Ewww-drih
Or, more accurately, "Udrih," as in "Beno." And for those perhaps unfamiliar with Beno Udrih, he's the Sacramento point guard whose 25 points and 10 dimes laid the foundation for a 114-113 loss to the Kings Sunday night at Staples. Of course, the dude had some help, and not just from his teammates. L.A. put themselves in a big hole over the first 24 minutes with some exceedingly loose play- too many turnovers, lack of attention to the defensive glass, bad transition D- and were unable to climb out of it, despite dotting more i's and crossing more t's in the second half. Still, they had a chance to win after Pau Gasol dropped in a baby hook off a great Derek Fisher feed to give the Lakers a one point lead with only 15 ticks to go. Then, in one of the stranger sequences you'll see, Sasha Vujacic fouled Udrih from the seat of his short pants, sending him to the line where he made both FTs. One point lead for the Kings. After a timeout, the Lakers got the ball to Kobe, trying to get him an isolation and a decent look for the last shot, but John Salmons and Mikki Moore combined for some good D to force an awkward fall-away J. No go. No comeback. No joy in Mudville (or the box score).
AK with the breakdown below.
BK
The Good
Pau Gasol* - The asterisk is me putting aside his paint protection, which wasn't exactly fortress-worthy. But on the other side of the ball, the Spaniard made quite a bit happen. 25/7/9, to be exact, with 10 of those points coming in the fourth quarter, well complimenting his 100% clip from the line during that same time period. He also hit a huge bucket off a sweet Derek Fisher pass to put the Lakers briefly up by one with 15 seconds to go. Again, his time watching video will reveal many a lapse on the defensive end. Of course, given the purple and gold output along those lines, misery loves company, you know?
Sasha Vujacic's shooting: He made some silly decisions, racked fouls like they were going out of style (including one while lying on the ground) and didn't play his most controlled of games. But he was also 4-5 from distance, and went 50% overall to notch his 15 points. That baker's dozen plus two picked up the slack for a bench that otherwise didn't really get into the bucket filling business (9 points between Farmar, Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf).
Lamar Odom's second half: A 16/10 double-double, with most of the damage coming in the second half. 10 points, 5 boards and four assists in all. Pretty good stuff from Lamar over those 24 minutes. Unfortunately, there was a first half of basketball offered to fans this evening, which presented the following problem...
The Bad
Lamar Odom's first quarter shooting: As in, "he didn't do any." Zero attempts over a dozen minutes. That won't cut it. The offensive expectations in a post-Pau world may have lessened for Lamar, but they haven't been eliminated altogether. Odom's effectiveness in this role has come in large part by serving as a continual threat to score, even if he's not the formal "second option." Think a couple of early buckets in the pocket may have come in handy during a one-point loss?
Jordan Farmar: From minute one upon checking into the game, The Bench Mob's leader was fairly sloppy and out of sorts. And I mean that in the most literal sense, as Farmar had already turned the ball over twice before notching 60 seconds of PT under his belt. four in all, some the result of poor passes. Or like in the case of the 7:15 mark of the fourth quarter, the call not to pass. Instead of finding a wide open LO on the wing, he took the ball head down towards the bucket and got blocked by Spencer Hawes. Throw in the amount of times he got dusted by Beno Udrih or whoever he was guarding and it's not a surprise to see his streak of being on the floor down the stretch come to a close.
The Laker D: Yeah, there were moments down the stretch, but collectively speaking, ain't many Lakers that can make big claim on a game's worth of lockdown. Everyone from Kobe (guards) to Vlad (forwards) to Gasol (centers) found themselves on the wrong end of a guy getting loose on a back door screen, not keeping track of a cutter or failing miserably to close in when the paint was getting attacked. Six Kings hit double figures, which helps explain the team's 55% percent from the field. The single worst play might have come when Radmanovic allowed Udrih a layup, despite the point guard falling down and in danger of losing the handle. Of course, when make a half-hearted reach instead of bothering to move your feet and pick up what could have been a gimme charge (if not a sure turnover), it becomes considerably easier to recover.
Turnovers: Eleven in the first half alone. They cut down on the gaffes in the second half, but then again, "cutting down" meant limiting them to a still crummy eight. Every starter had at least one and the bench combined for nine by their damn selves.
Composure: Kobe was jawing non-stop at the officials and eventually picked up his thirteenth technical of the season (meaning he now only has a pair to play with before before getting issued a plane ticket to "One-Game Suspension County: Population, you). Gasol also landed one and spent yet another game looking perturbed by a game's physical nature. Sasha may have drawn the ire of Mikki Moore to land him a T, but Slovenia's Favorite Son was also complaining like he was doing his best Mamba impression. Even Ronny Turiaf, the team's ultimate optimist, appeared at times bent out of shape and unhappy with the officiating. And mind you, I'm not saying it was all peaches and perfection. But even crappily reffed games continue forth and a team can't allow itself to get taken out of a contest because of that. The Lakers spent way too much time complaining in lieu of soldiering on. As Phil Jackson said afterward, "That's where we get into trouble and stop playing."
