An odd way to try and make you forget Wednesday's loss...
With any luck, the Lakers will start playing some legitimate title-contending, cream of the crop, elite squads ASAP, because this two-game stretch against a pair of the NBA's worst is killing them. Wednesday's loss against the Charlotte Bobcats went coupled with tonight's 114-111 fall to the Grizzlies, a squad rarely associated with the word "powerhouse," especially on the road. So what accounted for Grizz's sixth victory outside of Memphis? Well, outside of a honkin' 53 points from Kobe Bryant (19-37 from the field), there wasn't a ton of scoring support. The only other Lakers to reach double figures were Jordan Farmar (11) and Sasha Vujacic, who required 17 shots to rack 14 points. The Machine's errant touch reflects one where the team shot a paltry 39% from the field. And speaking of inefficient, the Lakers chucked a franchise-record 45 balls from downtown. (Before you ask, not a typo.)
That's just crazy enough to not work.
But despite the madness and mostly poor defense, the Lakers did manage to stage a rally and offer themselves a shot at a tie at the end of regulation. But with .9 ticks remaining and (ironically enough) a trey needed to knot things up, Luke Walton attempted to force an inbound pass to Kobe rather than use a 20-second time out still in his pocket. The ball gets batted away, along with any shot at a winning box score.
AK (The breakdown is below, courtesy of BK)
The Good: Slim pickins...
- Kobe Bryant: 53 points on 19-37 from the floor, including 9-17 from downtown. He was absolutely on fire early, posting 23 in the first quarter and 34 for the half. In the second 24, Memphis coach Mark Iavaroni started double and triple teaming Bryant, and forced the ball from his hands. Kobe still fired away, but did his best to move the ball out of traffic to open teammates. Tonight, though, they didn't come through. He was also effective on the glass, grabbing 10 boards, and chipped in with three steals as well. PJ said after the game that he was happy to see Kobe come out aggressively, though it might have taken some energy out of his teammates. Lord knows there was a lot of standing around. But philosophical arguments about style of play aside- I think I'm on record here preferring more ball movement and shot distribution when possible, and I'm sure we could have a grand debate on whether the other guys miss because they don't get the ball, or they don't get the ball because they're missing/not moving- but overall Kobe played a good game. He also did a good job on Mike Miller defensively, a nice rebound from Wednesday's game where he played a poor game on that end.
- DJ Mbenga: It's all relative, but while the Lakers suffered on the scoreboard with him in the game (he was -18 in 16+ minutes before fouling out, and while +/- doesn't explain everything, in this situation it's a good sign they were losing ground with him on the floor), pressed into duty because of Ronny Turiaf's foul trouble, Mbenga gave them some decent minutes. Four blocks, four points. Only one rebound- how does that happen?- and the aforementioned six fouls. Perhaps my expectations are too low and saw nothing to change my belief that extended minutes for him aren't a good thing, but he worked hard, did what he could, and made some contributions.
- The Support Staff... Fourth Quarter Only: Ronny Turiaf, plagued with foul trouble early, finally started pitching in defensively, making two big blocks. On the other end, he was huge on the offensive glass, grabbing four rebounds, and put in four points as well. Luke Walton, at least for 9:45.1 of his 9:46 on the court, made some positive contributions. Eight points, four boards, a dime and a block. Of course, that last .9...
- Chris Mihm: He got on the floor for five minutes, which surprised even him. There was no great contribution there, but it was nice to see him back on the court. Lord knows they need some size right now.
- C'mon Guys, Take the Open Three!: They were just too shy about shooting from outside.
Just kidding. Every once in a while, I like to see if anyone's paying attention.
The Bad:
- Three Pointers... Lots and Lots of Three Pointers: 45 overall, ironically one fewer than they needed at the final buzzer. But putting that aside for a moment... 45 three pointers? Are you *@(@&#$ me? The Lakers easily obliterated the previous franchise record for triple attempts in regulation (36), and also managed to beat the record for a game in OT (44). Wow, that's a lot of shooting. Memphis, like every other team the Lakers have seen recently and will see for the foreseeable future, at least until the bigs come back, went zone and dared the Lakers to shoot out of it. Man alive, did they oblige. But while the percentage (33.3%) wasn't atrocious, shooting that much from distance totally screws with everything else happening on the floor. It hurts them defensively, as Memphis was able to get run out after run out, and also more easily create opportunities to penetrate (helping explain both their 38-16 FT advantage and the 60-32 win regarding points in the paint). Incidentally, that was part of the Memphis game plan- to get inside and hurt the Lakers, who aren't a great team down there right now. How's that for a role reversal?
