the blog is so slow today... what's up AK-BK....?????

Farmar played great offense...good thing because he was schooled by Brooks on the defensive side

What's the deal with Atlanta also at 5-0 - who did they play against? Anyone good??

Mel -

Worried? No.

Irritated? Yes.

Open letter to the laker blogosphere

I bet everybody here gets a big kick out of my garbage time. I remember last season. Oh Luke Walton is a scrub,cant jump, cant dribble just your basic dump-truck.So as a gesture of goodfaith and to show u all i don't hold any grudges.I want to invite every blogger to my restaurant.Free drinks and dinner on me.U see im the bigger man,no hard feeling b/c u guys sure busted my balls last season.......Later ......Luke Walton

No worries. Pissed. We could play so much better and showed we could.

In the end, the good guys won. That's lovely.

With the team being so deep, the starters must benefit more from practice than is typical for an NBA team, because they are being pushed more.

>>What's the deal with Atlanta also at 5-0 - who did they
>> play against? Anyone good??

Orlando
Toronto
New Orleans

Those are 3 pretty good teams they beat.

The STH report - 11/9 against Houston

I was sitting in the AMEX lounge wondering who this lady was sitting in the restaurant - 40s, a little chubby, brunette with blonde highlights and dark rimmed glasses. She always sits at the same table every game, everyone in the restaurant knows her and watches the entire game from there. Anyways, the guy sitting next to us starts chatting me up about the Lakers defense. Seems to be a popular topic these days - that the team finally has started to really focus on it. My pov was that it's nice that the team is working on it but it hadn't really been challenged yet. Tonight would be the first true test.

From what I could tell, the only reason why Houston even made it a game was the big lead they built off of Lakers mistakes that led to easy transition buckets. Once the Lakers settled in and stopped playing careless, they never lost control of the game, even when they were behind. Here are a couple of things that stuck out to me:

Drew got away with a lot of stuff that would normally be fouls. On entry passes into Yao, he blatantly shoved him in the back numerous times to push him further from the basket. On on move (around Landry?) he hooked him with his elbows to get around him. He didn't get called for any of it. The only reason I point this out is because it could get called at any time and that sort of undisciplined play isn't something he should get used to. It could blow offensive sets and kill momentum in more important games.

The other thing I realized was, don't let Landry's baby face fool you - that guy is vicious to the point of being a little dirty. He smacks Pau in the face which led to a confrontation. He jumps over LOs back to get a rebound which led to another confrontation. Dude is a regular Rodman without the tattoos or cross-dressing.

I guess the team didn't watch any game film from Houston's games so far, otherwise they would've been more prepared for Aaron Brooks. I could see that coming a mile away after having watched a couple of their games already. Thankfully, the Lakers adjusted and Houston went away from running the offense through him.

Even after watching Houston break down under the relentless Lakers assault, all I could think about walking out of Staples was how only beating one team in June matters now. Destroying teams along the way may be entertaining but it isn't the point anymore.

Long Time Laker Fan,

Are you serious, are you sure you dont mean is the gap between JF and Fisher closing? Or do you mean that Farmar is head and shoulers above Fish right now? JF certainly played outstanding today, minus his sloppy start early on.

lakers_sth,
"I was sitting in the AMEX lounge wondering who this lady was sitting in the restaurant - 40s, a little chubby, brunette with blonde highlights and dark rimmed glasses. She always sits at the same table every game, everyone in the restaurant knows her and watches the entire game from there. "

So, did you find out who she was?

Anna

nice to see Mike T posting in the live blog...

just one question for Mike T... how do you like the Lakers defense so far?

--- grail

LTLF,

Farmar really played a great game tonight, probably the biggest thing I didn't like was pretty minor one: early 3 pointer in the 2nd quarter after a Rockets turnover that he should have not shot and instead ran the offense.

Farmar is getting up there in shooting and help defense.

