakers force the potential turnover.
With 55 ticks left, the Laker lead is 15. J Critt into the game at the next break, to give 24 a breather.
:30- Two great plays by Ariza, the first to set up Drew inside with a nice entry, which Drew converted with a foul on O Neal, to boot. Another example of great ball movement- the ball didn't hit the floor for three or four passes, and the result was a great open look. Then, after Drew missed the FT, Ariza tipped the long rebound out and the Lakers got the ball back. Solid work.
END OF THE THIRD: Lakers blow the game open, outscoring Indy 35-19 in the third. Good to see them come out and put the game (hopefully) away. The last thing you want to do is let a team stick around into the fourth, and give them a chance to think they can win.
AK will have the fourth.
FOURTH QUARTER:
11:04 - The Critter penetrates into the paint, then whips a no look to Kwame, who bobbles it into a turnover. Although in fairness to #54, it's very difficult to catch a pass when your hands are sitting at your sides and nowhere close to ready. Degree of difficulty: 10+. Thankfully, he redeems himself a possession later by taking the ball at David Harrison for the up and in.
9:06 - Farmar misses from bhind the arc, his second gaffe from distance and his sixth brick on the night, the latter number equaling the amount of attempts. Not the best night launching shots for Derek Fisher's backup. But at least he's doing a decent job hawking the rock. No turnovers, 1 steal.
8:45 - Travis Diener drains the 19 footer, a nice showing for a member of the "Dudes you'd never guess were in the NBA" Club. Folks also aware of the handshake include Dan Dickau, Richie Frahm, Fabricio Oberto (height aside) Chris Paul (too short) and the Lakers' own Coby Karl.
6:16 - Phil angrily jumps up to call time out after Dunleavy lays one up and in, a basket cutting the third quarter lead from 18 to 13. Another unproductive, gap shrinking outing for the second unit. All five Laker starters reenter the game, allowing Ariza, Turiaf, The Critter, Kwame and Farmar to sit quietly and think about what they did.
4:19 - HUGE triple racked by Fish, who was set up by Kobe with about 7 days to line up the shot. Nobody but a streaking and late JO challenging matters. Kobe also got the break running by snagging the rock from Diener.
2:55 - String candidate for "Play of the Game:" Kobe works some ball movement just inside the arc, a couple more dribbles, then pops the ball behind his back to Fish, who's again left all by his lonesome. Long distance dialing successful. Laker lead now back to 20.
1:48 - Yet another Three ball from Fish having passed, the dead ball situation allows Farmar to take his place and Coby Karl to get some run in Kobe's spot. Both starters receive some hearty applause.
TACOS AHOY!!! 112-96 Laker victory! Big night for the starters (all of whom reached double figures), particuarly Andrew Bynum, who racked a double-double and absolutely destroyed the Pacers in the first half (21 of his 23 points represented before chalk talk) and the boards (10 in the second half). Rough outing for the bench crew. Aside from a nice show of aggression (if not continual success) from Kwame Brown attacking the rack, scattered success at best for those entering from the pine. But that's all water under the bridge when it's said and done. Still the crushing win everyone wanted to see. Thanks for dropping by. More to come later.
AK
it's just an ok win for me because the philosophy wasn't there.
Posted by: sixonezero | January 06, 2008 at 09:00 PM
As far as unimpressive wins go, that one takes the cake. Just goes to show you how good we can be even when we're off. Bad night, we beat a team by 20. Good
night, we beat a team by 30. Bench needs to get in some serious work over the next couple of days to find a little rhythm before th game in NO.
Posted by: | January 06, 2008 at 09:02 PM
Wasn't pretty, especially the 2nd unit, but we'll take the win. Onto the next game. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | January 06, 2008 at 09:03 PM
dion,
>>what is this guys fascination with walton as as starter........i thought that was a failed experiment
The Lakers are 7-4 this season when Luke starts, and one of those was the Golden State game where
Kobe pulled his groin but kept playing and they gave it up at the end.
I'd hardly call 7-4 a "failed experiment"
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | January 06, 2008 at 09:10 PM
Great win. Road trip, don't overlook Memphis. NO will be tough again.
Colorado loves the Lakers!
Posted by: Hugo Boss | January 06, 2008 at 09:11 PM
This was exactly the kind of game we lost in bunches last year. This year we're regaining the lead and even stomping the mediocre teams we lost to last year. Keep it rolling, Lakers!
Posted by: CornerJ | January 06, 2008 at 09:13 PM
Time for a reality check!
