<div align="center"> <font color=""mediumturquoise"">The New Orleans Hornets (23-22)</font> vs. <font color="purple">The Los Angeles Lakers (24-22)</font> Saturday, February 4th, 2006 Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 5:00 Pacific; Local </div> [div=50%] <font size="3">Projected Starters</font> <div align="center"><font color="mediumturquoise"> <font size="1">(C. Paul, K. Snyder, D. Mason, D. West, P. Brown)</font></font></div> <font size="1">Leading Scorer: David West - 17.0 Leading Rebounder: David West - 8.0 Assist Man: Chris Paul - 7.5 The Bench Man: Speedy Claxton (12.4 PPG, 3.00 RPG, 4.5 APG)</font> <font size="3">Backcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/chris_paul.jpg[/imgl]<font color="mediumturquoise">Brevin Knight</font> PPG: 16.5, RPG: 5.6, APG: 7.5 New Orleans savior is having a remarkable rookie season. He should be considerd for the all star game. The kid is going to be a phenominal leader in a couple of years. This franchise is certainly heading in the right direction with him. Tonight, he'll have to do his thing against Smush Parker. He should be able to get some easy points, so look for him to go above his average. On defense, he is a decent defender. He needs to take Smush out of the game though, he needs to play hard-nosed because Smush could end up being the Lakers second option. Look for 19 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds.</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/kirk_snyder.jpg[/imgl]<font color="mediumturquoise">Kirk Snyder</font> PPG: 6.8, RPG: 2.5, APG: 1.3 The next lucky contestant, Kirk Snyder! He gets the task of trying to control Kobe. It's like a gamshow, everyone tries, very little pass. Snyder isn't an amazing player, but he's a good role player. There is no doubt though that Kbe can own this kid if he wants to, and after two tough losses in games which we should've won, expect Kobe to take it to this kid tonight. The Hornets will want to send a double, possibly a triple team at Kobe in this one, if not, everyone tivo this game.</font> <font size="3">Frontcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/desmond_mason.jpg[/imgl]<font color="mediumturquoise">Desmond Mason</font> PPG: 10.1, RPG: 4.00, APG: 0.9 Desmond Mason is the perfect role player. He'll do anything you ask him to. He puts up respectable numbers, as well. Tonight should be no different. He doesn't have to worry about stopping the Lakers' primary ball handler, becuase Lamar Odom is out. Tonight, Desmond Mason could have a big game. Devean George isn't the best defender, and Mason is a threat on offense at any time, no matter what his ppg look like. He should get some easy buckets that he has to convert to help his team inch even closer to passing the Lakers for the 7th spot.</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/david_west.jpg[/imgl]<font color="mediumturquoise">David West</font> PPG: 17.0, RPG: 8.0, BPG: .791 The pleasant surprise, David West has been nothing short of the league's Most Improved Player. Tonight should be no different. Kwame Brown's defense has been horrible as of late, so West should take advantage of that. If West can get out and get some fouls on Kwame, his defender would be Brian Cook. As you can see, West has the chance at a possible career game tonight. Look for him to take it to the Lakers early, and if he establishes a nice touch, look for him to take it to the Lakers often.</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/pj_brown.jpg[/imgl]<font color="mediumturquoise">PJ Brown</font> PPG: 9.3, RPG: 7.7, BPG: .72 PJ Brown has been a fan favorite for many years. He's been a favorite of a lot of Laker fans for awhile. How can you not love a guy who works his ass off every night? He's an incredible hustler and is putting up very respectable numbers. He could be a source of offense tonight because he's bigger physically than Chris Mihm. The Hornets should look to establish him, alongside David West, to give them a double threat from the post in this game. On defense, look for Brown to control the paint. He won't let anything easy get by him, even if it means giving a hard foul to a driving Laker.</font> [/div] <font size="3">Projected Starters</font> <div align="center"><font color="purple"> <font size="1">(S. Parker, K. Bryant, D. George, K. Brown, C. Mihm) </font></font></div> <font size="1">Leading Scorer: Kobe Bryant - 35.7 PPG Leading Rebounder: Lamar Odom - 9.4 RPG Assist Man: Lamar Odom - 5.3 APG The Bench Man: Brian Cook (6.