- The Supporting Cast: Take away Kobe's 19-37, and the rest of the team shot a robust 33.3%. It's not that every shot they took was a bad one- even the constant shots from distance were often wide open- but they simply didn't go in. And overall, the shot selection, and the patience to get shots (as Fish put it, recognizing time, place and context) was totally lacking. LO pitched in with an unusual double double (11 boards, 11 dimes... and two points) and was sick as a dog, so keep that in mind. Jordan Farmar had 11 points and wasn't all that bad. Fish was 2-7, Ronny, 3-10, Sasha 5-17, including 4-14 from downtown, which includes 3-10 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Dude loooooooooves to shoot the rock. Overall, though, it wasn't a great night for the role guys.
- Penetration: Did I mention the Grizzlies outscored the Lakers 60-32? They did. The Lakers are having trouble keeping the littles out of the lane, and without the bigs available to stop penetration, Memphis was able to do some serious damage inside. 38 FTs for a squad not known for beating people up down low. How about 20/12/3 for Darko, with four blocks? That ought to improve his mood over at Free Darko.
- Luke's Last .9: It's hard to say they'd have won in the end (desperation threes not being the most reliable of shots), but dude, if the 20 is available, use it.
Of course, there's plenty more to choose from. Bad ball movement, bad player movement. The defense was lacking. Basically, they lost to a team that had won five road games all year. Yes, the Lakers are beat up, yes, they're shorthanded. Yes, it was even worse tonight, with LO sick and Fish working with the bum foot. But keeping all that in mind, they still need to win a home game against the Grizzlies.
BK
QUOTES:
Former Laker guard Javaris Crittenton
On winning in L.A.
"It
feels good. It feels good every time you get a victory. You know,
playing against your former teammates, it's a great feeling. It meant
a little more to me than just a win."
On the guarding Kobe
"It
was difficult. He's such a great player. He came out and had like,
54... I don't know what he finished with but it was something
ridiculous. He put up a lot of points. I tried to come out and guard
when I could. You know, just like (during Laker) practice. I tried to
guard him as much as I could in practice to get better. Tonight, it
was ridiculous. Offensively, he went off."
On the nice reception he got from the Staples crowd
"That
felt good to know I still got people in L.A. behind me and cheering for
me even though I'm on another team. I appreciate that from the fans."
Ronny Turiaf
On what's the issue with the defense right now
"I
don't really know. Maybe we're not staying with the guys all the way
to the basket. Maybe we're not being talkative. All I know is we're
trying to play hard. Unfortunately, it's not going our way right now.
(Pause) I don't know. I don't really know how to answer that."
Lamar Odom (who, by the way, looked half dead while talking to the press. Dude was seriously sick during this one)
On the defensive issues currently being experienced
"I
don't know if it's a chemistry thing or guys not taking care of their
assignments or the extra effort isn't there. Something is missing."
On how much his health affected his performance
"I
didn't feel good, but I still went out there and played the game, so
there's no excuses. You make some, you miss some. I tried to just
focus on rebounding and moving the ball. I got a pretty good look in
that corner with about 16 seconds left. That damn ball went in and
out. That's the way it goes, right. That's a play I gotta make."
Kobe Bryant
On whether this was the most wasted 53 points of his career.
"Pretty much. We didn't do a good job defensively at all. Staying in front of the ball has been a big problem for us."
On how to fix the issue
"We have to address how we're
going to cover screen and roll, cover little quick guards. Pick and
roll situations. If we can't solve that problem, then we'll have to
continue to get penetrated on until we get the big games and they can
bail us out by blocking shots."
On whether some of his less experienced teammates might not
understand that the opportunity to win the West could be slipping away
"It's
not going anywhere. We're still, what, one game back? It's not dire
straits. We've lost to two teams that we won't be seeing in the
playoffs. We'll just move on from here. I don't think it's dire
straits by any stretch of the imagination. But still, we gotta buck
up."
On the team being so heavily dependent on his contributions throughout the game
"We
had an opportunity to knock down some shots. I just took what the
defense gave me. They were leaving me open, so I'm gonna shoot the
ball."