Not hard to figure why the second unit struggled. There was NO, I repeat NO inside presence. With Bynum we can play inside-out and create open looks. With Kwame, there is no inside-out, no easy open looks. Kwame can never demand a double team, hell, he not like he even needs single coverage. Teams back off and smother the passing lanes. The second unit was better served with Ronny. His hustle, constant motion and ability to hit a fifteen footer kept the defense honest.
This game is a reminder that offense in the post IS important. A legitimate post threat makes every other players job easier. Fouls add up quicker, more free throws, other team's bigs get in foul trouble, etc. , etc.....
Bynum gives us a TRUE post presence, Kwame gives us heartburn. WHAT SAY YOU?
Posted by: reality check time | January 06, 2008 at 09:17 PM
Should have been an easier night than it turned out to be. Part of it was on the defensive end. We gave up too many easy 2nd chance points,
especially in the first half. Much more aggressiveness on defense would have separated the Lakers from the Pacers more definitively and much
earlier. Fortunately, D-Fish was "lights out" in the 4th quarter. The guy is CLUTCH!
Fish was also gracious towards the 2nd unit in his post-game interview, acknowledging that while they struggled tonight, they've played well
for most of the season. As noted, the lack of ball movement in the 2nd unit tonight seemed due to who confusion about should be where doing what.
Surprising, since the Bench Mob got so much playing time the other night against the Sixers. Gotta get this all figured out.
Still, being 10 games over .500 is a good place to be.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | January 06, 2008 at 09:18 PM
if the bench plays like that NO will have a field day on our asses.
Posted by: sixonezero | January 06, 2008 at 09:20 PM
Lakers made this game a little harder than it should have been, but a win is a win. Disturbing trend with the second unit, but let's not forget that 2 key members (Sasha and Vlad) are missing. As the season progesses, I's like to see the defense continue to improve to the point where a no layup rule is put into effect. Also cutting down on the careless possessions and turnovers will increase the chance for success as the competition heats up.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | January 06, 2008 at 09:24 PM
Now this was a good game to evaluate. Did you see the first quarter? How the Pacers jumped out to 10-point lead? Dunleavy and O’Neil did very well operating out of their set offense.
Then Dunleavy picked up his 2nd foul and a T and was taken out of the game. At that point the quality of the Pacers game dropped significantly.
Stu Lanz said it best. He said: Even when the Lakers had their 10-point lead in the first quarter there was no rhythm to the game at all. That was true. The Pacers were just throwing the ball away and it wasn’t because of the Lakers’ defense.
During this stretch Andrew Bynum was able to get quite a few points. But I don’t think very much of those points were coming off an entry pass and letting him do some post moves. It was off a lot of garbage plays, which is good when we play weak teams.
Now when the 2nd unit came into the game in the 1st half they actually set up the offense and threw a few entry passes to Kwame who made a couple of decent moves. Those are what I consider “real points.” That’s because the opponent’s defense was set up to defend the triangle.
Then the 1st unit came back in and played out the 2nd quarter and we came away with a 2-point lead.
Now in the 3rd quarter the Lakers first unit played killer ball. Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher went off as a unit and build a serious lead for the Lakers.
Now when the 2nd unit came into the game in the 4th quarter you could see they tried to set up the offense, again. But this time Kwame picked up 2 traveling calls and an offensive foul.
What really caught my eye was how Jordan Farmar, Crittenton, and Ariza were like grouped together…then all of a sudden it was like it came to their heads…hey, we better spread out and set the offense up. It was terrible!
That was OK with me because we had like an 18-point lead. We had points to play with. And with those points we were able to see that when it comes to setting up the offense and actually executing…we need work. And these are the perfect games to get that work in.
Then when the 1st unit came to bail out the 2nd unit in the 4th quarter it was Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher who shot the ball lights out and extended the lead up to 20, again. That is what I call a rescue job.
But that rescue job wasn’t based on the 1st unit executing the offense from the inside out. It was mostly all from the outside. That’s great because it got us the win.
My problem is that the Lakers when they actually have to play from an offensive set and execute…they come up short. Most of the Bynum points come off of defensive lapses by Pacers.
The FSN announcers mentioned at halftime what the Pacers coaches had said about the Bynum problem. He said the coach said this: We’re just not getting there on time. That was true. Again, the Bynum points aren’t coming from an entry pass and post moves by Bynum.