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.8 APG)</font> <font size="3">Backcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/smush_parker.jpg[/imgl]<font color="purple">Smush Parker</font> PPG: 11.7, RPG: 3.1, APG: 3.0 Smush took on Lamar's offensive load last night against the Bobcats, unfortunatly it wasn't enough. Lucky for him, he has the task of guarding the young phenom Chris Paul. Smush needs to bring that same offensive threat to tonight's game, but he also has to step up his defense. It'll be pivotal for the Lakers if he can bring an all around threat. If he doesn't, look for Kobe Bryant to shoulder 100% of the load tonight, something that Smush seems to get jealous of when they interview him.</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/kobe_bryant.jpg[/imgl]<font color="purple">Kobe Bryant</font> PPG: 35.7, RPG: 5.6, APG: 4.3 Last night he had an overall, very good game. 35 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. If the Lakers were hitting their shots, he would've had something like 8 assists. Bryant is pissed, everyone who knows anything about basketball would know that after two straight losses in which the Lakers should've won, he's going to be out for not blood, a massacre. Look for him to take it to the whole early, establish his jumper, and let things role from there. I can't find one reason in which Bryant shouldn't take over. He tried playing a team game last night, and the Lakers lost to the lousy Bobcats, who before that game, lost 13 in a row. If you want to be critical of Kobe, go ahead, but he needs to do whatever he can to get the Lakers a victory, which means taking this game over early. </font> <font size="3">Frontcourt</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/devean_george.jpg[/imgl]<font color="purple">Devean George</font> PPG: 6.2, RPG: 3.8, APG: 1.0 George has been involved in trade rumors, something he should be used to. He knows the triangle better than anyone else on this team not named Kobe Bryant. He should look to be effective in that offensive scheme tonight. Do I expect huge numbers? No, because if Kobe takes over, there won't be room for him. But George needs to stay out of foul trouble, because we need him tonight. Lamar is gone, and behind him comes Luke Walton, who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat in the middle of the god damn Pacific Ocean.</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/kwame_brown.jpg[/imgl]<font color="purple">Kwame Brown</font> - PPG: 5.9, RPG: 5.9, BPG: .64 Haha, Kwame Brown. All the talent in the world, and the mental capactiy of a god damn 2nd grader. He'll have his hands full tonight with David West, and that scares me. If I see Kwame clap his hands one more time after a stupid play, I swear to God I'm going to personally write him and emotionally break him down. Can we atleast get good defense tonight out of him? That's all we need. Defense and rebounding, I'm not even worried about getting points from him, because it's virtually impossible.</font> <font size="1">[imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/chris_mihm.jpg[/imgl]<font color="purple">Chris Mihm</font> PPG: 10.6, RPG: 6.8, BPG: 1.2 The teams second best player, and outside of Kobe, their most consistent player needs to step it up tonight. He has a good defender against him tonight, but that shouldn't scare him. If he's established early in this game, he could be a threat all night. He just needs to stay away from the tick tack fouls, take good shots and grab rebounds for the Lakers chances of winning this game to increase. </font> <font size="3">Keys to the Game</font><ul>[*]<font color="mediumturquoise">Establish the Bigmen</font> - Tonight, if the Hornets can get their bigs rolling, it should be clear sailing for them. David West and PJ Brown have to go beyond their calls of duty for the Hornets tonight.[*]<font color="mediumturquoise">Chris Paul</font> - Another Hornet who needs to go beyond his call of duty tonight. Honestly, Chris Paul is capable of putting up a triple double tonight, but don't expect it. Do expect anywhere from 19-23 points, 9-12 assists, and 6-10 rebounds. Chris will take it to Smush tonight, but he has to be efficient and effective about it.[*]<font color="mediumturquoise">Attack the Basket</font> - If the Hornets can attack the Lakers bigmen and get Mihm in foul trouble, there is no offensive threat the Hornets have to worry about in the post. Also, if they can get those fouls on Mihm early, his game will be effective beause he won't be able to establish a groove.[*]<font color="purple">Smush</font> - He'll be the ball man tonight, he needs to look for Kobe moving off of the ball, freeing himself up for some open shots. On offense, he'll have to be aggressive with Paul. Take it to him, drive the lane, get to the foul line.