10 assists is great but... 10-33 FG shooting? 33 attempts is that really team ball? Maybe it's one of those games you just had to see to understand... Anyways looking at the box score I can honestly say he was the only inefficient scorer for the Lakers. Everybody else was like 50%-FG give or take. The Lakers could've/should've won this game. They were my favorites to win it.
I got word that the Suns fans were booing extremely loud when Kobe got the ball...and being that he was having an off night in the first half of the game (as far as shooting goes), his shots may have been affected by it. He should've stopped shooting at 5 missed attempts, really. Kobe believes, much like every shooter, that you should shoot yourself out of a slump...but sometimes, it's a bad idea. However, Kobe's shooting in the first half wasn't that big of a deal...but his shooting in the final minutes did lose the game for us in the long run. I'm actually not as disappointed as some others are. I see games like these as a learning experience. We are young and experimenting with team basketball...something the Lakers haven't played since 1996 really (it's always been Shaq and Kobe, building leads or huge runs to catch up). Good game by both teams. No Vlade, no Mihm, no Jumaine Jones, and no Devean George...so I'm ready for us to kick out the injury bug and re-start the engines really soon.
I'm not disappointed it was a good game. My heart was going crazy I had to turn the TV of a couple of times. But 10-33 come on a bit extreme. I couldn't watch the whole SCSReport, watching the fight stuff, but they were trying to interview Rudy and he said no comment, he look mad, did any one watch it. Recap please.
Yeah it was pretty rediculous. They have many recaps, clips and stuff in the Pacers, Pistons and NBA threads. You should take a look!
Anyways,the Suns played a great game against the Lakers.The Suns really have a great team this year.it's possible that we will see the Lakers,Suns and Kings fight it out for the best of the NBA West.
Despite the loss, this was a well played game by both teams. A lot of up and down action and some big plays by the stars of the Lakers & Suns. The play of our second unit in the second quarter lost this game for us. After the Laker starters took a 12 point lead after the first quarter, the Suns went on a 19-4 run and got back in the game. Another killer was Kobe's decision to shoot a three pointer on the Lakers final possession. He should have went for the quick two, putting the Lakers down by one and then putting pressure on the Suns to make two free throws. I trust Kobe in those spots, but he should have played the percentages, especially on the road. Also taking 10 three pointers for the night is not beneficial to the Lakers at all. He played a nice overall game, but this was the only game he took more three pointers than foul shots. The Lakers also could have used Mihm or Divac in this game. Amare had no competition inside and he dominated the middle down the stretch. Surprisingly the Lakers actually outrebounded the Suns, but at the end they had too many second chance shots and open looks inside. Tough loss, but at least we showed we can compete with a top notch Western team, and I'm glad we didn't get blown out in this one.
Lakers losing leads in games is definitely some concern. Suns outscored the Lakers in the second quarter to get back in the game, but it was a road game and have to expect these kind of runs. As Rudy T said the positive thing is to have a lead in the game. Once bench is healthy and deep, we wont see any more second quarter blowouts. Amare was a monster in the paint. Nash is certainly making him play better than ever before. Wonder how Nowitzki's game would've been without Nash.
I'll just take shapecity's analysis since I didn't watch the game, but very disappointing. Unfortunate that we can build an early lead in the first quarter, but our second unit can just screw it up for all of us. Just devastating. Is Divac finally back from his injury? If so, he can really help out in the low post offensively, and really raise the bar on our assist totals throughout the Laker season. However, what I'm still worried about is if you cross out the Rockets game without Tracy McGrady, the Lakers are still winless against top Western Conference foes, and to me, that's still a concern that I'm worried about.
Rudy T needs to change the way hes coaching he has to approach the game in a different perspective he shouldn put the 2nd unit in so quick let the starters play it out till half time.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheNextJordan8:</div><div class="quote_post">Rudy T needs to change the way hes coaching he has to approach the game in a different perspective he shouldn put the 2nd unit in so quick let the starters play it out till half time.</div> Good point. Last night he left Kobe on the floor without any support from Odom or Butler. They were also missing Mihm for the game and without another offensive threat the Suns took full advantage and Rudy T didn't make any adjustments to counter the Suns 19-4 run. He also does a bad job of benching 'hot' players. Last night Odom started off on fire and he should have been left on the court, but instead he got benched. For now the Lakers need to have a two player combination of Kobe-Odom-Butler on the court at all times. Unless they have the game put away or someone is in foul trouble, they need to have some combo on the court together. They just don't have the depth to compete with other teams. I'd like to see them take a big lead into the fourth quarter of games, and then rest the starters. Right now they take leads and they rest the starters to early allowing teams to get back into games and then putting pressure on their starters to come off the bench and get hot again. Terrible strategy.