When we have to rely on stuff like that our offense is dependant on the Lakers’ outside shooting. In the first quarter the Pacers had a 10-point lead when there wasn’t any of the garbage points coming the Lakers way.
In the 2nd half the Lakers tried to do one of those alley-oop passes to Bynum and the Pacers just stepped in and stole the ball. Andrew Bynum scored 21-points in the 1st half, but only 2-points in the 2nd half.
As soon as teams start paying attention to Bynum they are able to shut him down. And this is against a weak Indiana Pacers team.
When it comes down to it the real players are Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher because these guys actually score from creating their own shots.
I think the Lakers need to go to Bynum when they can off the alley-oops pass against these weak teams and build a big lead. But when the Lakers get points to play with they have to set up their offense and allow Andrew to execute and make moves to the basket to score, if he can. It’s practice, man! And it allows us to see what this guy can really do. And it allows Andrew to develop properly.
The Lakers, it seems, get excited with themselves and continue with the same old song and dance…trying to take advantage of the weak opponent. Instead the Lakers should get some “in game practice.” They need to set-up and practice on their offensive spacing and start with an entry pass into Bynum to see what he can really do. They have to quit relying on the garbage points Bynum generates because against good defensive teams all the Lakers are going to do is look confused because they’re not developing their offensive execution with any game time practice against these weak teams.
When we get big leads against weak teams both the 1st and 2nd units have to set-up the offense and practice their spacing and execute from an entry pass into the big. I mean they have points to play with so it’s not like they going to give the game away.
Just like tonight the Lakers 2nd unit tried to go into the middle and it looked fouled up. You know why? Because they don’t practice going into the middle and you see how ineffective it looked. It really wasn’t that Kwame traveled twice or that he picked up the offensive foul. I can live with the Lakers practicing that when we have a big lead. Again, the thing that caught my eye was how poor the offensive spacing was. Kwame just ended the poor sequences with the turnovers.
That spacing was terrible! I mean look at the start of the 4th quarter and watch Farmar, Crittenton, and Ariza. Kwame is in the post so he position was acceptable.
The 1st unit isn’t much better. And unless we get those garbage points from Bynum we’re dependent on Kobe, Lamar, and Fisher to hit outside shots. And unless we’re hitting those shots we’ll struggle against everyone. That’s why the Pacers were able to jump to a 10-point lead.
That’s just bad philosophy! We can get away with it against weak teams but not a good defensive team. We need in game practice really really bad.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | January 06, 2008 at 09:46 PM
Trade Kwame and Vlad for J.O.
Posted by: shaggy | January 06, 2008 at 09:47 PM
Good there is a first unit because the second stringers could not hold on the fort. The bench mob should be benched. Out of sync and college ball of games of run and gun and run again. Javaris and Atriza were waiting for Farmar to show the lead, while Kwame was tired of waiting so he gets the 3 seconds for setting a camp fire in the post. Next time, they should inject Bynum or Kobe with the bench mob or even Fisher to lead the cavalry, they need a squad leader over there. Anyway, can't complaint, it was another win and a good game for Luke. That is still a teamwork, when others are bad, others would pick up and do the digging.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | January 06, 2008 at 09:51 PM
The second unit needs to step it up with NO on tap Wednesday on the second night of a back to back. It's interesting that early in the season the second unit was
awesome with Bynum and the first unit was struggling. Now Bynum's starting and the first unit has been strong and the bench has struggled.
Posted by: Xodus | January 06, 2008 at 09:59 PM
Bottom line is we won a game we should win, period!!! Somebody went back on what he said earlier in the day that there's nothing to really discuss about this game because we should win easily. He also said we don't have anything to discuss unless the Lakers lose and now here he is with the same old song and dance, singling out his usual target and making dumb excuses for his lover!!! Man, relax and stop lying to yourself and the bloggers.
We were up by ten at the end of the 1st quarter despite trailing early by 10, who the hell cares as long as we won and by 14 at that!!! Don't make damn excuses for only certain players on the 2nd unit. All of them were struggling and had no rhythym at all. Who picked it up and kept us in the game while Kobe and Fisher were struggling at 3 for 16 in the first half?!!! That's right, the big man in the middle. Twice we lost leads when the 2nd unit came into the game. Sure, not everything's perfect, but relax and enjoy the game.
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | January 06, 2008 at 10:16 PM
The Lakers 1st unit really took advantage of Rush, Daniels, and Harrison. That's when the quaility of the Pacers game went down the tubes. Those guys looked terrible and allowed a close first quarter to get away.