On his situation with the technicals (which he said he wasn't worried about going down the stretch)
"The (ref) must not watch soccer. I just won't kick the ball again where somebody can catch it."
On the defensive issues with missing their two best big men
"That's
a big concern, especially defensively, we're gonna get penetrated on.
We need to have somebody in the middle that's going to block shots.
Having Pau and Drew back there obviously covers up for a lot of that."
AK: Was tonight somewhat thrown out of sync due to Lamar being sick, Fisher still feeling out what he can do on that foot?
KB: (smiles) "That's a good excuse. I'll roll with that."
Good to see The Mamba's still got a sense of humor during this frustrating period.
AK
Justin,
>>>One thing that is really starting to bother me though is
>>>that Jordan and Sasha thinking they can jack up 3
>>>pointer after 3 pointer.
You're drinking Korey's kool-aid.
You complain about Jordan and Sasha's shooting, yet
they BOTH shot higher percentages than Lamar and Ronny,
who were bricking layups.
I think Korey's diatribes in previous threads has stuck in
some people's minds so they watched last night's game
and starting shouting Halleluia! Korey is our messiah!
He speaks the truth! And the truth is Korey!
Maybe you need to look at WHY they are shooting so many
3's. Go look at the box score. Ronny Turiaf shot 1-for-7
in the first half Lamar shot 1-for-5 in the first half.
Now go look at the box scores for the Utah or Dallas games
last week. Lamar and Ronny were hitting more of their
shots, and Sasha and Farmar were taking less 3's.
The cause and effect is this:
Lakers inside game is working --> 3 point shooters defer
Lakers inside game is bricking --> 3 point shooters let it fly
Sasha and Jordan are not capable of going in and posting
up against Darko Milicic or Emeka Okafor. Apparently,
neither are Ronny or Lamar.
What I'm getting at is that yes, Jordan and Sasha (and
Fisher and Rad and even Odom and Kobe) are shooting
too many 3-pointers. But the reason they are DOING that
is not because they went out and said, "gee, let's jack up
45 bombs tonight!" It's because the post play is so ineffective
that the jump shooters feel COMPELLED to score more to
make up the slack. So maybe they're taking a few more
shots in situations where they would have passed in a
game where there was some inside presence.
Don't believe me? Either go back and check out the games
if you pvr'd them, or the box scores if you didn't. Look
at games where there is effective inside play by at least
2 players other than Kobe. Invariably in those games,
the Lakers as a team (and Farmar and Vujacic as individuals)
shoot less threes.
Or watch in the next couple of games. Instead of JUST
obsessing with how many 3-pointers the Lakers shoot,
as Korey would have you do, watch that and ALSO watch
how effective the shooting is by the Lakers bigs (whichever
ones are actually well enough to play). If Lamar or Ronny
is posting up effectively, you will see that Sasha and Jordan
take less three pointers.
It's not that Sasha and Jordan are shooting the Lakers
out of games... its that Lamar and Ronny shot the Lakers
out of the game and Sasha and Jordan are trying to
shoot them back in it (and failing).
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 29, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Jon K,
>>>1. We are making the playoffs.
>>>2. This is still my favorite team since Showtime.
>>>3. We will reach AT LEAST the Western Conference
>>> Finals this year.
>>>4. The sky isn't falling.
Amen!! I fully endorse these sentiments.
It's disappointing to lose a couple of stinkers to bad teams,
but it ain't the end of the world.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 29, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Jon K,
>>>Yeah, I know, if you're a shooter you think you're going
>>>to make every shot, but the truth of the matter is that you
>>>won't! If you're shot's aren't falling, personally, I don't find
>>> much valor in constantly forcing the issue when you
>>>have other players on your team who you could the
>>>pass the ball to for a higher percentage shot.
Another person who drank Korey's kool-aid.
So who should they have passed it to, Jon K?
Lamar Odom and his 14% shooting?
Ronny Turiaf and his 30% shooting (14% in the first half)?
They did pass it to Congolean Beef when he was in. If
MBenga hadn't fouled out so quickly he could easily have
scored in double figures.
Or they could have passed it to Kobe EVERY possession
and just gotten out of the way. That worked for the most
part in the first half, but in the second half (especially in
the 4th quarter) Memphis started double and triple teaming
Kobe as soon as he touched the ball.