We need some bodies in the middle or the Lakers will continue to struggle in these situations. Amare really lit us up.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting trenchteam:</div><div class="quote_post">We need some bodies in the middle or the Lakers will continue to struggle in these situations. Amare really lit us up.</div> Well...we didn't have Mihm or Divac in the game. Once Divac comes in and gets centers in foul trouble, I'll be happy.
Most discouraging thing was the Lakers playing way over their heads offensively from the perimeter, yet still losing. You can't count on Cook, Atkins, Odom, and Butler all to be clicking from the outside, game in and game out; but even on a night when they did, they still couldn't pull out a 'W'. This team cannot get a stop down the stretch to save its life, unless they've entered the 4th with a 15 pt. lead and have allowed it down to 3. Rudy is really starting to concern me for a few reasons: 1) Leaving Kobe in the game for the entire second half (as he did tonight and in the last game) when he's obviously hurt is not constructive. You can't coach every game like it's the 7th game of the finals. Specifically, in the game against the Clippers, he should've been out by about the 3 min. mark of the fourth. 2) Rudy is certainly not the first coach to lack severely for a regular rotation, but he's taking it to dizzying new heights. Sometimes he rides the hot hand, sometimes he yanks the hot hand, sometimes he's too slow to re-insert the hot hand. When Odom nearly has a 2/2 by the end of the first, and he basically isn't heard from again until the fourth quarter; when Brian Grant is defending Amare superbly to open the game and basically gives way after that for a defenseless B. Cook because Cook is hitting from the perimeter; when Tierre Brown is making a developmental leaguer of himself on both ends of the floor at the expense of Chucky Atkins? who is playing well offensively and staying within himself, Rudy is essentially whipping up a recipe for inconsistency, and desperate spells in crunch time. He needs to substitute at fairly regular intervals, and more importantly, put players in a position to pick up where they left off (if they were playing well when they subbed out). This especially applies to Mihm and Odom, but generally speaks also to Butler, Chucky, and Grant. 3) Inexplicably running a 2-3 for an extended period of time when you're not getting killed in penetration, you're not getting eaten up in the post (Slava notwithstanding), and are severely inept on your own boards is is a real head scratcher. If you're gonna run that damn zone, for goodness's sake, have the guts to run it down the stretch when you're getting killed by that Nash/Amare pick and roll. If you're not going to go zone inside the last couple minutes, then you absolutely have to make offense/defense subs. After Cook hit that three to put them up 97-96 with 1 1/2 mins. left, Grant should've been in the game at 5 until the next stoppage with the Lakers in possession of the ball. I think with Mihm this game would've much more closely resembled the preseason matchup, insofar as Mihm's swatting and P&R defense would have made a monumental difference tonight. It's also hard to overstate the importance of Jumaine Jones's energy, rebounding, off ball movement, and ability to knock down shots off the bench. Oh, and up until the middle of the third, that looked to be the most meaningless triple/double of all time
^ I don't care about the triple double, that doesn't mean anything. Kobe could get a (or close to a) triple double everynight. I don't know why he doesn't. I just want him to boost up that field goal percentage, keep the assist high, and STAY agressive.... After missing Kobe's first three or four shots, he should have quit shooting. He could drive to the basket and hand out passes to wide open dunks/lay ups, or kick it out for a jumper to guys that are hot. (This works effectively, especially for Kobe, because he draws a lot of guys towards him. Therefore, leaving others wide open.) There is so much Kobe could do... so much.. and he chooses to take 33 shots when he can't make any. But its just one game. I won't stress it too much, or at least i'll try not to. I believe he'll do better next game. Edit: Concerning Coach Rudy T., I completely agree. He's left me puzzled many times this season.
habe you guys noticed that in most games we have like a 15 point lead then it gets cut down ad then they end up loosing, whats up with that? its really enoying me
