Lakers 96, Hawks 83: Same as it ever was
Breakdown below the jump.
Three Good
- Pau Gasol: A triple double- the third of Gasol's career- is impressive in and of itself. But if you're the type who likes to identify the uber impressive-est aspect of the already impressive, there's much to choose from. 60% shooting (6/10) for a dozen points. El Spaniard pulling down the additional 13 boards and ten dimes in just under 31 minutes. But for me, the single biggest eye opener is zero turnovers accompanying those assists. A point guard's line, but a seven-foot frame. Oddly enough, there happened to be a discussion going on the live blog where folks tried to decide if Gasol was the best passing big in the West. Tonight certainly didn't hurt his case.
- Lamar Odom: As devastating as Gasol, and in just two additional minutes on the floor. Like his fellow frontcourt starter, Lamar was economical in gracing the scoring column (15 points on 6-11 from the floor). But while five "nothing to sneeze at" assists fell short of creating a triple double match, LO's double double left nobody yearning for more. People tend not to bitch when you scoop up twenty rebounds, the fourth consecutive game where he set a season-high on the glass. And while this wasn't the best night for Kobe Bryant (more on that below), The Mamba can be credited with a game ball on behalf of Lamar. After watching LO flirt with the big 2-0, Kobe teased the Swiss Army Knife about not being able to crack that ceiling. Lamar took the bait, although he'd be angling to make noise on the glass even without noise from his teammate.
"It's a good way to score the ball, especially with an offensive rebound. You get easy opportunities, efficient shots and it keeps me involved in the game."
- Point guards: I couldn't decide who had a better game between Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar, so instead of wracking my brains, I decided to declare it a tie. Farmar was an immediate spark off the bench in the first quarter, racking six of his ten points in less than two full minutes of play. For his part, Fish helped spark a third quarter run that bumped a nine point halftime lead to 23 and busted the game wide open for the Lakers. Seven points on 3-4 shooting, plus a trio of dimes. Toss in seven points during the first half and you have the making of a very solid game.
AK
Three Bad:
- Kobe Bryant: As many turnovers (four) as field goals. 10 points on 33% shooting. And you know what? It didn't matter, even a little. The only important number relative to Kobe tonight was that he played 28:10, sitting for the last 13 minutes of the game.
- Chris Mihm: The good news is Mihm was able to get 17 minutes of PT, including all 12 in the fourth quarter. All told, it was easily a season high, floor time he'll need to find the form necessary to provide strong minutes behind Pau Gasol-- and make no mistake, the Lakers need to make sure Pau gets rest. Now for the bad news: Very little about those 17 minutes was particularly positive. Mihm did finish with seven boards, but overall was consistenly a step (or more) behind the pace of the game, particularly on the offensive end. On the one hand, we're talking about a guy who hasn't played any significant minutes in over two seasons. That he's not in the flow is understandable. On the other, the Lakers need him to catch up. Fast. For Pau Gasol to stay fresh heading into the postseason, he can't be playing 40+ minutes a night. Mihm is first in line among the candidates to take some of the pressure off.
Mihm has worked his tail off to get back on the floor after basically nuking his right foot and ankle, but didn't argue that his rhythm is out of whack. "It's tough. When you go from not playing at all, two or three minutes a game, it's tough. You feel like you have to go out there and try to make an impact. I think I'm pressing a little bit to try and be a positive, and let the game come to me a little bit," he said. "You just can't simulate that in practice. My main focus is to go out there and play defense and grab rebounds. My offense is rusty right now, my timing's off. I'm trying not to push it."
Right now, he's in the process of reinventing himself as a basketball player, with the understanding that the lift and mobility he once had isn't there. "I just have to stay positive," he said. It's a Catch-22 for the the Lakers. They need Mihm to give them minutes in relief of Gasol, but the quality of his play isn't there. It won't be, though, until he gets more minutes (assuming he can return to form), tough to do when he's not playing well. You can see the bind. One key may be games like this, where the Lakers blow teams out and give all the reserves more run. Over the next 29 games, 10-15 reasonably steady minutes a night from Mihm could mean a far more effective Gasol come playoff time. I can tell you that Mihm desperately wants to make it happen- the guy is trying to save his career- but whether he can or not remains to be seen.