The fact is, in order to pass the ball to someone with a
higher percentage shot, there has to be someone on the
court who can MAKE that higher percentage shot. Ronny
trying to shoot over 7'1" Milicic is not higher percentage
than Sasha with an open 3-pointer. Lamar playing sick
as a dog is not higher percentage. And Kobe shooting up
a fall-away 20 footer over 3 defenders is not a higher
percentage shot.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 29, 2008 at 10:34 AM
There is no excuse for playing poorly, bad offense with too many threes and sporadic defense. To lose against GS, BC, Grizz, our bench is no match with other teams even with Kobe. Grizz caught them at a night when Fisher and LO are not available. The fatigue seeped in, it affected the immune system, arthritis are now hurting for playing long minutes every other day.
Until the players get healthy, it's hard to predict where the team will be during the playoffs. We are still optimistic that we will advance this year but with guarded optimism. You can't blow your horn by counting 4 more Championships. lol! Optimism and Fandome should be accompanied by humility in accepting inherent shortcomings while recognizing realities on the present situation. To deny those flaws and blame others who pointed them, makes us immature and childish like someone who is shooting for the stars when he can't even take off from the earth.
What we need in the next game is grinding offense of taking it to hoop the hard way. Fish for foul on high percentage shots. A methodical and strategic game of getting ahead and sustain it. Avoid those threes unless everyone is settled down that somebody can make follow up in the post. Avoid those razzle dazzle play of passing in a crowd that could generate turnover, do it slowly but surely. Forget the word "machine", it is good for the ego but also erratic, not as accurate as that microwave player in the 80's. The machine of the Laker today is run by batteries made from China, it is unreliable altho' good enough for emergencies when ahead by comfortable margin.
Kobe cannot continue bailing out this team. He is injured too. He has to go with the flow of offense and let it be...if they lose again, let his teammates correct their own mistakes. I still believe they will win it all in the remaining games. If I'm a betting man I will bet on the Lakers on the next few games. The laws of probability works on their favor, they all feel guilty, frustrated, euphoria of being great is gone, they're again hungry and thirsty for a Win.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | March 29, 2008 at 10:43 AM
You guys are all so stupid. Can't you see what is going on here. Phil (genius) knows we are a better road team than home team and he is tanking on purpose to guarantee our ROAD COURT ADVANTAGE!!!
God you guys are all so slowwwwwwwww....
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 10:49 AM
Kobe ball is back!!!
Lakers will win the championship for sure now. Kobe will overtake Lebron to win Kobe's 3rd consecutive scoring title enroute to a first ever MVP award for Kobe.
Good times!!!
Posted by: Kobayashi | March 29, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Lakers will be fine everyone. I have faith and confidence in our team to get through this and still be in top spot when all is said and done. I felt much better after cleaning my house this morning after trashing it last night, LOL. Of course these losses are bad and inexcusable, but we need to continue to back our team because we've had more to cheer about this season than we've had in some time. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 29, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Never take a Troll at his word
TOLL MAN RETURNS
I was nearly dead after the Utah game, but with so many pathetic showings by the Lakers since, I have been restored to even greater powers.
It use to be the faithful Laker bloggers that needed to feed me but that is no longer the case. It's the once high and mighty Lakers themselves that now feed me. No longer do I need you.
Just a few reasons on my resurrection
Phil Jackson, where to start? How about when your team doesn't play any defense to put in a player who is actually known for his defense. Why sign a player to a 10 day contract and not play him, especially after losing games left and right. LMFAO.
Let's see, you have injuries, and are not using your bench, instead you prefer to play Kobe and LO to exhaustion.
Mr. Nine Rings gets outcoached night-in and night-out and everyone turns a blind eye and excuses him because he has won championships (with great talent only).
To top it off was Jim Cleamons telling us (yesterday at halftime) that we needed to share the ball. It seems to me if Kobe is the only one making 50% of his shots let him keep shooting, I'll take that all night. Isn't Cleamons the defensive coach, why yes he is. Here's a thought, hey Jimmy, how about coaching some defense some year, some month, some day, some instant. you worthless piece of dog manure.
The Bench Mob exposed, just keep shootin 3's. I love the excuses that when Pau and Bynum get back they'll be better. News Flash, make yourselves better.
