Lakers 105, Nets 95: Pau Gasol refuses to allow New Jersey's aura (state or team) to bring him down
Given the state of the race for the NBA's best record, for the Lakers to drop game four of th
eir seven game
trip to the Nets in New Jersey would have indeed been a death trap and a suicide rap, and while the process wasn't particularly attractive, the result did the trick. LA wins 103-95, behind un partido gigante from Pau Gasol. 36 points on 14-19 shooting, 8-10 from the line, 11 boards, seven dimes, two steals, and two blocks.
Plus, Gasol helped three old ladies cross the street earlier in the day and at halftime Tweeted some notes on additional recommendations to ease the banking crisis to Secretary Geithner.
It was a full day.
As for the rest of the gang, Derek Fisher kicked in with 18 on 8-12 shooting, scoring his team's first seven points of the night. Lamar Odom was active, with 12/11/4 and a pair of blocks. Kobe Bryant had nine dimes and four steals. But given how generous the hosts were in giving the Lakers the ball- Jersey turned it over a whopping 22 times, making some of the laziest and/or horrific passes I've seen from professional basketball players in a while- there's certainly a sense things could have been easier.
The Lakers let a 14 point lead just over three minutes into the second shrink to two by the half, and with 2:57 left in the third were up 81-59, a lead that would shrink to three before the final buzzer. And while not all of the problems can be pinned on the reserves (the starters were on the floor for much of New Jersey's late second quarter run), once again the backcourt tandem of Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic struggled to generate offense like Jefferson Airplane struggled to stay true to their roots.* The pair combined to shoot 2-12 from the field, as the reserves combined for five field goals in 19 tries. Only Luke Walton (2-3) had more than one bucket, only Farmar (1-2) managed to scrape out a free throw.
With the Lakers up by 22, the Nets began to mix in
some zone, and it helped them get back into the game because, as it is
apparently how they roll, the Lakers responded by completely forgetting
how to score. (Note: It was either the zone, or mystical fallout from
John Ireland's sideline interview with Jay-Z.) Five points over
eight-plus minutes, thanks to turnovers and a strong appetite for long
jumpers. And this is with Kobe and Pau on the floor for most of that
time. (Note, Part Deux: I'd still like to see LO in with the reserves
more, whether it's while Kobe is on the bench or, matchups permitting,
in those rare moments where Pau catches his breath.)
Down the stretch, the Lakers kept control, but what seemed like a night to get the starters some extra rest turned into anything but. Given that Kobe left for the locker room before the half actually started thanks to a turned ankle, a little extra down time might have been nice. Bryant, who missed 14 of his 19 attempts and, save for a three ball outburst in the third had a ton of trouble with his shot, doesn't need anything else that could suck some life from his legs, which continue to look a little weary.
I thought earlier in the game, when Kobe was finding his way into the post, that he seemed to be carrying momentum from Thursday's strong game. But as things went on, Bryant spent more time around the perimeter. At the end of the day (tip of the hat to Stephen A. Smith) his shot chart shows precious little activity in the paint and only one free throw, courtesy of a Jersey T.
Kobe did have the aforementioned dimes, though, and could have had more save a few misses from his mates. That the Lakers continue to win while Bryant works through shooting issues is a very positive thing.
Overall, I don't mean to be relentlessly negative, here. It was the wrong end of a back-to-back in the middle of a very long and currently unblemished road trip. The Lakers got the win, kept pace with Cleveland. All is, big picture, reasonably well with the world. But the nagging concerns about LA's depth remain. If Farmar and Vujacic in particular don't pick things up, the Lakers are going to be working with a very short rotation come mid-April.
BK
*Question: In the history of recorded music, is there a lamer song than We Built This City? And it only gets lamer when accompanied by the video.
Pau Gasol in his post-game interview pretty much faulted the second unit for all the blown leads of late. I agree. I think that the second unit depends on Bynum or Odom to be present.
Posted by: never | March 27, 2009 at 08:33 PM
Kobe: 9 dimes in his big assist night (while he's going 5-19 from the floor)
Lebron: averaging 29-9-9 FOR THE MONTH despite only taking 15 shots a game for the last three games
If Lebron is a better scorer, rebounder, passer, defender, more reliable in the clutch, and is leading his team to a better record despite inferior teammates, then exactly why is there even an MVP discussion anymore?