Turnovers: Five in the first quarter, good for seven of Atlanta's 24 points. Call it post-All Star rustiness or anything else, but the Lakers were extremely sloppy early. Even when they didn't turn the ball over, LA tended to avoid running any sort of constructive offense. After cleaning things up in the second and third frames, the TOs returned in the fourth. LA finished the final 12 minutes with 11 TOs... although some of that is due to the crew put together for garbage time minutes. To say Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown, Josh Powell, Sasha Vujacic and Chris Mihm haven't had a lot of time to mesh would be an understatement.
BK
Two Amazing:
- Shannon Brown's foul/block. The fourth quarter and beyond was pure garbage time, but it also
housed the game's second biggest crowd pleasing moment. As the Hawks' Mario West swiped a pass from Jordan Farmar and headed to the rack, new kid in town Shannon Brown put a stamp on his Laker debut by chasing down the visiting bird and skying to block a layup attempt. And I do mean, SKY. As BK put it, "I would have needed a trampoline, then a ladder."
The newbie was called for a whistle, but that didn't stop the crowd from getting up on its feet and cheering on the multiple jumbotron replays. When I informed Brown that the moment made him an instant Staples icon, he just grinned and said, "I hope so. You always want to get on the good side of the fans. We've got the best fans in the world."
Among others, I heard LO and Trevor Ariza (quite the high fly act himself) give serious props to Brown for his defiance of gravity. Brown himself didn't see the replay, but I have a feeling it'll be up on YouTube soon enough. And that he'll like what he sees. - Robert Ward: As I said, Brown was the source of the evening's second biggest buzz. The Kahuna isn't even on the team. That would be Robert Ward, a USC senior who won the Mirage Big Shot Jackpot contest, canning a half court heave at the end of the third quarter to pocket a cool 165 grand courtesy of the Mirage in Las Vegas.
Putting aside how improbable the sequence was just in practice- I've attended a boatload of Laker games, and the only time I've ever witnessed success was during a fictionalized contest on an episode of "Beverly Hills 90210"- we're talking about a hard line drive banked off the glass. You wouldn't have guessed in a million years this would stroke nylon. Unreal. Predictably, everyone from the fans to the players to everyone in the press areas were cheering Ward's good fortune. Although in BK's case, he wasn't so much "congratulating" as "sucking up for a loan."
AK
VIDEO:
Pau Gasol: On his trip-doub, the pride he takes in passing, LO's rebounding, and Shannon Brown's hops.
Lamar Odom: On his rebounding, the team's defense.
Edwin,
This is a little excerpt from one of the last threads that I am sure needs re-phrasing...
You said "At the end of the game, what counts most is the total score contributed by its player not his stats".
this is of course referring to Luke and the ongoing debate. I will not get into the quagmire of ridiculous stats that are being thrown around, but i will offer this rebuttal.
At the end of the game what counts is a win! If the Lakes keep winning with Luke averaging what ever it is, who the hell is going to care how many points Luke scores?
Lets think the forest here, not the trees...
Posted by: tajluck | February 18, 2009 at 12:16 AM
Very Very Nice Win.
Grats to that dude from Mission Viejo. USC really is expensive for tuition.
Gasol's passing is what makes him different from other big men who can score/rebound. Sure those two are especially needed at first from big guys but having the ability to be a playmaker makes it all the better. Kobe is a scorer and a playmaker on offense and Pau is too. That's why they are the 1st and 2nd options of the Lakers.
Mihm really needs to get back into offensive form. His lift may not be there but regardless he has to catch up to at least give Pau some rest until Bynum returns. At least finish strong when he's right next to the basket. Same thing about Powell, his jumper is better than Ronny's but he doesn't finish as good. How in the heck does he get a T during garbage time??
Man ugly game by the Clippers and what a dumb move by Randolph. It's one thing for the Lakers stepping up to the Celtics. It's another when Randolph is the one who initiated the contact when he pushed Amundson to the floor and then punches him right in the face. Suspension or more is coming and this won't help the Clippers.
Powell and Lamar probably think the same thing:
"This (playing for the Lakers) beats playing for the Clippers". (From that one Simpsons episode)
Golden State tomorrow. They now have Monta Ellis though Biedrins might or might not be back. If that's the case Ronny will be starting at Center.
-KB Blitz
Posted by: Kobeblitz | February 18, 2009 at 12:21 AM
gosh chris mihm is awful. powell over mihm please. powell can back up pau and lamar. putting mihm in takes away time from powell to get in the mix
bench
g sasha
g jordan
c josh
f trevor
f luke, pau, lamar
fire patrick o'neal please. he is so hard to watch.