Luke and Farmar have a secret pact to keep the ball away from Kobe (PJ is in on it too) but Kobe is to smart for that.
There's more to come later
Thank you Laker player and coaches for feeding the Trolls
LONG LIVE THE TROLLS
Posted by: Troll Man | March 29, 2008 at 11:25 AM
Xodus, LTLF, et. al
thank you for acknowledging,
Farmar and Sasha are ROLE players who need to stay in their role.
Sasha shoots 3s. We all get that. But when you get increased minutes you have increased responsibility.
If you play 10-15 minutes, then you can shoot every time your open, consistently fill one role.
But when you play 20-25 minutes, you need to use DISCRETION in shot selection. Every open shot aint a good one. It's the flow of offense, are rebounders in position?, is your shot falling that nite?, is there enough time on the shot clock to drive to the hoop and create a layup easy opportunity for somebody else???
This is the problem. These guys think their ROLE is the same when they get more minutes.
And now we are losing, because instead of using an opportunity to improve their game they are squandering it and contributing to the Lakers' problems.
Chucking away with jumper after jumper will get you beat nite in and nite out, ESPECIALLY when those shooters arent automatic (Peja, Kapono, etc.)....
We are not the Suns... we are not a team that plays a style of ball that lets shooters consistently shoot in rhythm, THATS WHY WE must exercise discretion and better play from our guards ESPECIALLy since Fisher is hurt now...
We can win with small ball, but not by exclusively shooting jump shots... You have to create foul trouble to the other team, force help through P&Rs, and generally create havoc.
We run the triangle... These guys need to play like they run the triangle and not the Suns/Warriors system...
Posted by: Korey | March 29, 2008 at 11:26 AM
A few observations:
1. Some perspective people. OK. If we make a few of our open shots or they miss a few of theirs, we spend Saturday talking about Kobe's incredible game, MVP, etc...
2. This is exactly what we knew would happen in January when Bynum went down and before Pau. Why are we all surprised now???
3. We will make the playoffs easily. We will probably be fairly healthy (Bynum, Pau, no Ariza). And we will be kicking a$$ and taking names so relax a bit.
4. Dirk Nowitzki's vote for MVP????? KOBE.... Hmmmmmmmm that was a shock for me !!!!!!! Check out Daily Dime on ESPN.com.
5. Kobe does this all the time. Usually it is pass and get everyone involved in the first half, and take over in the second. Why should we be upset that he flipped the halves for once.
5b. If Kobe passing early gets everyone else in a rhythm, then it stands to reason that it takes a short time for everyone to get in a rhythm. Otherwise the team would suck for the first half regardless of whether Kobe was moving the ball or not....
5c. Therefor accordingly if Kobe "ballhogs" in the first half and "moves the ball" in the second half the team should still be in a good rhythm fairly quickly. And as such should not be out of rhythm at the end of games like Kobe haters seem to suggest.
6. Lastly, WHY THE FROCK DOES KOBE GET INTO A RHYTHM ON HIS OWN IN THE FIRST MINUTE OF THE GAME, BUT EVERYONE ELSE NEEDS KOBE'S HELP.
GET INTO YOUR OWN DAMN RHYTHM, YOU'RE FRIGGIN PROFESSIONALS.
pslakerfan
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 11:26 AM
And another thing.......
Kobe spent the entire fourth quarter passing the ball all over the damn court and how many assists did he get???
1 total for the game. Hmmm, yeah it's Kobe's fault, sure, right, whatever.
Example: Behind the back pass to Rad. missed dunk on weak foul. Bynum would have broken the backboard.
Example: Behind the back to wide open Odom for 3. Brick.
Example: Kobe to Sasha in 4th quarter over and over and over again, Brick, brick, brick, brick, make (finally)
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 11:31 AM
NOW THIS IS JUST DUMB:
"Lakers inside game is bricking --> 3 point shooters let it fly"
So if you cant get easy buckets, you just give up and shoot 3s? OK, so now we are not going inside to force foul trouble AND we are chucking 3s, shooting a low% and giving the other teams good Offensive opportunites... real smart?!!!
When your inside game isnt working, you keep away at it and you start driving the lane, forcing the issue, until you can get the other team in foul trouble or get easy opportunites/lay-ups/short shots through small ball mismatches.
JACKING UP 25+ THREES A GAME IS NEVER A GOOD THING FOR THE LAKERS...
