Stray Bullets: Lakers vs. Dallas 2/24
by wondahbap on Feb 25, 2010 11:02 AM PST
in Editorial
104 comments
- Forget the box score. Last night was one of those games that a peek at the numbers will tell you absolutely nothing about how the game actually played out. At least, not completely. The box score will tell you that Dirk and Jason Terry had great games. That's true. It will tell you Kobe had an off night. Kind of true. It might tell you that Andrew Bynum and Pau were shooting decently and deserved more shots over Kobe. That would be completely untrue. Pau and 'Drew struggled. Why? Brendan Haywood was the real star last night.
- Brendan Haywood troubled our big guys most of the night. He was fighting for rebounds. Fighting for position. Finger-tipping rebounds away from Pau and Andrew. He even scored some. He played well. Everyone will obviously look at Caron as the big catch in the trade, but it's Haywood that provides the biggest piece to the puzzle against the Lakers. He was able to bother our bigs without help from Erick Dampier, whom was out injured. That should not happen.
- Bynum is a Black Hole.
- Again, Bynum is killing the offense. He started out 4-4 FGA in the 1st Q. Yay. That's always good and bad. It was good, because the Lakers jumped out to a lead. It's bad because it only encourages to show his "Black Hole" tendencies. I mean, he isn't even thinking about passing. He wants to get the ball, hold it for a few years, face up, then force shots over a guy just as big as him and a help defender. What's worse is the other team knows he isn't passing. That takes away cuts and allowed Dallas' defense to get ready to rebound. When he wasn't forcing terrible shots, he was traveling or getting called for offensive fouls.
- The bulk of Andrew Bynum's Deep Space Nine play came in the 4th Q. That's when Dallas applied the most pressure knowing the Lakers might get a little gassed due to the fact that LA was playing the 2nd game of a back-to-back roadie.
- Everyone is paying attention to how the Lakers look once Kobe returned, but the change started with Drew's first game back vs. the Celtics.
The Celtics play good defense, so it's not really a game you can gauge. Then Kobe returned, so all eyes focus on him. But it's Bynum affecting the offense. We will not get better offensively with Bynum. So, he has to make his defense and rebounding stand out. That's his real value. He rebounded well last night, but gave quite a few possessions back. - But....I actually tweeted that I hoped Andrew Bynum got into foul trouble in the 3rd Q. So he could sit on the bench and LO could bring fluidity.
- The defense was active last night. But like Coach Wooden said,"Don't mistake activity for achievement."
It's great to see the defense rotating and helping out. Although, it's not so great when helping out means leaving Jason Kidd and Jason Terry wide open to kill you from deep. This happened often, as evidenced by Jet's 30 and Kidd's four treys.
I don't know why the Lakers felt the need to help so much. It's not like they were getting killed in the post. The Mavs back court can shoot. Last time I checked, 3 > 2. - Last night was one of those games that people label Pau a wimp. He just looked passive. Haywood's activity seemed to bother Pau big time. He didn't rebound well, he juggled a few of them he should have had. Dropped passed he should have caught. He didn't make Dallas pay when they doubled Kobe with the ball. Usually Kobe will lure them out, then swing it to Pau, then Pau will make the right pass or score. He couldn't take full advantage last night. His reaction and willingness seemed slow.
- Dallas had too many 2nd chance opportunities. Not all of those 2nd chance points were Pau's or Drew's fault. There had to be 4-5 rebounds that magically ended up in a Dallas guard's hand. Almost all of those rebounds ended in a momentum swinging bucket.
- The Lakers didn't lose this game because Kobe was 9-23 FGA. It's too easy to just look at shot attempts and to think Kobe was trying to take over and was off. Yes, he started out missing - he was 0-5 in the 1st Q - but he finished up 9-18 after that. Including going 7-11 in the 2nd and 3rd Q's. Those 1st quarter misses weren't the isolation pull-up 20 ft. variety either. Except for one 18 footer, they were all within 14 feet. The kind of shots we typically makes with ease. The type of shot he was nailing in his stay in the post earlier in the season and Tuesday night against the Grizz. He was adamant about driving to the hole or getting a shot in the paint. Not settling for jumpers. Dallas couldn't stop Kobe from getting the shot he wanted to take. This is the Kobe I prefer. Except for the 1st Q, he was pretty good last night.