Posted by: pinkalink | February 18, 2009 at 12:47 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0N5D728RkE
Shannon's block can be viewed in HD on YouTube already!
You gotta love YouTube.
"Up, up, and away!"
That was a clean block, by the way.
Posted by: junheec | February 18, 2009 at 01:11 AM
if any of u r/or not, familiar with this blog, have a laugh-Hollinger is a baby compared to these guys. talking about living in a statistical ivory tower and not watching games at all. of course if u ever being in love with his airness, MJ, you don't need to watch anymore any game. just read the numbers and match columns.
kobeblitz, have a blast
faith, strong warnings for you
i just read 2 articles and all the comments
first is Kobe-Myths
http://tinyurl.com/aorof8
and second is King KJames and Kobe
http://tinyurl.com/ae3vzx
as i understand between the lines, this is kinda of MJ legacy site, so Kobeblitz will ovulate (this is a reference to a live game chat from a few weeks ago)
just discovered were the source is: Stanford University Press, "the wages of win", so i suggest get at least an MS before reading. :)
---------------
after reading most of the comments, i have a question:
is Kobe i his prime yet?! maybe will know in a few years
enjoy, and have a great day. chat with you live after 9pm
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | February 18, 2009 at 03:11 AM
Great game, terrible FSN Lakers Live pregame and postgame show. I like to see Phil Jackson speak, good thing I have a DVR to skip through the other stuff. The whole casino promo was just tacky. I hope they bring Rick Fox back to the show.
Posted by: OCLakers | February 18, 2009 at 03:25 AM
AK/BK,
Talk me down ....
Lakers are playing politics with Walton and Mihm. Neither player should receive minutes. Walton is not better than Vladi and should not be starting. Walton should have been traded except his contract is longer than David Stern's. Which begs the question, why did Lakers sign Walton to such a long contract? Lakers knew at the time Walton was too slow to play defense and his shot is inconsistent.
Mihm is terrible. DJ Mbenga brings much more to the court per minute played. DJ defends and rebounds much better than Mihm. DJ is foul prone, but it doesn't matter much with his limited minutes. Mihm doesn't finish around the basket. DJ at least attacks the globe with power.
Mihm was NEVER any good and now he is WORSE.
Its clear we never ever want to go back to the Mihm starting center days.
Todd
Posted by: Todd | February 18, 2009 at 06:06 AM
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Posted by: MAMBA24 | February 18, 2009 at 06:42 AM
*…………………………………………………......*
PAU GASOL LAKER FOR LIFE
*--------------------------------------------------------*
(01) JUSTANOTHERMAMBAFAN – OWNER
(02) MAMBA24 - DRIVER
Posted by: MAMBA24 | February 18, 2009 at 06:51 AM
Hello Blog Fam -
That was a fun game to watch. LO was a human highlight reel as was Pau. Just love Pau's game. Every time I see him play I think how lucky we are not to be seeing Kwame always fumbling the ball.
Mihm looked very rusty. And he constantly looks disappointed in himself. I'd like to see him get some confidence in his abilities. At least his team mates seemed to support him. I'd like to see Mbenga get a little burn too.
Fun to watch the new guys. AMMO, as the blog was calling him, was looking nervous. I wondered how much pressure to shoot was on him as Staples got loud whenever he had the ball. That would have totally sucked if he'd have given in to that pressure and made a bad choice. Kudos to him for that. And off the topic of basketball, but dude was glowing white in that yellow uni.
Shannon was great! That block at the end of the 4th was spectacular, and even though he was called for the foul it doesn't diminish his ability at all. I have a good feeling about this guy. That he brings defense to the point and is so athletic rocks. We needed a little more backup in that spot and now we've got it. Well done, Mitch.
Ronny and the Warriors tonight. We seem to always let them almost win. Let's make it another blowout guys, so we can see more of Brown.
Let's go Lakers!!!
I LOVE LA!
Posted by: longtimelakerlover | February 18, 2009 at 06:56 AM
The din in Phoenix is cacophonous this morning. Yeah, I typed those words.
It's ridiculous today. Even the national media is somehow enamored with the Suns all of the sudden. They beat THE CLIPPERS, and all of the sudden they're back to being the same old dominant Funs. Didn't they beat the Kings by 40 something like two weeks ago?
I can't wait for next week when the Celtics, Lakers, Cavs, Mavs, Rockets, Heat, and Magic all have their way with the Suns. Especially when the Lakers play them and blow them out.