The Odd
Kobe's fourth quarter: Only two shots in nine minutes, with one of them serving as the game's last (a sequence which Kobe didn't seem particularly thrilled about after the game)? To say the least, not something you see every day, especially from arguably the game's premiere closer. Seeing things wind down this way struck me as even weirder, since I thought was getting pretty caught up in his match up with Ron Ron. Typically, this would lay the groundwork for an especially aggressive finish for Bryant. Maybe Artest's absence for the entire fourth conversely cooled Kobe's blood a touch. Maybe he was bent out of shape by the direction the game was headed (and supervised by Derek Richardson and the gang). Maybe this is what he defined as "taking what was given." Whatever the case, Kobe's work down the stretch was basically the polar opposite of what I would have predicted.
AK
AUDIO:
- Kobe Bryant: Not surprisingly, Kobe wasn't in a great mood after the game. Interesting comments about how this can be a wakeup call for the team, and an indication that the Lakers still have some work to do (not that they didn't know that, I'm sure). Kobe also seemed to indicate that he'd have liked to have had more space on the last shot, and that in the future, the Lakers will need to draw something up with a wrinkle or two to get him the ball in space. Teams anticipate the iso, and can defend against it. The comments about Artest at the end refer to Ron Ron's postgame celebration, where he apparently rushed towards the Lakers bench, popping his jersey as Kobe did Tuesday night coming off the floor at ARCO. Download kobe_bryant_3.10 postSAC.mp3
Phil's comments about the design of the last play:
"It was to open up the court and let Kobe get into attack mode, and attack the basket. Spread the court out, open up the floor for him. I told him I didn't care if he took the ball to half court, as long as he had momentum going to the basket. But he didn't seem able to get a space on the floor that he wanted to attack."
On the defensive effort:
"There's a lot of the defensive effort that did not please me, but we held them to 43 points in the second half after giving up 71 in the first half. The defense I didn't like was transition defense after some turnovers, some shots were out in the corner and we just didn't stop the ball, and they got three or four dunks and easy baskets. Otherwise, I thought we made some plays, took the ball away and forced some turnovers, did some things right defensively in the second half."
On the team responding to a physical game:
"I'm on them to stay off the referees. I think we get after the referees too often, and eventually the referees end up turning a deaf ear or blind eye. It's a consequence of playing through things, and this is the temperament we have to understand to play through games tenaciously and just go forward. I think the referees see the game and they choose not to make the calls, than you have to continue playing. That's where we're getting ourselves in trouble, as we stop playing and lose concentration."
LO's comments about the game could be summed up in one sentence: "71 points." That, of course, in reference to the number Sacto hung on them in the first half.
BK
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i put a lot of the blame on kobe for this game. not cuz of the missed final shot (which was terrible), but because of everything.
and i never blame kobe.
Posted by: tp | March 09, 2008 at 10:45 PM
Nemaia Faletogo
>>> Too many people are making ridiculous judgments based upon ONE game
TRU DAT
>>>Which team has been playing better so far this year? Which team has done better since making their trade
sorry but that means nothing, remember dallas last year. You guys were playing at a high level earlier this year maybe b/c of the gasol hype or maybe not. Maybe teams have figured you guys out or maybe you peaked too early.
>>>The Spurs have lost two in a row after winning 11 straight and I don't think they're too concerned about it.
I think they should be worried, this year isn't like other years were the WC only had 2 or 3 teams that could contend. This year the WC is going to be dangerous from 1 to 8.
Posted by: Fire32 | March 09, 2008 at 10:50 PM
U-G-L-Y!
In fact, it's F-U-G-L-Y!
The team need to clean it up, if they want to stay on top.
Posted by: Happy Gilmore | March 09, 2008 at 10:54 PM
One thing about the last play.....It seems that the Lakers use the same play all the time. Van Gundy commented during the Dallas game that PJ has been using that play in that situation since the "Michael Jordan" days. Teams know that the ball is going to Kobe, as it should. Some new wrinkles on the out of bounds plays would be nice.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | March 09, 2008 at 11:06 PM
I didn't like Kobe's demeanor today... He wasn't helping his team by complaining... we lost his game because of lack of concentration on game play. Plus, of course the agrressiveness of Sacto on defense.
Posted by: dice8up | March 09, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Sorry to rain on your quirky title and all, but player of the game is definitely Kevin Martin. "The Push" clearly was the play of the game.