- When Jason Terry is going off, Dallas gives the Lakers real trouble. Dirk they can survive. It's a lot tougher when Jet having a great game. It will be especially harder in the future if the Lakers can't ignore Dallas' post players like in the past.
- The defense on Dirk was decent. LO contested fairly well, but hey, Dirk's a great player. Mark Jackson would tell you that great offense is just better than good defense. We should know. We watch Kobe night in and out.
- Fisher. 3-13 FGA. Why he's taking 13 shots is beyond me. Unless he starts out like 5-7, I don't get it. When he's bricking, it just tells the defense to clamp down and harass the bigs.
- Maybe lethargy played a role, but those excuses should only be used by young or bad teams. The Lakers are neither.
- Ron converted at least 3-4 lay-ups. The Lakers can't waste nights when he's actually making bunnies. He should have shot more. He only had one shot attempt in the 2nd Half (a 3 pt. miss in the 4th). He was 5-7 before that, and Dallas couldn't handle him inside.
- I thought the Lakers semi-2nd Unit, with LO, Pau, Ron, Shannon and Fish pushed the tempo well. They ran on just about every rebound and kept the Mavs on their heels. The pace favored the Lakers, but maybe it took some steam out of them towards the end. The Lakers didn't fight through the fatigue hard enough.
- LO has been hitting some timely 3's lately. He was also aggressively taking it to the basket. He was the best Laker on the floor last night. We all know he can be up and down. I just hope that this good run lasts (at least through the Denver game.)
- Just time to suck it up and make Philly pay, then get ready for the Nuggets. It's a huge game. Anyone who might tell you it's just another game, or regurgitate cliches about it being just another regular season game, doesn't understand momentum or "swagger" (sorry, best word). There's a vast difference between feeling you can beat a team and knowing you can beat a team. LA learned those lessons last year en route to the 'Chip. Now? Teams are gunning hard for the Lakers. They need to show the rest of the NBA that it ain't happening. Maintain that edge. We've only seen the true potential of this team in spurts. It's time to start putting this thing together.
3 recs |
104 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Cruise Control
Two things killed the Lakers last night: 1. Kobe shooting cold on open shots (these were open misses and not because of Stevenson or Marion). And there were a couple of shots where it looked like Kobe barely jumped when shooting, he had that much of a cushion and was just off early on.
2. The Mavs were dialed in last night and Terry’s play made the difference. Dirk is tough to put a stop on, Odom tried, but Dirk’s fall away shots are nearly impossible to guard.
The funny thing is that the Lakers are still 2nd in DIFF and have a solid hold on the West despite Phil playing mad scientist with the offense.
In a series if the Lakers defense holds, especially in transition, the Mavs will make it interesting, but still lose. They need someone like Jason Terry to step up every game in tandem with Dirk and it doesn’t happen frequently enough.
OH MY... What a post
You must have played ball, because I am gushing at the pure SPOT ON-NESS of this article. You just made my day, good sir. I mean, you pointed out positives and negatives, without emotion, and often times it included the way to fix the problem. You never made it sound like the season was over because of one loss on a back to back, but you included important points that highlighted the sluggishness that might be attributed to the back to back. Great, Great, article.
great article!
I don’t really feel bad for last night’s loss. It’s a close game regardless of lakers being not good last night. Do you think the lakers’ offense flow will be a lot better come playoff time? TBJ said the offense flow should be a lot better at this time of the season. how it is compare to last year cuz this is the first regular season game I watch?
"These young guys are playing checkers. I'm out there playing chess."
-Kobe
Great post
I didn’t think Haywood was as big a factor as you do. It looked like the help defense on Drew, especially when the guards dropped down on him, was the biggest factor. Especially as Dallas isn’t a very physical team at all. That being said, maybe he is the piece they need to tie up our size down low. Pretty sad if that’s the truth, as Haywood shouldn’t be giving us such trouble.
Also, we were giving up “tip” balls and regular rebounds to everybody, even when Haywood wasn’t in there. I mean, even Barea had two rebounds, one of them offensive, in the like 4 or 5 minutes he played. I think he’s an actual Leprechaun. Also, Najera? Didn’t he implode like 5 years ago?
Your post is very good and spot on about everything.
Dallas played physical last night. Very physical.