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | February 18, 2009 at 07:23 AM
New Orleans has thrown the white flag for this season. It looks like Phoenix is next as they try to get any takers for Amare. McGrady has surrendered as usual, so Houston is also out. That means 3 possible WC playoff teams now "playing for next season". It also means one of these weakened teams will be easy first round playoff opponents for the Lakers. The easy 1st round also gives Lakers more time to reintegrate Bynum back.
Those garbage time minutes from last night showed that it might be worthwhile to have Brown or Morrison in the lineup for the playoffs as 11th and 12th men. Lakers don't necessarily need Morrison's offense but Brown's defense can be useful versus the Ginobilis, Melos, Pierces and Lebrons. At the very least another hard body to throw at them, and none of these teams will win a playoff series w/substandard games from them.
Posted by: LakerinBC | February 18, 2009 at 07:24 AM
LAMAR IS A BEAST AHHHHHHH. I'm really glad he is getting "numbers" so that people can actually give him a little credit. I'll go nuts if he gets 21 tonight, and he probably will since the Warriors lack a lot of big men. Hopefully Lamar can keep it up and add some "consistency".
Farmar was great last night. What a little spark plug. Sometime he struggles but last night he was exactly what we needed after a slow start. Do you guys think that Farmar and Sasha like each other? It seems like the always fight over the ball or more so that Sasha always wants to be the pg with the ball in his hand. I like how PJ yelled at Sasha at the end of the quarter to give it to Farm.
Props to Brown and Morrison on their debut. Morrison looked super nervous and Brown definitely started off with a bang.
Lamar = Finals MVP
GO LAKERS
Posted by: mrbarneydangles | February 18, 2009 at 08:02 AM
Shannon Brown
http://tinyurl.com/de2vlr
Posted by: mamba24 | February 18, 2009 at 08:07 AM
Good morning Mamba24! Good morning CRUE!!
Great win last night - sloppy, sure - but great! And another game tonight - nothing better than watching the Lake Show whoop up on someone lol!
So many things to say WOW at about the game last night. Pau's trip-dub. LO's 20. Shannon fricken Brown's amazing block - wow. I hope he gets a little burn tonight also - I'd like to see more of what this kid is capable of. Same with AmMo - I want him to get his confidence back. I think winning should do that for him!
To be a Laker fan - greatest thing in the world LOL!!!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: justanothermambafan | February 18, 2009 at 08:17 AM
mrbarneydangles - FINALLY!!!! Our cries for "Lamar = Laker for Life" are being taken seriously!!!!!!!! Now everyone knows what we've been screaming about!!!!!
sweet success
Posted by: justanothermambafan | February 18, 2009 at 08:18 AM
Mamba24 - thanks for my new bandwagon. I will drive with care!
EVERYONE - get on here with us - you know you want to!!!
Pau Gasol = Laker for Life
(and of course LO=Laker for Life)
Posted by: justanothermambafan | February 18, 2009 at 08:30 AM
Good Morning, Laker Nation!
It's time for....
Jon K.'s Early Thoughts That He Has Not Put Too Much Thought Into Yet:
1. A good win last night.
2. Who has been Chris Mihm's biggest supporter? Who? Jon K., that's who? So, I mean it when I say that Chris Mihm looked like Travis Knight with the flu out there last night. Awful. Chris, if you're going to get constant fouls and turnovers, at least play hard. Don't be a lumbering dork who constantly looks unsure of his positioning. It's ridiculous. How long have you been in the system for now?
3. Shannon Brown's a keeper. The kid plays with heart.
4. Adam Morrison has inched closer towards being a bust. He wasn't horrible out there, but didn't impress.
5. Pau Gasol is amazing. Laker for Life.
6. The Clippers play just awful defense. I've never seen a team give up so many uncontested shots.
7. The fourth quarter was just painful to watch. Just because we're up, it doesn't mean we play like crap.
8, As much as it scares me to say this (I want it to be so. I want it to be so.), it's increasingly seeming that Lamar Odom has REALLY turned the corner on his career. Good.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow.... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | February 18, 2009 at 08:31 AM
Mamba -
I LOVE Pau! You need to add me to that Pau - Laker for LIfe bandwagon dude. I even have a post right under roll call talking about my Gasol love. He's my favorite non Kobe player.
Posted by: longtimelakerlover | February 18, 2009 at 08:32 AM
I agree that its DJ Mbenga time!
At least, let's see what the guy can do.
Its good to give Mihm more PT though as he looks like he's getting some game timing back. Remember that it took Bynum the entire first half of the season to get his game back.