I would still say Derek has a sizable gap since 1) Derek has way more experience 2) He still is the better man to man defender and 3) Derek's spot up game (I know tonight he didn't have a great game overall from shooting but everyone has those nights) is the perfect compliment to Kobe's penetration whereas Jordan will have to become a more spot up shooter if paired up with Kobe doesn't get to expand his game to his strengths of running the team.

Faith,

We could have played better indeed just still utter dominance nevertheless.

lakers_sth

Love your analysis. Pretty much hit the point on us. If the Lakers can limit their turnovers then there wouldn't have been a concern in the 1st quarter.

And about Drew that is one thing about home court advantage: there are more things you can get away with at home rather on the road. Just like the Celtics did with KG's illegal moving screens and Posey's fouls. In any case Drew did some things he got away with but with time he'll be even better as the season goes on.

-blitz

D-O-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N-!

I’ll tell you up front if you don’t want to hear any over-the-top comments or optimism, stop reading right now because this is NOT your kind of post. LOL. The Lakers sent the rest of the NBA a message with a dominating 29-point pounding of the Houston Rockets tonight. Spotting the Rockets a 14-point 1st quarter lead, the Laker fought back to a 4-point lead at half-time and then held the Rockets just 34 points in the 2nd half to win going away.

The Lakers dominated the Rockets in every important category. They outscored them 111-82, out-rebounded them 50-36, out-assisted them 26-17, out-stole them 13-10, out-blocked them 10-3, and out-shot them from the field 53% to 38%, 3-pointers 53% to 38%, and free-throws 78% to 68%. Most importantly, the Lakers out-defensed the Rockets, totally shutting down their offense in the second half. Kobe again shut down McGrady, holding him to 3 points on 1-11 shooting; Drew played great against Yao, holding him to just 12 points; and Lamar outplayed Artest, holding him to 8 points on 2-11 shooting.

Meanwhile, Pau abused Scola for 20 points and 15 boards, Kobe was the MVP Kobe, and the bench swarm inundated the Rockets second unit as the Lakers depth carried them to a dominating victory, leaving them as the top offensive and defensive team in the league. Puzzled pundits proclaimed that the Laker could not continue to maintain their 20-point victory spread and they were right. The Lakers actually increase their average margin of victory, showing what happens when they play great defense AND shoot well.

Balance and depth! The Lakers 9-man rotation killed the Rockets, who admittedly were playing shot-handed without Battier. The Lakers second unit outplayed the Rockets subs and even the guys not in the rotation – Mihm, Walton, and Powell – played well. All told, 11 of 12 the Lakers who played scored, 10 got boards, 9 dished out dimes, 7 made steals, and 4 blocked shots. The Lakers incredible depth just jumped out at you throughout the game as one Laker player after another came into the game and played well.

You all may not believe it yet, but we are watching what may become one of the greatest basketball teams ever assembled grow up before out eyes. The defense, especially in the second half was a beauty to behold. The Lakers perimeter trapping discombobulated the Rockets and their fierce shot-blocking in the paint turned back the Rockets time and again. By game end, the Rockets were a thoroughly defeated and discouraged team, having had their hopes for a championship this year harshly crushed by the superior Lakers.

Just how good is this team now and how good will they be by the end of the year is going to be the question du jour for most of the season as I fully expect the Lakers to continue to improve and challenge the NBA record for wins in a season set by Jackson’s 1995-6 Bulls, who won 72 of their 82 games on the way to the NBA Championship. The Lakers now play the kind of defense that will keep them in those games where their offense is not clicking and Phil has them jacked up to post the best record and win home court for the Finals, as he has reduced garbage time now to just 2 or 3 minutes, even in blowouts.

Look for the Lakers to sweep the road back-to-back against the Mavs and Hornets on Tuesday and Wednesday and then finish off Detroit on Friday to boost their record to 8-0 to complete their dominating, statement-making week of championship-level basketball. The Fourth Dynasty has just gotten underway. Resistance is futile.

Like they say, this is solely the personal opinions of one over-the-top Lakers fan. Peace,

Tom