"Lakers inside game is working --> 3 point shooters defer"
If this was the case, why are we shooting 25+ threes a game when Odom/Turiaf are killing GSW in the blocks?
Odom's been unstoppable for a couple of weeks now, yet we keep chucking away.... I posted the stats the other day... but the last 3 games before this we shot like 21, 18, and like 25 threes or something.... it's crazy....
Posted by: Korey | March 29, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Jon K,
Lord knows I dont always agree with you, but damn it we are on the same page:
"You leave Farmar, Fisher, Sasha, Rad Vlad, even Lamar wide open on the perimeter and they'll immediately huck up a three, even if we need to use up the clock. I don't get it."
"Truth be told, Kobe could have had 70 points last night (and we would have won the game), but he chose to be a model instead and distributed the ball more in the second half."
So true... so true...
Posted by: Korey | March 29, 2008 at 11:34 AM
Jon K,
>>>1. We are making the playoffs.
>>>2. This is still my favorite team since Showtime.
>>>3. We will reach AT LEAST the Western Conference
>>> Finals this year.
>>>4. The sky isn't falling.
Amen!! I fully endorse these sentiments.
It's disappointing to lose a couple of stinkers to bad teams,
but it ain't the end of the world.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 29, 2008 at 10:27 AM
I second that emotion!!! Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 29, 2008 at 11:36 AM
LTLF,
can you admit Sasha and Farmar need to expand their game if they want to be better players.
Right now, they are one trick ponies.
They need to figure out another way to help the team BESIDE SHOOTING 3s!!!
They need to drive and create. They need to create opportunities for others. They need to drive inside the line, pull up at the free throw line and pop.
If you don't have post players, then you dont just stop throwing them the ball.
What you do is create opportunities for them to just catch and finish. And you keep doing it until they cause foul trouble and start to make layups.
What kind of sense is it to say:
"My inside guys arent making shots, so now I'm going to just shoot 3s...."
DUUUUUUMMMMMBBBB!!!!
Posted by: Korey | March 29, 2008 at 11:40 AM
And another thing:
Every team knows the way to beat the Lakers is to force them into taking 3 pointers. Period. All they have to do is double Kobe, clog the lane, and leave brick (sasha) and attitude (farmar) open for the 3. Simple as that.
Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it does. Depends on whether brick and attitude can knock down the shot. This trend will continue until Pau and Drew can shove it down their throats.....
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 11:41 AM
And another thing:
What the heck is a "jeffs aho".
Seems to be missing a few letters "jeffs a _ _ ho _ _"
or maybe "jeffs a ho"
Just curious. =)
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 11:43 AM
Another note(interesting) .Notice how many times Kobe was clapping his hand for the ball while standing at the 3 pt. line??One time when he didnt get the pass,he didnt even get back on Defense......This has the look of getting ugly....Their is a reason why he is never been an mvp....
Posted by: neil | March 29, 2008 at 11:49 AM
And another thing.......
Kobe spent the entire fourth quarter passing the ball all over the damn court and how many assists did he get???
1 total for the game. Hmmm, yeah it's Kobe's fault, sure, right, whatever.
Example: Behind the back pass to Rad. missed dunk on weak foul. Bynum would have broken the backboard.
Example: Behind the back to wide open Odom for 3. Brick.
Example: Kobe to Sasha in 4th quarter over and over and over again, Brick, brick, brick, brick, make (finally)
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Now that's a really good post. Hard for even Kobe bashers to argue. It's funny how the same people who bash Kobe for not shooting in the 4th quarter are the same people that would bash him if he took shots over double and triple teams instead of passing to WIDE OPEN shooters. My only gripe with Kobe is that he didn't attack the basket enough last night and get to the line more. I'm not going to bash Sasha, but how often has anyone seen Peja, Ray Allen or Boobie Gibson go 4 of 14 from beyond the arc with that many WIDE OPEN looks? My point is that if you make yourself out to be a three point specialist, you can't miss that many WIDE OPEN looks and you must keep the defense guessing at times by going to the basket.
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 29, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Diary of an NBA player (to be named later)
I have played basketball for 15 years... Grade school.. High School (where I was a star)....College (where I was a star), NBA (got drafted, must be pretty good). I practice all summer, play all season, practice at scheduled practices, even on my own occasionally.