Anyway, with both Mihm and DJ, and some "fightin" Josh Powell to back up Pau, there's no excuse for Gasol to be playing so many minutes especially agaiinst weaker teams.
That Gasol-Odom chemistry is pretty special though and no other team can match up that Center-PF skillz combo.
When Lamar is on, doesn't he make everything look too easy?
Thats' how talented LO is. Sometimes, it almost looks like he is just toying with the opposition.
We're so deep the main Laker question is who do we play as 11th and 12th men w/Bynum out?
Morrison, Brown, Mbenga or Sun?
I vote for Brown and Mbenga. Defense first.
When Bynum comes back, Brown stays as 12th man.
Morrison can be the summer project as he is version 3.0 of Glen Rice, v 1.0, and VladRad, v 2.0.
Episodes 1 and 2 had unhappy endings so hopefully episode 3, the Laker shooting small forward story, will have a happier ending.
The main difference is Rice was already an All-Star and Vlad was a successful role player from other teams when they became Lakers. So they had difficulty with their new roles.
Morrison has been a big NBA bust so far, so I predict he will be far more coachable than Rice or Radman.
So next year, our shooting small forward will be pick your poison, Ariza or Morrison. Hopefully, Luke goes back to being 4th SF in the depth chart, as LO also plays some SF (assuming we can resign both TA and LO back). Mihm is perhaps the only player we lose over the summer.
Posted by: LakerinBC | February 18, 2009 at 08:47 AM
That was a clean block by Shannon Brown. That is all.
Posted by: #4 | February 18, 2009 at 08:56 AM
*………………………………………………......*
PAU GASOL LAKER FOR LIFE
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(01) JUSTANOTHERMAMBAFAN – OWNER
(02) LONGTIMELAKERLOVER - DRIVER -He's my favorite non Kobe player.
(03) MAMBA24 - RIDING SHOTGUN - GOOD AS GOLD
(04) KEIFO – RIDING SHOTGUN
Posted by: MAMBA24 | February 18, 2009 at 09:00 AM
Yo Mamba24!
Hey brotha, can you toss me on the PAU GASOL LAKER FOR LIFE wagon? Thanks man. Kung Pau!
-bozz-
Posted by: bozz | February 18, 2009 at 09:04 AM
pinkalink,
>>>gosh chris mihm is awful. powell over mihm please.
>>>powell can back up pau and lamar. putting mihm in
>>>takes away time from powell to get in the mix
Between those two it was pretty much a two-way tie... for last.
They each had some positives (Mihm 7 rebounds, 2 blocks,
Powell 3 of 6 shooting), but they both turned the ball over too
much and played fairly scattered defense.
I tell you what though. Powell has actually played well when
he plays with the starters. And I think if you give Mihm 3 or
4 more blowouts like this where he gets 15+ minutes of work
in, he'll start hitting more of those shots. It's very hard to get
your timing back playing little 2 and 3 minute stretches.
I think with suitable preparation that either Mihm or Powell
could play a few productive playoff minutes if needed. They
aren't going to dominate or anything, but I think you could
put either of them on the floor with 4 of the regular rotation
players and they wouldn't hurt the team much.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 18, 2009 at 09:08 AM
I son;t think we should rely on Mihm's offense when he's on the court. He shouldn't even be an option.
He said it himself, and I'll paraphrase, 'I want to work on redounds and defense'.
I believe that focus will be more effective over the course of the season and playoffs as opposed to Mihm, and the fans, wondering if he's going to put 10 or 12 points off the bench.
I cannot see Chris playing the meaningful minutes in the rest of the games. I believe that Chris will see a lot of garbage time minutes and we can't expect this dude to be a major offensive player.
Posted by: steven v | February 18, 2009 at 09:08 AM
I can see Shannon and Ariza making a big contibution on defense if the're incorporated properly. On the other hand, Luke is spotty but valuable, and Mihm is useless if he can't score in the paint. MBenga gives more energy and will give offense on occasion. I also think Sun should go down to the D-League so he can play without falling to the ground on contact.
Posted by: DOC4DaLakeShow | February 18, 2009 at 09:08 AM
Oh yeah, drivin' the Pau LFL bandwagon.
Life's good.
Oh yeah.
Posted by: longtimelakerlover | February 18, 2009 at 09:14 AM
Tajluck,
Agree with your take, winning cures all ills. If players are given minimum tasks to achieve, it helps too in minimizing losses when the top guns are out sync.