They may not be physical but last night they put their best foot forward in attempting to be. If you have to, re-watch that fourth quarter and look at their style of play. Dallas played the most physical brand of ball they were capable of.
if Dallas is bullying them that much
then thats a pretty bad sign
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 4:06 PM PST up reply actions
if just being active
throws them off that much then thats a VERY bad sign
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 5:02 PM PST up reply actions
I understand, really
But if Dallas plays “physical” and that gives us fits, then, well we’re really in a bind. I mean, we’re not going to get out of the West, let alone to the finals.
We were very lax and didn’t play like we should have, that’s for sure. Too many good open looks for their shooters, too many offensive rebounds allowed.
actually, it depends on the officiating and the lakers response to it
some nights they may respond well, some nights they may not. some nights the refs are more excited with their whistles, and other nights they swallow it
Great post, all excellent points!
We were better last year at attacking mismatches on the floor. This game illustrated our inability to do that: Gasol vs. Najera, Artest vs. anybody.
It really bugged me to see us run a stagnant offense for 18 seconds then flip it to Kobe 30feet from the basket and pray he saved the possession…
UCLA economist Matthew Kahn picks up on a neat little story about Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s use of psychology in his NBA locker rooms. Ever the behavioralist, Jackson fined his players tiny amounts – $10 and $20 – for being late to games by a few minutes.
Jackson has found that players are more grudging about having to pull cash out of their own pocket on the spot, than having a larger fine deducted from a paycheck, as is the usual practice.
"There is no substitute for hustle and if you don't hustle there will be a substitute." -Tex Winter
He wants to get the ball, hold it for a few years, face up, then force shots over a guy just as big as him and a help defender.
I agree so much. Whats worse is he does it while getting triple teamed and results in (as you said) a missed shot or a turnover.
"There is no substitute for hustle and if you don't hustle there will be a substitute." -Tex Winter
Right.
What team decides to send 3 guys to a player unless they know the player will not make them pay for leaving 2 guys?
Drew has to recognize this, not only for the team’s sake, but for his. He’ll score much easier.
http://twitter.com/wondahbap
Hope the Celdicks win
I wont say that much.
lemme correct myself
hope the Cavs lose.
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 4:07 PM PST up reply actions
kinda is
when your used to calling them that everywhere else
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 5:03 PM PST up reply actions
Animated Version of This Topic
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6178177/
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gil Meriken on Feb 25, 2010 5:40 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
im afraid to click on that
my computer has enought spyware…
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 5:55 PM PST up reply actions
Must give credit to Slamonline
The Links led me to that site.
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
HAHA
hod’s you do that??? Please tell me!!! I’ll be your friend….
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 6:00 PM PST up reply actions
nevermind its pretty easy
thanks for hooking me up with this site haha
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 6:02 PM PST up reply actions
dam
this is freakin awesome. I just added it as a short cut to my desktop because this is freakin cool. Great! another thing on the internet to go crazy over..
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 7:51 PM PST up reply actions
Porn is what took place in Boston tonight
What we did to the Celtics in the 4th quarter is illegal in 39 states.
Yeah, I’m gloating right now. I can’t help it. We haven’t won in Boston since January 2007.
gloat away sonny
thats how we felt when we won at Boston last yr
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 7:54 PM PST up reply actions
Agreed.
Nothing worse then when someone write Fakers, F*kers, or whatever juvenile name people come up with.
Very surprised when a respected blog does it too. Not going to name names…..
http://twitter.com/wondahbap
its their way of making fun of the name i guess
its pretty lame and Im not sayin that cuz im a laker fan. Its just straight up lame.
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 6:33 PM PST up reply actions
lets stay consistent with this
even though none of us like the celtics
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
People that do that are saying “lakers” is a swear word, its meant to be an insult but it’s just childish. I hate when people mock Lebron and the Cavs with lame made up names so i never do it to others. I think it says more about the person using it than the person/team they’re trying to insult.
by CavsLebronFan on Feb 25, 2010 9:10 PM PST up reply actions
there goes Chuck
with his weekly rant on how the Cavs “need to speed up the tempo and stop having Lebron go 1 on 5.”