Posted by: J. Walter Weatherman | March 09, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Hey Laker Blog good day to all.
That sequence you K bros noted was indeed bizzare.
Beno Udrih pushed Sasha to ground and no foul call. Then he drives and trips over him and gets call ....wow.
The only thing Sasha could have done differently was just sit there. He semi rolled and Beno tripped over him. So that slight movement may have influenced bet I mean ref to call the foul. But no excuse for missing the push.
Sasha seems to be the most beat up guy in the league. He didn't foul Moore but sure got elbowed hard intentionally and a flagrant should have been called. Moore swung his elbow and room was created, then he went back towards Sasha and hit him in the face intentionally. FLAGRANT not called!
As to bitching to bets I have seen Kobe walk away from so many bad calls but he still was getting bogus calls on him and fouls not called on him.
If the bets would call the games fairly and consistently so many players would not complain.
Moving violations called onn Lakers ??? Look at replay of Sac and Dallas games and see all the moving picks not called on them.
The only game called fairly evenly was the Clipper game and that's because Stearn was there and it would be embarrassing to league to see bets blow calls and see replays so blown calls and Stearn trying to defend the bets.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | March 09, 2008 at 11:25 PM
Teams giving up routinely 60+ points per half are not championship caliber teams, just ask the Suns from three previous seasons. Coach Jackson certainly knows this and I hope the players will change their mentality concerning defense. Plz no more "one half defense games", c'mmon, that is not going to cut it, for sure.
Posted by: sead94 | March 09, 2008 at 11:33 PM
oh well, learn and move on. i'm sure the team will get it together.
Posted by: man | March 09, 2008 at 11:38 PM
justalakerfan-
to clarify, it wasn't Udrih who pushed Sasha, then tripped over him. Sasha and Martin were in the corner, and depending on who you ask, either Martin pushed Sasha, they pushed off each other, or Sasha tried to flop to draw the offensive foul, and ended up on the floor. From there, Udrih tripped over him/was tripped by him.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | March 09, 2008 at 11:43 PM
BK- this wasnt the first game the lakers, notably Kobe and Sasha, are whining to the officials, thats why Phil said he is on the team to stop complaining and play through it. As you can see his directive is not being followed. It just sets a bad tone for the whole game and team. As great as Kobe is, he needs to stop the whining but this isnt a one game issue this is been happening for years. Chick used to say that about Karl Malone all the time.
Posted by: Laker Lover | March 09, 2008 at 11:55 PM
The Kings wanted this game more than the Lakers. The Lakers need to regain their focus, or else...
Posted by: joey numbers | March 10, 2008 at 12:21 AM
I agree, the Lakers, especially Kobe, whine on too many calls. It's annoying and pisses me off like no other. I guess this game was karma since we didn't deserve to win the last time we played. Anyways, the biggest thing I'm concerned about is our D. Cliche but true, Defense wins Championships.
Posted by: fkillah | March 10, 2008 at 12:29 AM
has anyone noticed that for the last 6-9 games, kobe yells, "HEY!" in the act of shooting, as if he is being fouled.
Most of the time, there is no foul, not even close. Then he yells and pouts and whines at the refs. There is a reason why he leads the league in technicals. That also explains why the lakers (notwithstanding Fisher) whine more than any other NBA team. As the leader goes, so goes the team.
Posted by: shane lee | March 10, 2008 at 12:46 AM
Good Morning Charles---Good Morning Everyone....
Well here was finally a game (though a little similar to the Portland loss) we didn't quite pull out of where the sun don't shine.... and it was bound to happen, letting another team get up on us and playing catch up for most of the game....
Maybe a little loss of swagger will result in more focus--and I think it will...
Captain Obvious says....wait for it......we need to bring the defense intensity that we have shown flashes of in some games to every game and all game long---and if we want to have any success in the play-offs, that's a must indeed......
I couldn't agree more with BronxLakerFan---I am so sick of seeing us trying to run that same old inbound play, that every team knows amd expects us to do (with Lamar inbounding the ball for the love of plunger---I don't really know what that means, I just think plunger is a funny word)---that play is not only fairly lame and unimaginative, it rarely works.
You would think that the coaching staff woud have a multitude of inbound plays for a multitude of situations and time remaining etc.....
Being down by 1 point and that amount of time on the clock should offer a plethera of better options that that POS play we always seem to run at the end of games....
Of course, we should never have been in that situation to begin with....
Still I don't put too much importance in this loss, especially if the team can learn something from it and not repeat the same mistakes etc.......
IT'S STILL A GREAT DAY TO BE A LAKER FAN!
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: Floyd | March 10, 2008 at 12:57 AM
Lakers need a physical big man who can bang people around, clog up the lane and play good one on one D in the post....like Kwame
Posted by: Insight | March 10, 2008 at 01:56 AM
I won't get into criticizing any individual players from this game; just the team as a whole.