[*]<font color="purple">Control the Tempo</font> - The Lakers need to make this a half court game instantly. They can't be sucked into an uptempo game, or they will diminish their chances of winning even more.[*]<font color="purple">Kobe, Kobe, Kobe</font> - Only 18 shots last game? Lakers lost. Yeah, that's why he shoots upwards of 30 shots a game sometimes. Don't expect him to take 18 again, he'll find a way to get his points. Whether it be jumpers, driving, or from the free throw line. Kobe's going to have to win this game all by himself, unless someone on the Lakers goes above their norm.[/list]<font size="3">Prediction</font> If Laker fans thought Kobe would impose his will last game, they were wrong. He was passive because he saw constent double teams, that won't stop him in this won. If the Lakers want to win, they will let Kobe do his thing. They need to free him up though, with picks. I don't feel warm and fuzzy about this game, or this road trip, but the Lakers need to come out and play hard. No matter how ugly this game could turn out to be. Lakers: 94, Hornets: 93..[/COLOR]
Excellent review. I agree with you. Lakers have cost me some $$$ past two games. I'm thinking 200 bucks moneyline tonight since they're dogs =) Kobe only shooting 18 shots yesterday drives me nuts. No one else on this team can do jack sh!t.
The Bobcats had the formula to beat the Lakers last night, which was limiting Kobe's shot attempts. Kobe was just taking what the defense gave him, and his teammates failed time and time again from the wide open looks he created for them. The Hornets will do the exact same thing tonight, which is going to result in one of two things. 1) Kobe's teammates step up and make those open looks 2) Kobe snaps and just starts forcing shots against double and triple teams because he's tired of losing The Hornets have been hot the last few games and Chris Paul is going to be a match up nightmare. The Lakers playoff chances are in serious jeopardy if they lose again tonight.
Andrew Bynum is playing great right now for the Lakers and is creating a lot of second chance baskets leading to 3pointers. Kobe was doing it all on offense early on, but the supporting cast is stepping up and the Lakers are only down by 3 now. Defense has really stepped up as well.
Damn it! PJax calls a timeout takes out Bynum and the Hornets go on an 11-0 run. Down by 15 now, why the hell do you take Bynum out when he's doing a great job on the rebounds for you?
We have to rebound from the last two games. I can see a Kobe explosion tonight, hopefully 50 something. GO LAKERS
Chris Paul is amazing, he's carving up Smush something nasty. I didn't expect the Lakers to win tonight, but I wanted to at least some hustle from the guys getting the extra minutes.
Kobe just picked up his 5th foul, put a fork in us. I say just put in Von Wafer since we need some offense to get back in this game.
Blown out for the third straight game. Mitch look at this hack group you put together. Mitchell J. Kupchak better officially be on the hot seat after this embarrassment.
Post game quotes ... PJ Brown <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Added Hornets center P.J. Brown: "I think that's key when you're going against an offensive juggernaut like Kobe Bryant. I think those guys don't like to play 'D. You've got to put pressure on them on the other end. I thought that's what he did early, and it meant a lot.</div> Kobe Bryant <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">We have all the excuses in the world: We're young, a couple guys down, etc., etc. We've just got to man up and be ready to play," Bryant said.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">After facing double- and triple-teams much of the game, Bryant -- who averaged 43.4 points in January -- was asked if he needed to learn to deal with the matchups better. "Basically, to say yeah would be saying that I need to get 45 points to win a game," he responded. "Do you know what I'm saying? Is that what we need to win ballgames? I think we need to execute. We need to execute our offense. We're not doing a good job of that. Once we do that, we'll be all right."</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"We just have to do a better job of spacing the court, making them play everybody as a threat," Bryant said. "Then it makes a lot harder for them to run off and double team."</div>
I just saw the highlights on NBA.com, and it wasn't pretty... Desmond Mason jumped over Von Wafer, VC style! Embarrassing as a Laker fan, but still hella awesome.
Phil really does need to give Bynum PT. I'm suprised the zen has missed this opportunity on various occasions.