Posted by: Jonathan | March 27, 2009 at 09:15 PM
I think Air Supply could give them a run for their money.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | March 27, 2009 at 09:15 PM
Kobe sprained his ankle earlier this season. But thanks to his ankle insurance, he didn't have "broke ankles". I wonder if he's still covered. Seriously though, depending on how bad the sprain is, it might affect the team's perspective on whether to continue chasing the best record or adjusting their strategy down the stretch just to make sure they remain ahead of Boston and Orlando.
The only thing I noticed from tonight's game was that LO has found his rhythm from the outside. Lord help us.
Posted by: lakers_sth | March 27, 2009 at 09:21 PM
Another great performnace by Pau. He has been by far the most consistent player on the team all year long.
Regarding Drew, his "recovery" is eerily similar to last year's "recovery." Timelines pushed further and further away. Next thing we know, he'll start practicing when the Finals roll around. He perhaps may be the slowest healer we have ever seen.
Posted by: EJK | March 27, 2009 at 09:26 PM
Yes, BK, if Farmar and Vujacic don't pick things up, we might NOT even get into finals.
Posted by: canadalakersfan | March 27, 2009 at 09:26 PM
A off night for Kobe and we still get the win, I will take the W!
A off night for the Bench Mob and we still get the win, I will take the W!
The second game of a back2back on the road and we still get the win, I will take W!
4-0 of a 7 game roadie, I will take W!
WE GOT THIS!!
GO LAKERS!!
Posted by: ChicNstu | March 27, 2009 at 09:43 PM
Nice win. Was a bit worried about Kobe's ankle but shouldn't have been I guess. Dude is not human. Sasha and Farmar, very mortal though. Combined 2 for 12? Really looking forward to Bynum's return, hopefully with the second unit. Big man stands under bucket. Gets fed the ball. Repeatedly.
BK - true words, that song is painful. The band should have retired about 10 incarnations earlier.
Oh and AK's earlier story about Simmons, Carmello and Tweed was awesome. Were they playing Bridge?
Posted by: dave m | March 27, 2009 at 09:49 PM
Go LAKERS!
Defense in atlanta.
Lets go bench mob!
Posted by: Laker Fan 24 | March 27, 2009 at 10:06 PM
We will get into the Finals.
Period.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 27, 2009 at 10:07 PM
never,
I dunno if it is just Bynum/Odom, both had Kobe and Pau started the 4th quarter with Farmar-Vujacic-Walton and they still did bad.
Farmar didn't even make a shot in the 2nd half and only 1 free throw at all and that was during a fast break. Sasha missed both 3 pointers and Luke only had 3 total attempts (and he made 2 of them).
Mbenga looked ineffective and Powell as well.
Sums it up: The whole bench stunk.
Kobe's shot was not falling even before his ankle got jammed (and he made 4 out of 5 in the 3rd quarter).
Who stepped up in crunch time and who kept the Lakers in the game?
Pau Gasol.
Again another zone just keeps making those one on one plays look terrible. Even if Pau is surrounded by zone, passing/dribble penetration will bust up those zones easily. Thank goodness for Pau.
Pau isn't as excitable as Kobe is or towering as Bynum is defensively but he is everything what the Lakers need.
Bench again stunk it up after having 2 good games. Do we need every game to have a deficit in the 4th for them to even step up?? They simply relax WAY too much when there is a lead....
That's why when we won in Chicago that while I gave them credit for pulling out that win it must be a *CONSISTENT* effort and not some one bright room in a hallway of darkened rooms.
They have a few more games come playoff time to see if that Chicago game was nothing more than a one hit wonder just as the Oklahoma game was as well but when the playoffs come they won't have as much chances because of the shortened rotation.
And the worst part: The Lakers are practically playing on a playoff rotation because of the bench's play even though it's still the regular season AND they faced a sub .500 team and the starters are playing really well as well. That just goes to show how poorly the bench is playing.