I'll just say they weren't prepared for Sacramento's intensity while the Kings were playing the "#1 seed". This squad better get used to the opposition's intensity, as being at or near the top spot, these Lakers will will see an opponent's best effort for the rest of the season.
This was a great example of how you can't overlook any other team in the league. Sacramento was the only team in the entire league that had not won at least 1 game within its own division. They were a collective 0-9 against the Pacific Division. Even Miami and Minnesota has beaten someone in their own divisions.
Come on Lakers, stop reading the glowing articles about your feats so far this year and remember you still have some work to do, even if it is against so called'weak sisters'.
Posted by: MiloRambaldi | March 10, 2008 at 03:36 AM
All the Kobe haters are out in full force right now. Neil, GUNNER, Laker Lover at what point do you quit? This was a team lost. I do agree with most people that Kobe has got to stop complaining about the calls. He is starting to lose some respect from the referrees. An MVP player plays thru it and sets the tone for his teammates to also control their emotions. He is the team leader.This is another game where you begin to question whether the Lakers can handle a real physical game. This team will not go far with the defense they play. 71 points in the first half. Turnovers by just about everyone on the team. This was an ugly game. The reason I like the way Houston is playing is because of the committment to defense. They are beating teams all teams by double figures because of the committment to defensefrom the 1st minute of the game until the last minute of the game, that's a mindset. As a Laker fan I want them to make it to at least the Western Confernce Finals, but our team defense won't cut it. I also don't believe that Bynum is the total savior. We don't even know when he will be back. We are in trouble if both Fish & Farmer get beat constantly by quicker guards, because we have no team defense. Defense is a mind set and the Lakers don't have it.
Posted by: TONI | March 10, 2008 at 03:43 AM
Being confident is good. Being cocky is bad.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | March 10, 2008 at 05:39 AM
repost
WHEN YOUR LEADER DOESN'T SET THE TONE ON DEFENSE WHAT DO YOU EXPECT!
Kobiatch, yeah that's his name because he's started to act like that again. If he's the leader of this team, then he needs to set a precedence. Make sure his teammates are all about defending.
Kobe is doing nothing but shooting 7-18.
When your leader sucks in a game, then the team will follow suit.
PERIOD!
Posted by: Gunner | March 10, 2008 at 06:09 AM
J. WEATHERMAN,
"Worst. Officiated. Game. Ever.
Fitting that Martin gets the postgame interview as his push-off of Sasha wins the game for the Kings. "
EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES. THE GAME SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN THAT CLOSE. IF KOBIATCH WAS SETTING A PRECEDENCE ON THE DEFENSE SIDE!
WORST LEADERSHIP EVER, I MIGHT ADD.
Posted by: Gunner | March 10, 2008 at 06:10 AM
BK, THANKS FOR THE INFO ON KOBIATCH.
"Kobe also seemed to indicate that he'd have liked to have had more space on the last shot, and that in the future, the Lakers will need to draw something up with a wrinkle or two to get him the ball in space. "
SPOKEN BY A TRUE BALL HOG! IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING HIM SPACE TO SHOOT. HEY KOBE, OR DUMMY! WHAT ABOUT WORKING ON SETTING THE TONE FOR YOUR TEAM ON DEFENSE? DON'T DEFENSE WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS?
I GUESS F- THAT! IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING KOBE "ME,ME,ME" BRYANT SOME SPACE FOR SHOOTING! The Hell with allowing the reject Kings 114 points tonight. That doesn't matter. If you can get some SPACE, NO MATTER HOW MANY POINTS WE GAVE UP, YOU CAN GET YOUR SHOT OFF!
This Dummy never cease to amaze me with his comments. AND THIS WHO WE CALL OUR LEADER.
GET REAL!
Posted by: Gunner | March 10, 2008 at 06:15 AM
PHIL PLEASE TELL THE TRUTH!
""There's a lot of the defensive effort that did not please me, but we held them to 43 points in the second half after giving up 71 in the first half. The defense I didn't like was transition defense after some turnovers, some shots were out in the corner and we just didn't stop the ball, and they got three or four dunks and easy baskets"
LOOK HOW HE FOCUS ON TRANSITION DEFENSE. WHERE WAS KOBE? ARGUING WITH THE REFS.
4 ON 5 = EASY BASKETS
Posted by: Gunner | March 10, 2008 at 06:18 AM
Good morning LAL friends!
Today is a new day but I am sure we will be chatting about the "L" last night.
Mantra for this week: "71".
That's it - "71". It says everything that's needed to reach our goal. Defense wins championships and separates the boys from the men.
