Lakers lose 4th in a row to Knicks

Lamar is a moron. If he would've waited half a second more, he would've realized that Kobe had PERFECT positon on Marbury in the post, yet he turns back to his right...omg his right...why the hell would he go to his right when he's never done it before in his career. Then he does his typical dribble between the legs and shoots an airball, got to love him! Phil Jackson looked P.O.'d, and he had every right to be. Turiaf was supposed to go to the high post, yet he failed to get to his spot. Lamar and Turiaf ruined the play, yet Lamar still had a chance to get the ball to Kobe....ugh I'm so sick of him.

 

He has absolutely no confidence right now. He can rebound, but that's about it. Who cares? His rebounding can be easily replaced. We need him to distribute and score, but he isn't doing much of either.

This team relies on Kobe for everthing. They rely on him to be their MJ (score, win games), Nash (dish the ball and create), and Bowen (play spectacular D). He can't do everything, he's human and he's probably exhausted. If anybody saw his reaction after Lamar's play last night and know how to read body language, I think you know how he was feeling.

Is this loss all Lamar's fault? No, but a good portion is. I think Bynum's wearing down a little bit, the all-star break should be good for him.

I've heard some news that Kwame will be back in about two weeks, he was down at the Casino by my house this past weekend.

Luke should be back after the ASB, as well. Once this team is healthy, we should be able to handle Lamar's screw ups.

 

The recurring theme last night was high pick and roll .. Knick basket, high pick and roll .. Knick basket, high pick and roll .. Knick basket. It's unbelievable the Lakers have not figured out how to defend the high pick and roll. After the 9th or 10th time the Knicks ran the same play, doesn't it click in your head on how to defend the play?

Speaking of body language, PJax was outraged by his teams effort on the defensive end. The Lakers defense is pathetic, the Knicks were shooting over 70% from the field in the second half. That's just ridiculous.

I've been trying to give Odom the benefit of the doubt, but he was terrible last night. The bonehead play that really hurt was when he hip checked a Knick defender trying to set a pick and was whistled for the foul. Mo Evans shot was waived off and resulted in a 4 point swing. If the shot had counted the Lakers probably win this game. It was just a stupid play by Odom, Mo Evans was wide open and there was no chance the defender was going to effect his shot. Yet Odom felt it was necessary to set a moving screen and hip check the defender.

Odom gets rattled anytime he doesn't get a foul call. He spends so much energy arguing with the officials and loses focus on the court.

On offense the Lakers were fantastic last night and Odom did get it going in the 4th quarter, but our defense is nowhere near where it needs to be this deep into the season.

We just cannot stop other teams from scoring and it puts tremendous pressure on the offense to score on every possession just to keep pace.

Another player I was disgusted with was Smush Parker. He gambles consistently on the perimeter and it led to Turiaf and Bynum picking up cheap fouls, which forced them to watch from the sideline. Smush should never be on the court when the game is close and there's 4 minutes left. The Knicks kept going after Smush with Crawford and Marbury all night long without any resistance.

Very frustrating loss.

 

Kobe was bad on defense all night long, especially in the third quarter. I did like his adjustments in the 4th quarter though. He held Crawford to 1-5 shooting.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Mamba Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe was bad on defense all night long, especially in the third quarter. I did like his adjustments in the 4th quarter though. He held Crawford to 1-5 shooting.</div>

I didn't really notice any adjustments, if anything the adjustments came more from the big men, who showed on the P&R and forced the guards out wider than earlier in the game. However, Marbury and Crawford adjusted to the defense by dishing the ball off to Frye for wide open looks, or Curry for dunks.

What I noticed is Kobe and Smush were flat footed on defense. The proper defensive stance is to be on your toes so you can have lateral movement without any delay. Neither of them were moving their feet, and once Crawford or Marbury made a move, they got caught on their hip or just got burned on penetration. Lazy ass defense by both Kobe and Smush last night, and all they could try and do was reach in from behind.

Smush also takes the detour route when a pick comes. He never tries to fight through it to flatten out the ball handler, and instead runs all the way under and across. By then the ball handler can take a wide open jumpshot or another player can set the double pick on Smush and take him completely out of the play. It's like watching a WR run across the middle and get rubbed by the strong safety. Smush needs to work on using angles better and learn to slip by the screener. His fundamentals are terrible.

 

You know, this may sound like homerism or whatever, but I really can't blame Kobe for being off defensively all year long. He's added muscle, he had knee surgery, and he's exerting to much energy on offense because nobody produces consistenly. If he had some help, I really think his defense would pick up.

Anyways, I think it's time for change. We've tried this experience for 3 years now, and it's simply not working. The Lakers are a winning organization...not an organization that makes it to the playoffs as a low seed and gets ousted in the first round. Kobe's prime is here, and we need to make use of it.

 

No he couldn't. Why? David Lee knew Odom was going to dribble left, he had the step on him. That's the only thing Odom can do.

Odom had Smush in the corner, he had Evans (who was hot last night) open, and Kobe in the post...yet he dribbles left, then right and takes an 18 foot fade away jumper that doesn't even touch the rim.

Great game by the Knicks, they just shredded the Lakers in the paint. Eddy Curry is really boring to watch though...and really ugly. Bynum's just not big enough to guard him yet, really missed Kwame last night.

<div class="quote_poster">THE DREAM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Odom = inconsistent.....dude looks like an allstar sometimes but can look very scrubbish during other moments....</div>

Odom looked like an all-star when he was with the Heat. He's never looked like an all-star in the west...they're are too many dominant forwards for him to even be considered.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Mamba Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You know, this may sound like homerism or whatever, but I really can't blame Kobe for being off defensively all year long. He's added muscle, he had knee surgery, and he's exerting to much energy on offense because nobody produces consistenly. If he had some help, I really think his defense would pick up.

Anyways, I think it's time for change. We've tried this experience for 3 years now, and it's simply not working. The Lakers are a winning organization...not an organization that makes it to the playoffs as a low seed and gets ousted in the first round. Kobe's prime is here, and we need to make use of it.</div>

Just to play Devil's Advocate, if Kobe focused on locking down his man, maybe he wouldn't need to score as much?

I realize Kobe has to choose his spots because no one else is consistent on this team. Turiaf is great, but he picks up fouls in batches, so it's hard for him to stay on the court.

What's overlooked is the lack of interior defense with Kwame injured. Bynum doesn't have the defensive fundamentals down to help out on pick and rolls or to block shots by anticipating and rotating over. Bynum still has a terrible habit of reaching in, instead of going straight up with his arms. He has to understand, he has a massive wingspan, but his arms are down, he might as well be 6 feet tall. Bynum could alter a lot of shots by merely sticking his arms up.

 

<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just to play Devil's Advocate, if Kobe focused on locking down his man, maybe he wouldn't need to score as much?</div>

That may be, but I doubt it. Kobe has to score so much because he doesn't have that consistent second threat that can pour in 20 points every night. He also doesn't have that consistent third threat that can get you 12 every night. If Kobe focused more on defense, I think we'd still struggle because nobody else on the team outside of Kwame can play above average defense.

 

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