I say that because I think we're building our hopes on a bad philosophy. We're building our hopes on weak defensive and offensive players from the other team.
That's nothing to get excited about.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | January 06, 2008 at 10:20 PM
m.t
im withh you on what your sayin bout bynum it almost seems like he dont know what to do when hes has to create his own shot but i don see how kwame did much better ,in the first half he kwame was doing some things were not used to seeing him do LOOKS like hes trying to get his starting spot back but hes just not good enough maaan i think were in a lose lose situation on the center spot right now but bynum will get better and that puts me at ease
Posted by: | January 06, 2008 at 10:23 PM
Somebody said, don't take Grizz' for granted. That's absolutely right because they're road games. Any road games for a young team is a test of wills. Kobe & Fisher could provide the leadership.
On the game with Hornets, I think PJ should sacrifice Kwame for Tyson Chandler by pushing him out of the post, this is where Kwame's strenght come into play. Javaris who is 6'4" should be sacrificed as well to slow down the speedy PG, Chris Paul who is only 6'0. What do you think of putting Kobe/Ariza on Peja? Once they control these three players, the teams' eyes will be shut down, the hands will be handcuffed and the feet will be chained, making Tyson ineffective w/ rebounds and follow-ups. what's remaining would be just the body, that is the rest of the players. The only problem with these strategies, the people who are supposed to stop dragon will be overwhelmed by the monster and lose sight of it.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | January 06, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Mike T.
I rarely read your posts, but when I do, I feel terrible. I actually lose I.Q. points just by reading them.
You attract me the same way as cats like Rush Limbaugh do. - the logic and understanding is just so twisted it's mezmerizing. Like seeing a car wreck, you don't want to look but just have to.
I think I've heard you talk about footwork, but maybe thats just your fetish for male calves, - The alley oops Bynum gets are due exactly to this. He and the passer are taking advantage of the defense's worrying to deny Bynum position. - it's very similar the huge quantities of oops Shaq used to get. Bynum is amazing in this way. Now his mere presence is opening up the offense for whoever is on the floor with him. He must always be watched.
The Pacers didn't "shut him down" as youy put it. Bynum established himself it the first quarter thus allowing the offense to flow evenly in the second half because they had to be aware of him.
When the first unit returned in the fourth quarter it was the post pass to a srteaking Odom that said re-established a down low presence and then allowed the first unit to take control.
go work on your science - cristiian fairy tale blog or learn some basketball.
Posted by: Basketball I.Q. | January 06, 2008 at 10:25 PM
m.t
im withh you on what your sayin bout bynum it almost seems like he dont know what to do when hes has to create his own shot but i don see how kwame did much better ,in the first half he kwame was doing some things were not used to seeing him do LOOKS like hes trying to get his starting spot back but hes just not good enough maaan i think were in a lose lose situation on the center spot right now but bynum will get better and that puts me at ease
fonzuhrelli
Posted by: | January 06, 2008 at 10:29 PM
by,
I could have sworn I just said what you said. Kwame didn't look good in the 2nd half when he recieved an entry pass.
But that's my whole point. These guys aren't practicing it and that's why it looks so bad. Between the two, Bynum and Kwame, it's Kwame who actually has the better ability to create off the dribble.
But to tell you the truth...Kwame's moves are more suited for a Power Forward. I mean the things he tried tonight on the offensive end had two things to consider. When he turned around to face the basket he looked like he could do something.
In the 2nd half he tried to make his moves starting with his back to the basket.
When he turns around to face the basket...that's a Power Forward, which he did pretty well.
When he has his back to the basket...that's when he struggles because that's really how a center operates.
I don't understand why this guy is insisting on playing the 5 spot, when his footspeed and moves have Power Forward written all over them.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | January 06, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Mike - what game were you watching? Kwame had 4 TOs in 15 minutes. He lost control of the ball on every offensive move he made and ended up just launching the hoop.
Posted by: golal | January 06, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Aloha
This was a crazy game, it seemed we played as well as we had to. The 2nd unit has been sliding a little ever since Andrew went to the 1st unit.
After a good 1st half Kwames lapses again helped keep the other team in it. Thats 8 turnovers now in the last 2 games and in limited minutes. Good thing we were playing the Pacers. Andrew was +30 and Kwame -12. Looks like the kid is becoming more entrenched as a starter each game. Andrew distroyed them in the 1st half. The Pacers adjusted and it freed up the other guys. Its really nice having a real center again.