Nice win last night and let's extend that luck in Golden State, oops did I say "golden" what is golden in a bankrupt state?
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | February 18, 2009 at 09:14 AM
AWRITE Lakers - We're baaaaack!
I'm so looking forward to tonight - the Lakers are actually up HERE and I've got fifth row seats in the corner! (For those of you new on the blog I'm a NorCal livin' ex-LA guy and 30 year Lakers fan!)
HEY LAKER TOM - you goin' to the game? Maybe we could meet up.
In any case expect a detailed report from me late tonite or tomorrow AM. I can't wait to see our boys wipe out the Warriors!
Posted by: Jay Jay | February 18, 2009 at 09:17 AM
Jon K,
>>>... Chris Mihm looked like Travis Knight with the flu out
>>>there last night.
LOL. He does kinda look like Travis Knight
>>> Awful. Chris, if you're going to get
>>>constant fouls and turnovers, at least play hard.
You're right about the turnovers, but not the fouls. 3 turnovers
sucks, but 2 fouls in 17 minutes is respectable. Especially
combined with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. His shooting was
absolutely atrocious though.
But I hope the Lakers get a few more blowouts in the next
couple of weeks. It would give Mihm more run to shake off
the (heavy heavy coat of) rust, and it could get Morrison and
Brown some minutes running the triangle.
Honestly, I hope Bynum comes back and that none of Mihm
or Morrison or Brown or Powell is needed for the playoffs. But
if someone turns an ankle game 2 of the finals and we need
someone to step up and play a few minutes, I'd rather they're
ready to go because they got some PT the last 30 games.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 18, 2009 at 09:19 AM
I felt so horrible watching Chris Mihm played last night. Whatever happened to him? He used to be a decent player two years ago. Olakowandi worse as he is looks better than Mihm. The Lakers should just donate him to Goodwill. Now I know the only reason they traded Radmanovic for Morrison and Brown is for monetary. Except for that spectacular block by Brown, these two new players will not help a bit, especially Morrison.
Posted by: RUDY | February 18, 2009 at 09:24 AM
Mamba24, include me in the Catalan bandwagon. He made three vital contributions: a). Lakers started winning; b). Will prevent Kobe opting out this summer. c) Turned some scrubs into flowers.
BTW, speaking of Catalan, how many of you here watched "Christina Victoria Barcelona" - kinda' cheesy and reminds me those sixties bedtime stories. lol!
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | February 18, 2009 at 09:26 AM
Right now, Chris Mihm is the Lakers biggest liability. I don't know if the rules allow him to be sent down to D-League, so the Lakers could open a roster slot. But the team needs a better alternative if Pau is to have any gas in the tank by Playoff time. The alternative would be for Mihm to admit his career is over and walk away. I know this sounds heartless, but Mihm is putting everyone's Championship dream at risk.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | February 18, 2009 at 09:28 AM
AWRITE Lakers - We're baaaaack! I'm so looking forward to tonight - the Lakers are actually
up HERE and I've got fifth row seats in the corner! (For those of you new on the blog I'm
a NorCal livin' ex-LA guy and 30 year Lakers fan!)Posted by: Jay Jay |
February 18, 2009 at 09:17 AM
JAY JAY CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP
JAY JAY CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP
JAY JAY CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP
JAY JAY CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP
Posted by: mamba24 | February 18, 2009 at 09:36 AM
Mamba24 - I agree - Shannon Brown's a keeper. Anyone who can block like that has GOT to be a Laker. We need all the great D we can get to keep the Championship Bandwagon rolling for the next 10 years!!!!!!!
Jay Jay - what corner? Also, enjoy the game - cheer as loud as you can for the rest of us who only get to yell at the TV....!
Warriors? What Warriors? The only one I want to see is the Mamba Warrior (and him only in the first 3 quarters)!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: justanothermambafan | February 18, 2009 at 09:47 AM
Great game last night. I had to laugh out loud when Morrison almost broke the backboard with his first shot. I'm hoping he comes around once he get comfortable.
Oh, Mamba, please put me on the LO and Pau basndwagons. Thanks
Go Lakers!!!!!!!
Posted by: Sean714 | February 18, 2009 at 09:48 AM
Mihm's biggest problem last night was his hands. That will go away with some more PT. His mobility may or may not improve with more PT, but even if it doesn't, it is adequate to be a 10-15 minute backup, especially during the regular season.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | February 18, 2009 at 09:55 AM
Before the game, pfunk wrote:
>>>Williams can stretch the floor because he is shooting
>>>37% from the 3pt arc but can also rebound ...