Thankfully, we have more games against teams that don't like to run & gun - but 2 more against the Queens and another 2 ag. GSW could be very troublesome. It is about match-ups but the backcuts killed us. Our competition will be looking at this game and noticing all the porous areas of our "D".
I expect Phil to have an excellent game review session today. AK/BK: would love to know what movie came to Phil's mind to hammer home the message. I would vote some sort of horror film.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | March 10, 2008 at 06:59 AM
justalakerfan-
to clarify, it wasn't Udrih who pushed Sasha, then tripped over him. Sasha and Martin were in the corner, and depending on who you ask, either Martin pushed Sasha, they pushed off each other, or Sasha tried to flop to draw the offensive foul, and ended up on the floor. From there, Udrih tripped over him/was tripped by him.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | March 09, 2008 at 11:43 PM
I stand/sit corrected . Yes it was Martin but I will still say he was pushed if you ask me. He seems to get the most physical abuse from other players and fouls are usually called milder and not flagrant. He does get a very few flagrants but not as much as he should.
Still no flagrant called on Moore on his foul which was more of a forearm than elbow, definitely intententional.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | March 10, 2008 at 07:01 AM
Good morning everyone,
A good night's sleep hasn't changed my perspective on a game that ranks as an atrocity. An atrocity? Yes, just a shameful effort by a team capable of so much better. K-Brothers --- the fact that you found anything to rank "The Good" is the ultimate GHF. Only Sasha gets a pass from me.
* Gasol -- lackidasical shooting (not determined to "finish"), soft defense
* Lamar -- Puh-leeze. If the game has two halves, you've got to play both to get in my "good" category.
* Kobe -- Like I said Sunday night, he needs an anger management class. He is no longer entitled to revert to the immature Kobe of old.
Maybe they didn't make themselves available to you after the game, but I wanted to hear from the worst culprits.
* Lamar -- Why did you not take a single shot until you got that easy pass from Jordan? How can you be AWOL in the first half?
* Jordan -- WTF? Did you have a fight with your girlfriend before the game? Did you spend the afternoon reading your press clippings? Get your head out of your a** and get back to playing smart basketball. And spend more time watching D-Fish defend.
* Luke -- I've had to endure two b***s*** episodes of FSN's "Life with Luke." If you want to be a Hollywood star, ask Mitch to release you from your Laker contract. Otherwise, work on your game and stop preening.
* Vlad -- Stop dreaming of snowboarding and play some smart defense.
* PJ -- How can a coach with nine rings excuse letting his team go onto the floor so unprepared to play?
The Lakers should have known the Kings would come out ready to play, after letting the game get away in Sacramento. They should have been prepared for a team determined to avenge their late collapse on Tuesday.
Yeh, yeh, yeh. Say it was only one game all you want. It was a statement that this team still hasn't committed to Championship basketball. I'm angry because I know they are capable of so much better.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | March 10, 2008 at 07:07 AM
Hola,
Perhaps PJ will re-think his letting the team have a day
off?
The foul called on Sasha, while on the ground, was
ridiculous!
Last play, the only person I saw moving for the ball
was Lamar and he was behind Kobe's back.
I *hope* this was/is a wake-up call to the Lakers.
Defense Baby. All day. All night.
Posted by: hobbitmage | March 10, 2008 at 07:49 AM
justalakerfan-
Yeah, he does take a lot of abuse, but Sasha is also quickly building a reputation as a flopper as well. Apparently some of the Kings were unimpressed with his tendency to do the latter (and in truth, his tendency to do whatever possible to draw a foul, whether flopping or kicking out a leg offensively after a shot to try and get a whistle, has been discussed here often). Not to say Sasha is a soft guy just looking for calls. He's not, and will absolutely absorb punishment in search of the greater good.
I'm just saying that the rep is growing.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | March 10, 2008 at 08:02 AM
This was a disappointing loss, but it's surprising we were even able to take the lead with 14 seconds left. Overall play was sloppy and defense was nonexistent for stretches. For the hundredth time, I can't wait until Bynum and Ariza are back...
Posted by: DK | March 10, 2008 at 08:10 AM
Rick F: I agree with you but this is the way its going to be for rest of season. I said it before - we are playing way more games against spoilers than we are playoff contenders down the stretch. Night's like that where there is little energy will kill us as we can't continue to dig out of a hole.
Thankfully, 2 of last 3 games are current top playoff contenders, so that should put the focus on the we should be held to playoff mindset that is needed.
I don't think sitting here hoping Bynum and Trevor will be the saviors is a good thing. Pau, LO and Vlad need to become total stoppers and not allow for those easy buckets against the quicker guards. We have enough bigs at this point to use their fouls wisely to prevent the layups.
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | March 10, 2008 at 08:14 AM
If the Lakers had won this game, I was prepared to write that they didn't deserve it.