It was mentioned earlier on the blog that we do miss Sasha and Vlade. With both of those guys out it leaves us with just Jordon as an outside threat on the 2nd unit although I did like Trevor connecting on 2 three pointers. If he can do that consistantly he might get the starting nod over Luke. Which I think might not be a bad idea. I think Luke can stabalize the 2nd unit.
And after watching the game tonight is there anyone who still wants to trade away half the team for JO and his 20 million per? I mean the Pacer only scored 32 points in the paint, the entire game! and this was the guy many wanted to be that low post scorer for us? Plain and simple JO is a jump shooter, always has been.
The next 2 games are tricky. Memphis is like a trap game and the Hornets have been hot. If we can those 2 we might really get on a roll.
GO Lakers!!
MH
Posted by: michael h | January 06, 2008 at 10:37 PM
when playing these weaker i would like to see bynum on the defensive end practice on not letting the opposing center back him down if he picks up some fouls i say oh well so be it the laker should win anyway right and on the offense practice on some post moves if he picks up some fouls or travel calls i say who cares the lakers should win anyway right im mean these are weaker teams and in the process bynum gets a taste of how to bang with big boys
Posted by: fonzuhrelli | January 06, 2008 at 10:39 PM
So, now, Baby's points are only of the garbage variety? Why try to pick fault with the young man's game when he's only doing what he's supposed to do. Baby can and will FINISH at the rim. He plays like a true big man. He gets most of his points in the paint. He's got no shame in his game. He's BIG, he plays like a BIG man and he doesn't try to complicate things for himself. I'm sure as the years go on, he will add more variety and versatility to his moves. As things stand now, he's doing pretty darn well for a 20 year old. You say he can't matchup with the Garnetts and the Duncans? Well, I've got news for you....neither can the rest of the NBA. Kwame has 8 points in 13 mins. and everybody is excited. Baby B. had 12 points in the first quarter and he didn't play all 12 minutes. Andrew Bynum has earned the right to be the starting center of the Los Angeles Lakers. Live with it.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | January 06, 2008 at 10:46 PM
"In the 2nd half the Lakers tried to do one of those alley-oop passes to Bynum and the Pacers just stepped in and stole the ball. Andrew Bynum scored 21-points in the 1st half, but only 2-points in the 2nd half.
As soon as teams start paying attention to Bynum they are able to shut him down. And this is against a weak Indiana Pacers team."
Somebody said this about 20 games ago and still hasn't been right. Lakers didn't look for Andrew much in the second half and when he did get the ball in the post, he made some nice passes and set nice screens for Kobe and others as well. Kobe and Fisher were off in the 1st half and came out determined to get untracked in the second half. Other than the Boston game, Andrew has been doing this for the past 20 games or so.
Sure, the team has a lot of work to do defensively and offensive half court sets, but they'll keep improving. Bottom line is that we beat a team we should beat. Even when teams focus more on Andrew, none of them will be able to completely shut him down because he's too consistent(notched 17th double double tonight), too strong, too long, smart and active around the hoop. He was 7 for 10 in the first half and 1 for 1 in the second half, but he did grab 10 boards in the second half and added a block to give him 4 for the game. As PJ stated in the audio earlier today, Andrew will have some good games and some bad games. 1 bad game out of every 15 isn't bad at all.
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | January 06, 2008 at 10:49 PM
The Lakers 1st unit really took advantage of Rush, Daniels, and Harrison. That's when the quaility of the Pacers game went down the tubes. Those guys looked terrible and allowed a close first quarter to get away.
I say that because I think we're building our hopes on a bad philosophy. We're building our hopes on weak defensive and offensive players from the other team.
That's nothing to get excited about.
mike
Terrible analysis. You must watch the game upside down because Rush hit shots and kept them in it. It's way too early to get excited, but the games must go on. Every team in the league plays weak teams, big deal.
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | January 06, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Kwame has no "ability to create off the dribble". What he does is bounce the ball once and make a quick move to the basket. He'll pick up a lot of charging fouls doing that because once he gets started, he can't adjust or alter his move if the defense is ready for him. Kwame just seems so unpolished, which is amazing considering his time in the league. I'll grant you, he surprised me tonight with his aggressiveness, but that doesn't change the fact that his moves were awkward and clumsy. Still, I'd take what Kwame did tonight in a heartbeat if he could do it on a regular basis, minus the 4 TO's of course.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | January 06, 2008 at 11:30 PM