>>>Will this be Luke's assignment tonight? If so how do
>>>we measure Luke's effectiveness?
Luke did guard Marvin Williams most of the night. He
switched off onto Joe Johnson a few times and Mike Bibby
once or twice. Bibby burned him, but he defended Williams
and Johnson pretty well.
Williams shot 3 for 9 for the night. Two of his baskets were
fast break layups after consecutive turnovers by Kobe and Lamar
in the first quarter. He only actually made one basket with
Luke guarding him - a three pointer in the third quarter.
Williams did get past Luke twice and got fouled by Pau.
So Williams shot well below his average, got less points than
his average, and less rebounds than his average (Williams
and Walton each got 3 rebounds). You can draw whatever
conclusions you'd like about Walton's defense on Williams.
>>>In our last game against Utah Luke was hapless as
>>>he shot 1-4 from the field (25%) and had just 2
>>>rebounds along with 2 turnovers in nearly 18
>>>miserable minutes.
The only bad thing he matched here was 2 turnovers. Luke
shot 4 for 8 for 8 points and had 3 rebounds & 3 assists.
>>>Can we continue with this kind of production from
>>>our starting 3 and survive?
That's the thing. You seem to be assuming Luke goes
1 for 4 and 2 turnovers every game. He had a bad game.
Then vs the Hawks he had a good game. BTW, on the
rebounds thing, I also noticed a couple of times where Luke
was boxing his man out while Lamar got rebounds.
Luke will never ever ever be considered for the All-Star
game or any event in it. But he does contribute to the team,
and is a better fit with the starters than either Ariza is or Rad
was.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 18, 2009 at 09:56 AM
>>>BTW, speaking of Catalan, how many of you here
>>>watched "Christina Victoria Barcelona" - kinda' cheesy
>>>and reminds me those sixties bedtime stories. lol!
Kinda made me want to be a painter.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 18, 2009 at 10:02 AM
LTLF,
Here we go again, you are starting another round of Luke posts. Can you not move on and agree to disagree with Pfunk and Chuck23? This issue leads to endless debates & nobody wins.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | February 18, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Rick-
You're right- it does sound a little heartless. Also extreme. No question Mihm has to play better if he's going to give LA real relief for Pau, but to say he ought to walk away and is putting the entire team's chances in jeopardy is a little much for me. HIs big problem is with the speed of the game, and while that could be because he's now too physically limited, it's also very likely because he hasn't played much in two years+. In the fourth quarter, while Mihm's hands were still off, he was moving much better.
Far too early to say he's done as a useful player.
BK
Posted by: kambrothers | February 18, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Rick Friedman,
>>>Right now, Chris Mihm is the Lakers biggest liability.
Huh?
The guy makes 2.5 million and mostly only plays scrub minutes
in blowouts. How can he be their biggest liability?
Smush Parker was a liability.
Kwame Brown was a HUGE liability.
Chris Mihm is not a liability.
>>>I don't know if the rules allow him to be sent down to
>>>D-League, so the Lakers could open a roster slot.
Nope. Only 1st or second year players can go to D-League
and even if they do, they still occupy their roster spot if they're
on the payroll.
>>>But the team needs a better alternative if Pau is to
>>>have any gas in the tank by Playoff time.
No. They don't. When you put him on the floor with Josh Powell
and two guys who've never played the triangle before for 15 minutes
you get what you got last night. But when Mihm plays with 3
starters or something, the team is fine.
>>>Mihm is putting everyone's Championship dream at risk.
Serious overreaction.
If both Bynum and Gasol went down, then Mihm would be
important enough to be a liability. With the current state of
the Lakers, Mihm is just a footnote.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 18, 2009 at 10:21 AM
>>>Mihm's biggest problem last night was his hands. That
>>>will go away with some more PT. His mobility may or
>>>may not improve with more PT, but even if it doesn't, it is
>>> adequate to be a 10-15 minute backup, especially
>>>during the regular season.
My sentiments exactly.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | February 18, 2009 at 10:23 AM
***
SHANNON BROWNS A KEEPER – BANDWAGON
*
(01) TIM-4-SHOW – OWNER
(02) MAMBA24 – DRIVER
****
PAU GASOL LAKER FOR LIFE
*-
(01) JUSTANOTHERMAMBAFAN – OWNER
(02) LONGTIMELAKERLOVER - DRIVER - He's my favorite non Kobe player.