Game time, I get to the game early, practice a little while. I come back on the court about 45 minutes before game time. "Did I mention I am in great shape" I do some light practice just before tip off.
Game is on. I am running, jumping, (just got a rebound, yes). Time out, sweet, needed a breather. OK game back on, working up a nice sweat now. Open in the corner for a wide open three. Damn, didn't get the ball. Whatever next time I will get it. Still sweatin' feeling good. Open again, pass it to meeeeeeee. Damn didn't get that one either, whatever, back on defense. Steal, awesome. Coming down the wing now, setting up in my spot just behind the line. Double team on Kobe, sweet, pass it my way man. Here it comes. Step back, breathe, let it fly. BRICK.
DAMN I MUST HAVE BEEN OUT OF MY FRIGGIN' RHYTHM, IF ONLY I HAD SHOT THOSE LAST TWO THREE'S I AM SURE THIS ONE WOULD HAVE FALLEN.
"Insert laker perimeter player here ______________"
Yeah Kobe's fault again, right.....
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 11:57 AM
as long as phil jackson is coach and Lamar Odom is on this team it will be hard to win championships,Phil Jackson has been messing this team up with his bad rotations and Lamar only gets busy when we don't need him to like when Gasol is in the game,he is not a Stephon Jackson or a Raja bBell he does not play to win he plays for money its just a job for him as far as Im concerned his playing sick last night was useless he could have stayed home ,and could somebody tell me why Phill Jackson brought him off the bench in the last seconds of the game when we got within reach of winning was he supose to help us win or was he supose to help us lose,like he did.Thats why you have,nt seen Kobe take his demand off the table to be traded he probaly senses that there is something strange about how this team is ran and have you noticed that every time someone gets an injury they sit him out for weeks or months,Ill say they are trying to get back in the lottery and using Kobe to fill seats.
Posted by: joanne | March 29, 2008 at 11:59 AM
LTLF,
can you admit Sasha and Farmar need to expand their game if they want to be better players.
Right now, they are one trick ponies.
They need to figure out another way to help the team BESIDE SHOOTING 3s!!!
They need to drive and create. They need to create opportunities for others. They need to drive inside the line, pull up at the free throw line and pop.
If you don't have post players, then you dont just stop throwing them the ball.
What you do is create opportunities for them to just catch and finish. And you keep doing it until they cause foul trouble and start to make layups.
What kind of sense is it to say:
"My inside guys arent making shots, so now I'm going to just shoot 3s...."
DUUUUUUMMMMMBBBB!!!!
Posted by: Korey | March 29, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Korey,
Another good post that's tough to argue. We must get higher percentage shots. Sasha and Farmar must drive or take more mid range jumpers if they're not hitting their threes. They must also do a better job of creating for others and put them in a position to get better shots. We had the Griz in the penalty with about 6 minutes to go in the fourth quarter but we kept on shooting jump shots and failed to capitalize on the penalty situation. Great post, no argument here. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 29, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Can you see now? Can you see why I get so angry with Sasha and Farmar in particular? Can you now agree that the stats you show are skewed because they are not with these backups playing big minutes? Put these guys in the game without a post player or with free reign and they will shoot you in a game or shoot you out of game. And same for Luke except he will pass you in a game or dumb pass you out of it.
This is ridiculous and exactly why Kobe wanted to leave the Lakers. The Bench Mob/Role Mob is just not that good when Bynum or Gasol is out. We still need some serious upgrades in PLAY or upgrades in PLAYERS if these guys dont get it and get it fast.
Injuries happen. So you have to have players who can step in and play solidly.... We dont...
Posted by: Korey | March 29, 2008 at 08:31 AM
Excellent statements.
As for LTLF and his or her supporters: you guys are blind.
The Lakers will never win a championship as long as
Jordan/Sasha/Luke/Vladimir are on the team.
They are slow; they are un-athletic; they do not take you off the dribble.
They are spot up shooters who play no D.
Just look at the Lakers last for games.
Young, long, quick and athletic players (Golden State, Memphis, and Charlotte).
Luke/Vladimir/Jordan/Sasha are nothing without a big man.
And that's a problem.
If Andrew has knee problems next year, we will go through this again.
60 mil for Luke and Vladimir and they contribute nothing to the team.
Do not re-sign Jordan and Sasha; find a guard that knows how to handle the ball, penetrate, play D, and shot the mid-range jump (Andre Miller of Philly, perhaps?).
