Preseason Game Thread: Utah Jazz @ LA Lakers

Koby is supposed to be a 3pt shooter yet he hasnt made one yet. Mihm doesn't look too bad out there. Lamar isn't doing anything with 2nd unit out there. It's kinda annoying to watch..

Jazz up 84-76.

 

We look sloppy out there. It's just preseason so I'm not gonna put much weight into this, but we need to tighten up when the season starts. Although I question if the guys even care about this game. The starters didn't look like they gave a crap. Kobe looks like he wants to go home. lol. Lamar looks like he has better things to do...

 

We lost 99-90.

Turnovers need to be cleaned up. Some guys don't look conditioned enough. Alot of the guys don't look like they care out there and the worst one is Lamar. He took I think 2 or 3 shots...and he was out there with the THIRD unit...please.

Be a man.

 

Bynum: 17pts 8rbs.

Played a good game, doesn't look conditioned, but that is easy to fix.

 

lol

Like I said, most of the guys didn't even look like they wanted to be there. Hopefully we'll see more effort out there next game. I wanna see how well this team can perform at full strength. Grrrr....

 

Bynum - came off the bench. his footwork was really off. On more than a couple of occasions, he pivoted into awkward setups. I'm hoping some work with Kareem will get that back on track. From personal experience, I've gone long stretches without playing basketball, and I've always noticed that timing and footwork are the things that are always off when you first get back on court, so hopefully this (the footwork thing) is a temporary thing with Bynum. His touch around the rim seems to have improved, he hit a 15 foot jumper from the foul line that hit the front of the rim and rolled in. He also took a wild fadeway that airballed, so there are pros and cons to improved range for a guy like Bynum. Defense was still less than what you hope for, slow on rotating (he admitted to this after the game) and lots of reaching. Overal, a decent showing, but definitely needs a lot of work to get back into last season form.

Kobe - jumper was off, but kobe is kobe. Had a few steals, had a sick help block after Haslip got by Bynum.

Odom - most (if not all) of his shots were jumpers. In typical LO style, had 1 shot attempt until the 4th quarter. Interestingly enough, he got a lot of burn with the backup unit. They were saying they wanted him to defend different players on each posession to see how he could do. he did decently on defense, got boards, but had some dumb TOs. Typical LO style

Ariza - improved mid range shot. His form looks a lot better. Last year, his form was good, but he arched his back and kicked his legs out, shooting a slight fade away even though he was wide open. I didn't see that today. He had a good look at a 3 ball and missed pretty badly, but his mid range shots looked good. Moved well without the ball as well.

Radmanovic - the guy i was MOST impressed with. His shot was pure, but that wasn't what caught my attention. It was his hustle on defense! Radman played defense! I couldn't believe it either, but i watched him the entire time he was on the floor, and he gave more effort than I have seen him since ...ever. Even Stu made a comment about his defense. He caused a couple of TOs, and looked good all around. He is definitely the darkhorse to start at SF, and really, it makes sense to start him if you intend to start Gasol and Bynum together IMO.

Mihm - looked solid offensively, hit a jumper. Picked up fouls .. If he stays healthy though, it looks like he will be a contributer, and Mbenga (who looked awful) can be let go.

Powell - Looked good and hustled. Looked like Ronny with the hair and the #21 jersey. Not quite as thick as Ronny, not as athletic as Ronny, but he looks like he's got a better stroke, and is at least an equal rebounder, if not better since he doesn't go for the block all the time. He needs to stay within himself though, took some questionable shots even though he's got a good shot.

Farmar - looked very athletic, shot the ball from deep well. Was sloppy at times, and defense was still weak. At the end of the game, there was a 2 on 2 fast break, and he basically got out of the dribblers way - hopefully that's only because it was preseason defense because that was horrible defense. Still, his athleticism and shooting will help carry that bench.

Gasol - played briefly, took a few shots, I dont think he touched anything but net on all of them. Looked very sharp

Fish - Fish was hitting open shots, you pretty much know what you're going to get with him

The scrubs - Karl was active and looked like he was the only scrub who knew what to do, but he still didn't look so good. Missed some shots and couldn't really get into the lane, even when it seemed to open up. Brandon Heath (SD St product) looked like absolute garbage other than that sweet assist on the break to Crawford. He's not going to make the team. He missed a wide open 17 footer, and missed his foul shots, one of which he missed horribly. Not what you expect from a guard. Crawford didn't do anything except finish that dish from Heath. Giles was the most intriguing of the scrubs. He looks really fast and athletic for his size, although he was weak on the block. Plus he looks every bit as raw as Mbenga. He took a wild shot that missed bad, and he missed a lob at the end, but he runs the floor like a gazelle and looked pretty decent.

 

Welcome back nmg! Great analysis as well. Although Bynum did look a bit sluggish out there, I am pleased. He had 15 points and 8 boards in 24 minutes of play. That is light years ahead of what he was last year at this point. And good point about timing and footwork. Like I've said in the gamethread, you could tell Bynum was a bit off, he isn't in basketball condition yet, which is understandable for someone taking 9 months off of competitive play. All in all, the only player I'm disappointed in was Lamar Odom. I know most of the starters didn't really give a damn, but come on Lamar, you have to do better than that.

Also, are you serious about Vlad? I wasn't focusing on the game because I was doing homework, but I didn't come away overly impressed by him. Still looked the same to me...

 

yeah i'm serious about Vlad, he actually played D. i dont know if you recall, but he forced a guy into a turnover on the sideline in the backcourt just by harassing him. When was the last time you saw Vlad pressing in the backcourt? Call me crazy, and maybe this was an anomaly of a game for him, but he gave defensive effort.

It wasn't on accident either. This is from yesterday:

http://www.pe.com/sports/basketball/lakers/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_web_lakers_07.20baed2.html

 

Yay! Someone besides Brian to talk Lakers with!

 

I didn't fill the profanity queue. Sorry I didn't live up to standards

 

God I hope Vlad can have that defensive focus the entire season...

I'm so happy the guy even gives a damn since not too much is expected from him.

 

Lamar was simply a disappointment tonight. He doesn't look like he cares, and that is not good to have around a championship contender.

 

Nobody is going to derail us this season either way.

 

I don't expect that to happen either, but Lamar needs to get his mind right.

 

That is great news. If he can be a defender+shooter it would be great for the team.

 

Go Vlad. I watched half of the game. Odom looks like he doesn't want to be there.