(03) MAMBA24 - RIDING SHOTGUN - GOOD AS GOLD
(04) BOZZ – SECURITY
(05) JON K. – Pau Gasol is amazing , a Laker for life
(06) EDWIN GUECO - He made three vital contributions: a). Lakers started
winning; b). Will prevent Kobe opting out this summer. c)
Turned some scrubs into flowers.
(07) SEAN714 – Yes My Goodness YESS!!
***
LAMAR ODOM LAKER FOR LIFE BANDWAGON
***
*
(01) KIWI – OWNER - I hearby pledge not to criticise Odom until the end of the
season.
(2) MR_BARNEY_DANGLES - DRIVER -LAMAR IS A BEAST AHHHHHHH.
I'm really glad he is getting "numbers" s
(03) BOCA Laker Gurl- Laker girl for Life.
(04) LEONARD BAST - all we need out of Lamar is about 15 and 15 a night,
then we'll be fine!
(05) SBPIMP - I'm totally on the Lamar Laker for Life bandwagon
(06) TIM-4-SHOW - If Lamar can play like that a majority of the time, then I'm
all for him being a Laker for the rest of his career.
(07) MIKEANDMIKE - I believe in odom.
(08) LAL_FAN - I’ll be more than happy to admit being wrong about him
every game, if he keeps doing it with any kind of consistency
(09) LAKERTOM - Throw away the “Odumb” jokes and give the man
his due. He deserves to be a Laker
(10) TALIQ - His team will makeup for the occasional bone head play,
it's the least they can do for a guy that's all about team chemistry" ...
(11) PSYCHEDLAKERGIRL - have always been on the I LOVE
(12) KOREY - And on the Laker for life talk, it'd be foolish for Kupchak NOT to
sign Lamar given Bynum's injury history. You resign Lamar you guarantee a
championship contender for the next 4 years with or without Bynum's health.
DOnt resign him and we are at risk.
(13) JON K. - Lamar Odom reigns supreme.
(14) #4 - The one thing about LO and Gasol starting together is that
there is absolutely no sense of ego or self involved.
(15) CHARLES - Give credit to Lamar for cutting and props to
Gasol for finding him
(16) LAKER_FAN24 - Lamar Laker for Life
(17) KOBEBLITZ - I'll give credit to Lamar and hopefully until Bynum is back
at least he'll average double digits in points and rebounds and improve that
(18) MIKER – LO ALL THE WAY
(19) PK-IN-THE-MESA – HE BECAME A LAKER THE OLD FASHIONED WAY…
HE EARNED IT!!!!!!!
(20) JUSTANOTHERMAMBAFAN - DEMAND (yes you heard me!!) to be on
the LO = Laker for Life Bandwagon.LO is becoming more & more the
player we all know he can be.
((22) CHINA LAKE - Add me to the Lamar Odom Laker
for Life Bandwagon! This is my first bandwagon
. I've never quite been able to grasp the controversy over LO.
Granted, he's inconsistent, but it seems that is the
overwhelming truth about most people in life.
(23) EDWIN GUECO - LO is the 3rd option when the
spoiled beast is languishing in pain but he has to trim
(24) SAMLL - Another re-setting of his season-high – 19
rebounds! 19 points is great, too! Mamba, you gotta
put me on the Lamar for Life bandwagon
(25) SEAN714 – Knew he had it in him
Posted by: Mamba24 | February 18, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Lets not all get a heart attack on Mihm.
The guy hasn't played NBA minutes in 2 years.
Remember, it took a lot of games before Bynum started showing a return to last year's form.
Perhaps, it just takes these 7 footers a longer time to get their long bodies connected to the brain properly.
Mihm's game never relied on athleticism anyway, so he's kind of a 7 foot version of Luke. And he's not getting shorter.
A 7 footer who knows how to play the game can always contribute some spot minutes as a reserve once he gets his game timing back. Just a little bit of patience my friends.
Compared to DJ who only learned to play the game too late in life, so even though his brain is well connected to his body, b-ball just isn't in his muscle memory or instincts. (He does look good shooting mid-range Js in practice.)
Posted by: LakerinBC | February 18, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Mamba,
Add me to the Pau Laker for Life bandwagon.
Thanks.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | February 18, 2009 at 01:03 PM
my assessment of Mihm was that his overall timing is very much off..I imagine if he continues to get some run he will find his way...
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | February 18, 2009 at 01:33 PM