-KB Blitz
Posted by: kobeblitz | March 27, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Bk,
I agree that Lamar needs to play with the second unit, they seem to be more cohesive when he's on the floor compared when Pau is with the second unit. As for the MVP, he had another off night, a string of 5 of 6 games where he hasn't been shooting that ball well, but still the Lakers have come up with convincing victories over sub-par teams. But still Kobe gave us vintage Kobe in that 3rd quarter where he had he's on mini-run on his own (3 straight 3's from downtown) and some trash talking love from Lebron's BFF JAY-Z. Bk any update about Kobe's injury?
Posted by: jc garcia | March 27, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Oh yeah! Let's go Lakers!
I just hope that the Cavs trip sometime really soon so we could get home court advantage and I'd still pick the Laker bench over any other teams' bench line up any day.
Posted by: wow gold | March 27, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Another W on the road, I'll take it.
We keep persevering when we need to, that says something for this team. The starters are doing their job and then some. Pau was just spectacular tonight, I thought Kobe did what was necessary, even though his shot wasn't falling. 9 dimes is what I like. He hit Pau for so many great looks. I hope he continues to dish like that, even when his shot is going down. We can't lose if Kobe is distributing it like that. Pau for layups and easy jumpers is gonna make Mamba's life much easier. He must continue to work that. Pau is a great passer himself so if he can't finish, he'll get it to someone else who can.
Bench is again shaky. We got to just keep trotting them out there and hopefully they'll start being consistent. Losing these leads is giving me a bad feeling. We'll lose playoff games if we have these kind of lapses. No doubt.
Off to Atlanta. Boston handed it to them tonight without Garnett. San Antonio beat them without Duncan, we must win that game.
Posted by: mikefloss | March 27, 2009 at 10:38 PM
"(Note, Part Deux: I'd still like to see LO in with the reserves more, whether it's while Kobe is on the bench or, matchups permitting, in those rare moments where Pau catches his breath.) "
I've been saying that for some time now. Its clear that Lamar works really well with the reserves. If your going to put 4 bench players in with a starter, I think LO should be getting some PT in that line-up. He can play that up-tempo type ball that they thrive in, but keep the ball moving. Its also nice to see Pau get a little bit of a break during the game. Dude must be exhausted!
Anyway good win. 7-0! Seven and O!
LG
Posted by: LG | March 27, 2009 at 10:43 PM
"If Lebron is a better scorer, rebounder, passer, defender, more reliable in the clutch, and is leading his team to a better record despite inferior teammates, then exactly why is there even an MVP discussion anymore?"
Crabs play for MVP's.
WE PLAY FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!
Posted by: utzworld - THE BANNER HOLDER | March 27, 2009 at 11:43 PM
"Plus, Gasol helped three old ladies cross the street earlier in the day and at halftime Tweeted some notes on additional recommendations to ease the banking crisis to Secretary Geithner."
Pau is working on the banking crisis now? No wonder we're becoming more like Europe every day...
Posted by: EJK | March 27, 2009 at 11:44 PM
"With the Lakers up by 22, the Nets began to mix in some zone, and it helped them get back into the game..."
Apparently, word is getting around that the zone is the 'blueprint' for a 'Laker-stopper'...
Posted by: The Snake | March 28, 2009 at 06:12 AM
Peeps!
Why on earth does Pau play so many minutes? He's is a total stud, doing about everything out there, but didn't he play like 44 minutes? Can't they play Powell or Mbenga more in the first half? I'm just worried that Pau is going to be exhausted by the playoffs.
Also, their bench is killin me, they've got to figure out how to play basketball and preserve a lead.
On a more positive note, is it the playoffs yet? Bring on the Finals!
Posted by: Phil Is Lord of the Rings | March 28, 2009 at 07:13 AM
Nothing wrong with Air Supply or "We Built This City." Great music from great achievers in popular music. Jefferson Airplane/Starship is a landmark musical act - I'll drink to them!
Posted by: Otis | March 28, 2009 at 08:31 AM
Good Morning, Laker Nation!
It's time for...
Jon K.'s Early Thoughts That He Has Not Put Much Thought Into Yet:
1. The Lakers gave me a little scare last night when the lead fell to three points in the fourth quarter. I was staring at my computer in disbelief when it happened.
2. Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol came up big in the last few minutes. They won this game for us.