I was similarly confused why Kobe didn't shoot in the 4th quarter which he owns. Was his finger messed up again?
That foul call on Sasha was awful. Sasha did put his hand up as the guy came toward him, but it looked like it was only in self-defense so he didn't get trampled.
Similarly, the Lakers D was awful. Udrih is good, but this game made him look better than he is. We've had the same issues with Salmons in the open court that other teams have. I don't understand how we don't get people in front of him to slow him down or route him into a secondary defender (like he did to Kobe at the end of the game) to stop his penetration.
I do think the Kings had a good shooting night whereas the Lakers did not, but we could have easily gotten one more point if we'd played with some fire instead of just expecting Kobe to win the game for us in the mid fourth quarter like last time.
The Lakers got cocky and lackadaisical and paid the price. The past three games other teams have played us very physically. The other coaches have figured out that's a weakness for us and have adjusted. It's time for us to adjust back to them.
I actually thought that we played better with Luke on the floor than with Radman. Whether it's just that Radman isn't used to things or just doesn't understand our defense, I don't know. He needs to get it together sooner.
I don't get not having Kobe on Martin. Martin was losing him some in screens, but Radman can't guard Martin at all. That became clear early in the game. We never adjusted to that fact.
I agree with everyone with how counterproductive it is to constantly bitch at the refs. It was a serious factor in this loss. Maybe we thought we'd get more favorable officiating at home. As a team, the Lakers need to take some responsibility, man up, and play good basketball. Take what the zebras give you and if need be, have Phil get a technical, but don't bother fighting the refs yourselves.
Posted by: Benjamin | March 10, 2008 at 08:18 AM
Ugly game. Stu Lantz had it right - we can't just pretend that we can turn it(*) on at will. This is the remnants of what I will call "Shaq Syndrome." We must purge ourselves of it.
* - It = honest defense, hustle, intensity and desire to crush people.
Posted by: The D | March 10, 2008 at 08:20 AM
Fire32,
I agree with you that the Western Conference is pretty serious this year. I don't think it's time for the Spurs or Lakers to hit the panic button. The whole point of the regular season for a championship team is to develop the right habits and team play so you can gain momentum and play well going into the playoffs. The recent losses by both teams could just be bumps in the road.
I do think the Lakers got a little high on themselves and made some assumptions based on playing mostly so so opponents. I do think this game was reflective of that trend, but the team as a championship contender is still wholly redeemable. We are in first place in the Western Conference, after all, and we do deserve it.
Posted by: Benjamin | March 10, 2008 at 08:24 AM
We're missing the defense from Bynum and Ariza. Also Rony has to fill the enforcer role more than he has been. He's worried about his scoring instead of seting the tone defensively like he has in the past. Also he needs to allow DJ to get some "hack time" in the floor to get ready for duncan and shaq when the playoffs start.
Posted by: DOC4daLakeShow | March 10, 2008 at 08:25 AM
"71"
That's how I am going to start all posts this week.
Since the blog is now gaining national media attention, maybe just maybe, one of the savvy Lakers will read this and be reminded of this.
AK/BK: how about putting 71 on stickies and posting on their lockers before you do the pre-game interviews? I guess that wouldn't go over so well but come on....maybe PJ can hire some sumo wrestlers to barrel down the lane and make these guys more willing to take one for the team. No, that might get someone else injured.
What can the blog do to promote lock-down D for the rest of the stretch?
We can't continue to say their soft, porous, etc. and lament the fact that we don't have Trevor or AB. We have what we have - we just need to make them tough!
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | March 10, 2008 at 08:27 AM
Fish got absolutely burned on that last play.
He overplayed Udrih, and Udrih just went backdoor and got a nice pass from Miller (or was it Hawes?). It's actually fortunate Sasha was sitting there, because in slo-mo, it looked like the help was going to be too late.
Kobe's rep is really preceding him, in that teams immediately throw guys at him on the last second shot. It's not like in the past in the NBA where you had to wait till the guy got the ball to double team him, so those last second shots are getting tougher. Still, I would rather Kobe take that shot than pass it off to someone who's not wide open.
Posted by: Amazing_Happens | March 10, 2008 at 08:54 AM
justalakerfan-
Yeah, he does take a lot of abuse, but Sasha is also quickly building a reputation as a flopper as well. Apparently some of the Kings were unimpressed with his tendency to do the latter (and in truth, his tendency to do whatever possible to draw a foul, whether flopping or kicking out a leg offensively after a shot to try and get a whistle, has been discussed here often). Not to say Sasha is a soft guy just looking for calls. He's not, and will absolutely absorb punishment in search of the greater good.
I'm just saying that the rep is growing.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | March 10, 2008 at 08:02 AM
BK
I can see Sasha getting rep for flopping but that is no reason to let flagrant fouls go uncalled.
