GT: Lakers @ Mavericks (2/7/06)

I turned the game, what happened?

 

Another rough loss, but I liked some of things I saw last night from the Lakers. Those flagrant fouls were bizarre, but the refs did cost the Lakers this game. The Lakers just got off to a terrible start in the first quarter, and didn't have enough left to finish strong.

I thought a crucial coaching mistake was leaving both Cook & Kobe on the bench to start the 4th. The Mavs got momentum back near the middle of the 3rd quarter and regained an 8 point lead. I think they were on a 16-2 run and the Lakers hadn't scored in 6 minutes. Cook had the hot hand, and Kobe is the only other offensive threat for the Lakers. With both on the bench, the Mavs pushed an 8 point lead into 15 point lead early in the 4th quarter, and the Lakers continued to go scoreless for 8 mins straight. Those 8 minutes was the turning point in this game.

Here's what I did like from the Lakers last night. They played with a lot of heart and got back into the game with solid defense and crashing the boards. The Lakers need to come out with this type of energy for all 4 quarters, and not just when they are down by double digits.

Brian Cook was outstanding last night and hopefully he can start getting 15 points consistently for the Lakers. He scored a career high 28 points, but he also played some solid defense and didn't pick up silly fouls.

The Lakers also did a much better job in the turnover department. They had been getting close to 20 per game the last few games, but last night they only had 11.

I also liked the defensive rotation in this game when the Lakers made their push. The help defense was there every time the Mavs tried to get to the basket and it led to a blocked shot, steal, or a shot being altered.

I thought Kobe Bryant played a terrible game for the Lakers last night. He took a lot of bad shots towards the end of the game, and wasn't playing in the flow of the offense. I don't mind him pulling up for 3pointers when he has his jumper going, but last night his jumper was off. He needs to mix up his game and start attacking the rim more when his jumpshot isn't dropping.

I think Kobe needs to chill a little with his body language and anger towards his teammates as well. I know the losing streak doesn't sit well, but he has to learn when to coddle the player and when to rip into them. If he's constantly ripping into his teammates, eventually they are going to just tune him out. Kobe's defense was lazy last night throughout the game. He gave up that 3pointer to Stackhouse to end the 2nd quarter getting caught in no man's land. He was gambling too, much off his man and kept getting burned, or his man would put pressure on the frontline leading to easy baskets.

Devean George is another player who needs to stop settling for the 3point shot. He shot 3 straight airballs in that 8 minute drought for the Lakers. To make matters worse he complained to the refs he was fouled, while his man beat him down the court for a layup. Complaining while the ball is still in play doesn't get you anywhere in basketball. You have to complain to the refs when the ball is dead so you can get your point across without losing focus during the live action.

The Lakers need to find more PT for Devin Green at PG. He only played 8 minutes, but he really has an understanding for the Triangle and is a rock on defense. I'm curious to see what kind of production he would have if he took over Sasha's minutes and got consistent PT with the starters.

Lamar Odom looked great in the post tonight and I'm glad he sucked it up and played hurt. He was a little too, soft on defense, but overall Lamar was solid last night and did a better job as initiator. Those two games watching off watching Kobe initiate probably gave him a chance to see how to be more aggressive on offense and how to move within the Triangle.

The spacing for the Triangle is a little congested because of all the attention Kobe gets. A solid pickup for the short term would be adding a perimeter specialist to spread the defense. Sashas is supposed to play the role, but he's been terrible shooting the ball. His leg mechanics are off because he fades back or sideways, instead of jumping into the shot and following through with his stroke. It's an easy correction to make, I'm surprised the coaching staff hasn't worked on trying to fix it.

Adding a player like Rasual Butler to extend a defense would be perfect. He's shooting 43% on the season from behind the arc. The Hornets have a lot of perimeter threats. Along with Butler they have Nachbar and also Macijauskas.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NYCfinest123:</div><div class="quote_post">i saw part of the post game press conference with phil jackson and he blamed the refs for the loss of this game, and i didnt watch it but is it true??? and recently i did see some VERY VERY BAD CALLS that cost some games by the refs! some refs should be replaced</div>

The refs <u>did not</u> cost the Lakers this game. There were some bad calls, but it didn't influence the outcome at all. The two I really had problems with were the flagrant fouls called on Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum. Those two calls were overzealous by the officials and neither player was trying to injure the Maverick player.

On Kwame's foul he played the ball, and Josh Howard just took a bad fall. It was a hard foul, but not intentional. In fact, Kwame even picked Josh Howard up after the foul and Howard didn't take any exception to it.

The one on Bynum was also questionable. Jerry Stackhouse drove to the basket and Bynum played the ball, but hit Stackhouse in the head in the process. Bynum actually got the worst of the exchange because Stackhouse elbowed him in the chops on his way up. Again it was just a hard foul, but Bynum wasn't out to hurt Stack on the play.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dallasdude:</div><div class="quote_post">The flagrant fouls were questionable, but Kobe and Devean were harassing the refs all game and probably deserved techs.</div>

Yeah they deserved the techs, I'm getting a little tired of all the whining and moaning to the refs by the Laker players. It's not helping the situation at all because it's leading to layups on the other end while you are arguing. Plus it takes them right out of their game and the frustration just builds from there. The only people who should be complaining are the coaches, let them worry about the officials.

The only thing you can expect is a nice red target on your back and extra attention paid to you the next time you play defense.