3. Kobe Bryant is a warrior. You've got to love a player who cares more about winning than pain.
4. Kobe is the best player in the NBA, but I believe the media machine is going to give the MVP to LeBron James. The only righteous justice is sweeping them 4-0 in the Finals. We play for Championships, not personal recognition.
5. I sure hope Phil Jackson coaches next year. We've got to keep this Dynasty rolling!
6. On a Clippers side note, worst year ever! But I sure do like Zach Randolph and Eric Gordon as players.
7. Everyone. Visualize Andrew Bynum back on the court, coming off the bench in two weeks. A healthy Andrew Bynum = Championship.
8. I'm still in shock that we were able to trade Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol. Pau Gasol is SO GOOD.
9. It annoys the living hell out of me that my extended family members have become Cavilliars fans after living so long in Los Angeles and NEVER really following basketball before. It drives me nuts. We better win this Championship. I repeat: We better win this Championship.
10. We are absolutely capable of going 7-0 on this road trip. Bring on the next victim.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 28, 2009 at 08:48 AM
As long as Kobe is a playmaker, this team will win alot of games. We don't need Kobe to score, except maybe in the last 6 mins of a close game. What we need from Kobe is 20 shots a game. and 6,7,9...assits per game. I will only worry about Kobe's bad shooting if he is not dropping dimes or moving the ball.
And I really don't care about the MVP. Give it to Lebron all I care, he deserves it. I mean he has the ball 90% of the time on offense. No wonder why his season stats are crazy.
All I want is a ring!!!
Posted by: wow | March 28, 2009 at 09:23 AM
Dave M,
"Oh and AK's earlier story about Simmons, Carmello and Tweed was awesome. Were they playing Bridge?"
No, but they might as well have been, given how absolutely random the night felt. I forgot to mention that the entire interview was conducted in Simmons' office, which is about half or more the size of my apartment and decorated with every single bit of Kiss paraphernalia ever made. And I literally mean, EVERY SINGLE BIT. This was the backdrop of our discussion.
Throw in Melo/Tweed's presence and the sport bringing Melo/Simmons together (race car driving), and BK and I have agreed, this is without question the most surreal assignment we've ever done.
AL
Posted by: kambrothers | March 28, 2009 at 09:23 AM
Questions?
If nearly everyone on the blog can see that the bench is more effective with Lamar, what's up with the coaching staff?
Pau is definitely a stud, but will he have any legs left for the Playoffs, logging this many minutes now?
With Josh Powell's contributions deteriorating the way they are, can giving Adam Morrison some burn time be any worse?
Most of all, when will the Lakers finally hit their stride?
Posted by: Rick Friedman | March 28, 2009 at 09:24 AM
If we're still winning games with this much stink from the bench then I have hope. It's not the way I'd like it, but it is what it is.
I'm very concerned about Drew. First they said he was on target. Then they pushed it to April. Now it's all hush hush again. Maybe he reinjured it? Very concerning.
Didn't get to see the game but glad for the W. Curious to see what Sunday holds. Kobe needs to be healthy, that's my main concern.
LET'S GO LAKERS, LET'S GO!
I LOVE LA!!!!!!!!!!
WE LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: longtimelakerlover | March 28, 2009 at 09:45 AM
The starting lineup with Trevor and LO just keeps getting better every game.
The second unit is still searching for a lineup that flows. The last good game they had was with LO on the floor, which begs the question...
Posted by: VMan | March 28, 2009 at 09:45 AM
"I'm still in shock that we were able to trade Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol. Pau Gasol is SO GOOD."
The rest of the Western Conference is still in shock, specially with the knee-jerk reactions from teams like PHX trading for Shaq or DAL trading away Harris for Kidd. Those teams will take several YEARS to recover from those knee-jerk decisions.
Posted by: The Snake | March 28, 2009 at 10:18 AM
the second unit really worries me. i think lamar odom should lead the second unit to stabilize them. vujacic and farmar are very very inconsistent. the lakers have this bad habit of losing big leads and that's worrisome. it's a good thing that there's still some time to fix the problem before the playoffs start. i can't wait for bynum to come back in 2 weeks. i think the lakers should get a better back up point guard for fisher for next season.