Elbows to the face in a previous game ( actually ball) but swinging elbows is illegal and has rule against it. No foul. Getting choked and no flagrant, come on.
Moore going back to Sasha with intent to hit him, no flagrant, gimme a break what does flopping have to do with those calls and others?
Many players in the league do flops and some times Fish and Iverson but they don't get rep for it. It comes done to being consistent in calling fouls and forget about reps. Call em like they are, not like you feel about rep.
As Stu says if it is foul in the first quarter it should be a foul in the fourth quarter. Calls should be CONSISTANT and called same both ways.
I only disagree with Stu on the rookie calls. No rep yet. Goes back to a foul is a foul. To me if it is a foul on a rookie and vet commits same foul it should be foul on vet too. Tenure in the league should not give you right to get bad calls. Calls should be fair to all and consistent for all.
A FOUL is a Foul so call it on whoever commits it. Just make it consistent and fair.
Posted by: JustaLakerFan | March 10, 2008 at 09:08 AM
MVP thoughts:
I submit that the two critical components of an MVP are individual greatness and team success. Greatness is consistency and clutchness. Team success (reg season) is winning game by more points. Everyone seems to like this thing reduced to numbers: Here's my take using Stats from 82games.com.
Formula
(Roland Rating + .1(4Q Points)) * (Win % + .001(Point Diff))
Some key competitors:
Player Roland 4Q Pts Team Win% PointDiff MVP
Bryant 14.3 57.4 LAL 0.698 7.5 15.49092
Garnett 13.4 23 BOS 0.803 10.3 14.2242
James 18.1 61.5 CLE 0.571 -0.4 13.74975
Ginobli 12.6 43.4 SAS 0.694 5 12.60336
Paul 13 39.5 NOH 0.677 5 12.32265
Duncan 10 26.8 SAS 0.694 5 9.43392
Posted by: The D | March 10, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Sacramento is probably hanging a banner as we speak.....
The thing I noticed is that at the end, the Kings were waiting to be beat. The Lakers had a couple of opportunities, and they did take over, but an untimely foul and good free throw shooting gave them the lead at the end.
Kobe should have either passed it to Lamar for the drive and kick, or Lamar should have set a down screen for Fish, occupying both Fish's and his man. Since Lamar's man was Mikki Moore, a jump shot wasn't the best shot at a basket.
In the end, they shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. However, since Phil isn't even awake at home games against sub .500 opponents, the "let them play through it" philosophy backfired. They couldn't play through it and figure it out. More coaching would have given us a better hold on first place, and the division lead over the Suns for playoff seeding.
Posted by: #4 | March 10, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Based Upon Last Game..
IS THIS THE TEAM THAT CAN CONTEND FOR A TITLE?
WHY ARE WE COMPLAINING TOO MUCH?
TOO MUCH OF WHINING WITH OFFICIALS INSTEAD OF PLAYING.
IF LAMAR DON"T WANT TO SCORE THEN AT LEAST HE SHOULD EAT THE GLASS
ITS A HUGE SETBACK..NOT GOOD AT ALL WHEN WE HAVE TO PLAY HOUSTON AND OTHER BIGS NEXT
Posted by: Disgruntled, Frustrated Laker Fan | March 10, 2008 at 09:12 AM
we had a chance to win a game we otherwise would not have even really been into, had it not been for our offensive prowess. had we played a contender in the West, we would've been blown out the water..
The loss is not a one man blame game. It goes to the team, the team did not defend well. Just like when we win, its a team win..Please don't start blaming Kobe for this defeat, even if he had an off night, we did nothing to stop the Kings and they deserved to win more than we did not deserve to lose.
Accept it. Move on..Other games to play.
RYDEorDIE baby!
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | March 10, 2008 at 09:15 AM
""71"
That's how I am going to start all posts this week."
You just triggered a memory from college. We had a coach who was a little misguided and he'd always have the team meet and come up with some BS words to put on a paper. I say BS because year after year the paper was worthless garbage that meant nothing. No one really cared about it.
But one year, we were crushed in competition. The score was so lopsided that our whole "document" was the score. We framed it and put it in our locker room, and the team responded to it.
Starting every post with "71" reminds me much of those days... and I think it's a good idea. I would hope someone on the team would type out the number in huge font, frame it, and then put it in the locker room.
We did NOT deserve to win the game. If the team can take this lesson and make themselves stronger, then it's worth the loss... otherwise, it just moved us further from home court against Detroit should we face them.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 10, 2008 at 09:19 AM
good loss?
I wouldnt worry too much about the loss, its one game. As Lamar said the lakers were over-confident and needed some humility. They have shown an ability to respond after a loss and I expect them to do the same.