These four dudes (Luke/Sasha/Jordan/Vladimir) are
garbage.
And I guarantee you this: all the defenders of those 4 cats on this blog will be singing the same tune come
late April (when we are eliminated-again-in the first round).
Posted by: passionate Lakers fan | March 29, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Another note(interesting) .Notice how many times Kobe was clapping his hand for the ball while standing at the 3 pt. line??One time when he didnt get the pass,he didnt even get back on Defense......This has the look of getting ugly....Their is a reason why he is never been an mvp....
Posted by: neil | March 29, 2008 at 11:49 AM
You being solely locked into Kobe only as the reason for everything wrong with the Lakers is utterly baffling to me. Your infatuation with Kobe being bad nearly rivals that of Mike T's infatuation with Kwame Brown being the greatest center in Laker history. It seems your entire focus is on Kobe and that because of him we lose games. To say that you have tunnel vison and that you're narrow minded is a gross understatement. If your logic is that one guy can't win all by himself then the same rings true that one guy can't lose all by himself. From purely a basketball standpoint, show me how Kobe's negatives outweigh his positives on the court for the Lakers.
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 29, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Posted by: Korey | March 29, 2008 at 08:31 AM
Excellent statements.
As for LTLF and his or her supporters: you guys are blind.
The Lakers will never win a championship as long as
Jordan/Sasha/Luke/Vladimir are on the team.
They are slow; they are un-athletic; they do not take you off the dribble.
They are spot up shooters who play no D.
Just look at the Lakers last for games.
Young, long, quick and athletic players (Golden State, Memphis, and Charlotte).
Luke/Vladimir/Jordan/Sasha are nothing without a big man.
And that's a problem.
If Andrew has knee problems next year, we will go through this again.
60 mil for Luke and Vladimir and they contribute nothing to the team.
Do not re-sign Jordan and Sasha; find a guard that knows how to handle the ball, penetrate, play D, and shot the mid-range jump (Andre Miller of Philly, perhaps?).
These four dudes (Luke/Sasha/Jordan/Vladimir) are
garbage.
And I guarantee you this: all the defenders of those 4 cats on this blog will be singing the same tune come
late April (when we are eliminated-again-in the first round).
Posted by: passionate Lakers fan | March 29, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Another great post. Great to see others who really pay atttention to the games and know what's really going on. It's a shame that Sasha and Farmar haven't realized yet that they're actually playing for the same team and that Rad and Luke are twin "space cadets".
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 29, 2008 at 12:26 PM
To illustrate my point from earlier about Kobe's passes not turning into assists, I just did a little research. Translation, I watched the game over on DVR and counted every time Kobe passed to open player who missed shot.
12 passes to open shooters that would have resulted in assist. 12!!!!!! One shot went down at the 3:06 mark of 4th quarter !!!!!! And that was the 8th pass by Kobe, meaning the first 7 were all misses.
at 50% shooting, Kobe should have had 6 assists.
For some perspective: For Chris Paul to get 20 assists at that ratio he would have to pass 240 times to open shooters.
Hmmmmmmm yeah Kobe's fault again, right, got it.....
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 12:44 PM
To illustrate my point from earlier about Kobe's passes not turning into assists, I just did a little research. Translation, I watched the game over on DVR and counted every time Kobe passed to open player who missed shot.
12 passes to open shooters that would have resulted in assist. 12!!!!!! One shot went down at the 3:06 mark of 4th quarter !!!!!! And that was the 8th pass by Kobe, meaning the first 7 were all misses.
at 50% shooting, Kobe should have had 6 assists.
For some perspective: For Chris Paul to get 20 assists at that ratio he would have to pass 240 times to open shooters.
Hmmmmmmm yeah Kobe's fault again, right, got it.....
Posted by: pslakerfan | March 29, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Preach it brother. Truth isn't truth because people like it. Truth is truth whether people like it or not. Those are WIDE OPEN looks that shooters are getting off of passes from Kobe Bean Bryant. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | March 29, 2008 at 01:29 PM
I agree with the post that stats should be kept on assists. Something like assits/attempts ( assists on made shots /on passes attempted and no assist). Lets say 6/13 would be 6 assists with 13 attempts which would mean 7 misses. Then the view of assists would tell a truthfull picture.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | March 29, 2008 at 09:48 PM