Posted by: matador | March 28, 2009 at 10:29 AM
It looked to me like the late Nets run, aside from terrible offense by the Lakers, was a product of Farmer and Sasha not playing very good defense. As soon as Odom and Trevor returned, the Nets struggled to score, and the lead began to increase once again.
At any time the Lakers could reassert themselves in that game, so it didn't ever seem like they could lose it to me. However, at times they play so beautifully that to see those periods of bad basketball on both ends is frustrating.
One more thing. Farmar plays with an attitude that appears to me to say that he thinks he is better than he has shown himself to be. On defense his man toasts him regularly, on offense, Fisher, who is MUCH inferior as an athlete and passer does 10 times better. The only weakness the Lakers have is defensively at the point. If Farmar can't do it, he needs to go. And they have had this weakness now for awhile.
Mark
Posted by: markythearky | March 28, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Jon K,
Your brain is in Spain...regarding how we got Gasol for Kwame...it was a lopsided trade, they got Gasol's brother (I think he scored 26 last night, good family night), Critt...a guy I never saw anything good about, but others did, they got Kwame with ..........surprise.....a pretty decent size expiring contract, what they did with it is their business....they got 2 1st round picks, where the L's finish, and who they pick is not the L's problem. they got McKie, no comment...
In hindsight, wish we could have kept Marc Gasol undercover and outof the trade, maybe they may have taken Josh Powell, or Radmanovic at that point, I didn't crunch the numbers, it probably wouldn't work....or Mihm at that point, instead of later, c'mon, I watched too many X-Files and live by the credo of "Trust No One"... The Logo did us well, and he probably did the Grizz well, should have got executive of the year, but was probably not officially still in power at that point. Marc Gasol would do well against those Blubber boys of the Celtics, although he would get the rookie calls agains him at this stage in his career. Let's get Marc Gasol back!!!!! Mbenga has his moments, he's shown why they kept him. No Sun Yue bashing, bad year, start over next year....I still think he can be an LO type of player in the future...I think he needs to get beat up or something, to light the fire under his ass....which has been to some pretty nice places.....Hopefully as PJ winds it down, he will change some of the things he does, he needs to develop players, give them time on the real floor, Look, in 5 years from now, what are we gonna have, memories of PJ, Kobe, Fish, LO, ....yes, memories of the 3 championships they are going to bring us. and the team will not bottom out after they are gone, that is not the Laker way....remember how Atlanta used to be like a car wrecking yard, and now they are competitive again. I give them credit.
Posted by: humanomaly | March 28, 2009 at 12:06 PM
I mean't it was not a lopsided trade...
Posted by: humanomaly | March 28, 2009 at 02:52 PM
humanomaly,
"Your brain is in Spain...regarding how we got Gasol for Kwame..."
Dude, have you been drinking pop-rocks and coca-cola again?
I absolutely know how we got Gasol for Kwame. Do you think I'm a moron or something?
I was writing wistfully and a statement of gratitude for the trade. That's it. I'm sure most everyone else got that.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 28, 2009 at 05:08 PM
Jonathan
All of these statistics are true even the lame misleading 3 game 15 shot stat which is not relevant in your argument. He didn't avergage 15 shots for the month, ain't no way in hell he was even close to that but you try to weasel in some weak facts. He may have avg'd 15 shots but in 1 of those 3 games he shot 17x. You tried to close your argument with a bunch of flim flam.
You and everyone else forgets(because he makes us) that Kobe Bryant STILL has an injured shooting hand. Its been over a year now that he has played with an injury that affects the most delicate part of his game. He doesnt let it be an issue even when common sense will tell you that it seriously affects his shot at the least. Any other player would have dropped off considerably because this is a serious injury to a scorer and i cant stress that enough. Yet he makes us forget about it and still plays at the highest level and is in mvp consideration. No other player is capable of that.
You can have your mvps. As long as Kobe got 1. Its a joke anyway cause Kobe should be a multiple winner. He should have 3 maybe 4 and the fact that he doesn't is an embarrassment. The best comment about this subject to me came from an old hated celtic legend Larry Bird before he won his first. "The fact that Kobe has not won it yet and doesnt have at least a couple makes me want to throw mine away because the award would be meaningless."
I may have added some words but then again I dont think so. Either way that is what Bird meant to say.
Posted by: MD | March 29, 2009 at 03:54 AM