The upcoming roadie is going to be tough, @ NO, Houston Dallas and Utah. This will be a good test.
Posted by: Laker Lover | March 10, 2008 at 09:19 AM
Stop the presses K-Bros... Riley just announced that Wade will sit the rest of the season while he goes and visits college games. Wade will go on a steady dose of stim.
Would stim really help this injury?
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 10, 2008 at 09:38 AM
"71"
Thx Tim-4-show. I thought at first you were trashing my idea. I, too, am hopeful this is the impetus that's needed to tighten up on D over next 19 games to get playoff ready.
I do feel sorry for Raptors.....
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | March 10, 2008 at 09:40 AM
I wouldn't put this loss solely on Kobe, since the bench has been atrocious and the rest of the cast not playing defense. The referees were also a factor in this game and I agree with Phil that the Laker players need to stop screaming at the refs and play the game. There were so many no-calls that were blatant fouls (last basket by Pau). I was watching the Suns and Spurs game earlier and the Spurs game was also ref’d horribly. I could swallow this loss a lot easier if the refs didn't aid in the final result.
Posted by: SFLakerGirl | March 10, 2008 at 09:44 AM
Gunner,
>>>SPOKEN BY A TRUE BALL HOG!
That's a very ignorant and biased statement. You can't call
someone a ball hog when... a) he only took 2 shots in the
fourth quarter, choosing to pass to his teammates instead,
b) he only took 15 shots for the GAME, c) One Laker (Gasol)
took as many shots as Kobe and another (Fisher) only took
4 less shots, and d) THE PLAY IN QUESTION WAS
DESIGNED FOR HIM TO TAKE THE SHOT.
And in a sense, he's right. Lamar, by where he went on
the court, basically drew his defender, Mikie Moore right
into Kobe. If you'll notice, Lamar ended up BEHIND Kobe
at the end. If Lamar goes straight to the rim, then if Moore
leaves, Kobe throws him the ball and he dunks for the game
winner. By going straight to where Kobe was, Lamar
brought his defender RIGHT TO KOBE.
>>IT'S ALL ABOUT GETTING HIM SPACE TO SHOOT.
He didn't make that comment about the whole game, just
about the final play. Why don't you put down the haterade
and come to the light side of the force, Gunner?
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 10, 2008 at 10:30 AM
HENNY PENNY!!!! DUCKY LUCKY!!!
THE SKY IS FALLING!
THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
C'mon. It's just one game.
It really pointed out their biggest weakness, which is that they
don't play consistently good defense. They only gave up 43
points to Sacramento in the second half, which is good, but
they need to come out with defensive intensity ALL the
time, or 71 will happen.
It's hard to blame any one guy for bad defense when guys
like Salmons and Udrih take a rebound and drive the
length of the floor past 3 Lakers for a layup. That's just
lacksidasical defense by the whole TEAM, and the Lakers
let that happen a LOT in the first half. Not so much in
the second half.
But all this harping on Kobe or Lamar or Farmar or saying
that the Lakers are going to fail in the playoffs is a little
over the top.
The way I see it, the Lakers just came out a little bit lazy
against a team they thought they should beat and Sacto
game out agressive as heck, built a big lead and then just
hung on for all they were worth. PJ kinda set the tone
by giving them the day off. (and no I'm not blaming the
loss on PJ - it goes to everyone).
The next 5 games, the Lakers have to run the gauntlet.
Toronto at home is just a warmup. After that it's road
games against New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, and Utah.
How they do in those 5 games will be a much better
indicator of how the Lakers will do in the playoffs than
the Sacramento game. It sucks to lose that game, but it
doesn't mean anything more than one loss.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 10, 2008 at 10:48 AM
The reason I like the way Houston is playing is because of the committment to defense. They are beating teams all teams by double figures because of the committment to defensefrom the 1st minute of the game until the last minute of the game, that's a mindset. As a Laker fan I want them to make it to at least the Western Confernce Finals, but our team defense won't cut it. I also don't believe that Bynum is the total savior. We don't even know when he will be back. We are in trouble if both Fish & Farmer get beat constantly by quicker guards, because we have no team defense. Defense is a mind set and the Lakers don't have it.
Posted by: TONI | March 10, 2008 at 03:43 AM
The best post of the day.
Posted by: passionate Lakers fan | March 10, 2008 at 01:11 PM
The next 5 games, the Lakers have to run the gauntlet.
Toronto at home is just a warmup. After that it's road
games against New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, and Utah.
How they do in those 5 games will be a much better
indicator of how the Lakers will do in the playoffs than
the Sacramento game. It sucks to lose that game, but it
doesn't mean anything more than one loss.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | March 10, 2008 at 10:48 AM
The second best post of the day.
Posted by: passionate Lakers fan | March 10, 2008 at 01:12 PM