I love it when Chuck
goes on and on about “how he’s been saying…” like it was a novel idea. Like no one else has thought it, said it, nor written it.
http://twitter.com/wondahbap
i love it when he
always flip flops on what teams are better than others, like how he said the Cavs werent even a contendor early in the season and then 2 months later he decides they are the team to beat in the league (even before they got Antawn)
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 5:14 PM PST up reply actions
i swear, he makes Norm nixon look like a fantastic analyst
hmmm, maybe I shouldnt go that far…
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 5:15 PM PST up reply actions
I love it when Charles goes on a rant
and it is so obvious that he hates todays youth in the NBA. We all remember the look on his face during the Lakers ring ceremony… hater!
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 7:53 PM PST up reply actions
What does he have against the Lakers?
I wouldn’t think he would have any real connection to that team.
he prolly still mad about shaq kicking his ass
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 7:55 PM PST up reply actions
back in the 99-00 season
hold on, i’ll hook you up with the vid
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 7:57 PM PST up reply actions
if he would have connected Charles would of went flying...
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 8:00 PM PST up reply actions
shit, if he woulda connected with brad miller
he woulda went straight into the casket
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 8:02 PM PST up reply actions
lmao
he would have been arrested for murder.. Shaq can’t really fight.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 8:03 PM PST up reply actions
i know he cant
i still wouldnt want to fight him though
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 8:04 PM PST up reply actions
no one would...
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 8:05 PM PST up reply actions
wait..Shaqfor3 will find it.. lol
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 7:58 PM PST up reply actions
It's kobe he doesn't like.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 7:57 PM PST up reply actions
damn ya'll are like fucking unbeatable now
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 7:49 PM PST up reply actions
This has to be our best win of the season
Even better than winning in LA. This time we had to rally from a 13 point deficit and cool off a Celtics team shooting over 70% and 100% from beyond 3 point land.
they didnt have pierce
but i still think the celtics arent a contendor even wit him. Ya’ll are like a lock for the O’Brian man
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 7:51 PM PST up reply actions
Significant right thumb sprain for Shaq, will not return.
"There is no substitute for hustle and if you don't hustle there will be a substitute." -Tex Winter
It was a tight game throughout
Mavs just hit big shots down the stretch and the Lakers didn’t quite match them. Simple as that. Butler didn’t play, Stevenson was as ineffective as we all know he is, and Haywood played all right, I guess
haywood punked every one of our bigs
cept for LO who was the only person who showed up yesterday.
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 7:57 PM PST up reply actions
did you know that there is another fan with a similar pick and name
it’s like tidal….something. I thought it was you posting here. He might be a cavs fan to.. What’s up with the Ocean theme?
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 8:00 PM PST up reply actions
they dream they had an ocean in cleveland?
lol i dunno
by desecrator09 on Feb 25, 2010 8:01 PM PST up reply actions
no seriously there is a bizarro..WaveOcean out there...dam it now it's going to bug me that I can't remember...
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 8:02 PM PST up reply actions
WAVENSTEIN?
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Doesn't ring a bell
Never heard of him. None of regulars at Fear The Sword have that name that I know of.
I think he said he was from Portland or somewhere close to the West Coast
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 8:05 PM PST up reply actions
Question: Regarding Fisher, I can see how old age can effect a players physical abilities but how does
getting old effect someone’s shot when you are wide open at least 50% of the time? That baffles me. I guarantee you if Larry Bird at his current age was as wide open as Fisher is he would hit a better % than what Fisher is hitting now..
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 8:10 PM PST reply actions
Intangibles never get old!
Twitter feed: @dexterfishmore
by DexterFishmore on Feb 25, 2010 8:23 PM PST up reply actions
Fisher is Mr. Intangible
but what about his shot and consistency.? I really am curious if this has more to do with a mental issue..similar to what golfers go through… just a thought.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Feb 25, 2010 9:04 PM PST up reply actions
boooooooooooring
done with work and etc…nothing else to do
oh well, guess i’ll just watch this for the 15 billionth time
it never gets old: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUwDIn7TL_Y
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
After rexamining the stats
We had 6 turnovers in the last quarter?
No wonder we lost. Haywood, Dirk, Terry? Not our worst adversaries last night.
Who was?
Ourselves.
Celtics got outscored 32-60 in the 2nd half
pretty much the story of the year for them
huge collapses offensively in the 2nd half…
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
actually the collapsed in the second half against us too.....
We just collapsed right back
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
*they
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
