A Little Taste of Playoff Ball for the Lakers
February 27, 2008
(just for you Diallo and KevDog)….
If you just look at the score of the Los Angeles Lakers-Portland Trail Blazers game last night - 96-83 - you’d think, oh the Lakes routined the Blazers.
Not true.
The Brandon Roy-less (sprained right ankle) Trail Blazers played with an urgency befitting a team in freefall in the ultra-tough Western Conference. After going 17-1 in one stretch of games, in the next 22 games the Trail Blazers went 7-15, which includes their most-recent 1-8 slide. Portland head coach Nate McMillan can’t possibly like what happening with his team lately but this type of roller-coaster ride is to be expected from his young, young team.
Portland ran out to a 15-point first quarter lead. LA responded by erasing that deficit only to see the Blazers end the first half with another run to lead 51-44. The Lakers looked a bit weary. Kobe Bryant played facilitator in the first two quarters, scoring only eight points but dishing out six dimes. His supporting cast, though, missed open shots, turned the ball over, lack offensive movement, and played lackluster defense.
According to the local Lakers commentators, at halftime Kobe lit into his teammates for their first half sleep walk. Bryant informed the Baby Lakes that Portland was playing the game like it was the playoffs and the only way to win the game was to match the Blazers’ intensity. Bryant said this is playoff basketball and this is how it’s going to be the rest of the season, so the team had better get used to it.
Los Angeles responded with 23-14 3rd quarter and a 29-18 4th quarter. Though they did not get clicking offensively until the final quarter, the Lakers defense, led by the point guard combination of Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic, shut down Blazers PGs Steve Blake, Jarrett Jack. Farmar and Vujacic consistently forced their opposing guards to begin the offense too far out on the court and a few seconds later in the shot clock. The minor boost in intensity led to rushed shots, poor shot selection, and imbalance on the boards as LaMarcus Aldridge was forced to step out for too many late in the clock jumpers from around the free throw line.
This is a sign the young Lakers do get “it.” They appear to understand that defense can carry them through shooting slumps and even aid in getting the offense easy shots that act to re-establish shooting rhythm. Bryant ended with 30 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. On a night when starting point guard Derek Fisher had an off game (0-4 shooting, two points) Farmar had a career-high 21 points on 8-10 shooting while Vujacic heated up in the 4th quarter an pitched in with 12 points and five boards.
Bryant, Farmar, and Vujacic accounted for 62 of the Lakers 96 points, 45 coming in the second half. Their play allowed Lamar Odom, who was saddled with foul trouble in the first half and who was tagged with his fourth foul early in the second half to stay in the game, get into its flow and end up dominating his position by pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
It is a very good sign for the young Lakers playoff future when their young point guards can play fearlessly enough to more than make up for Fisher’s off performance and free Bryant by keeping the floor spread out of fear of Farmar and Vujacic knocking down open jumpers.
The win was LA’s 40th an allowed them to stay atop the Western Conference overall standings.
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12 Responses to “A Little Taste of Playoff Ball for the Lakers”
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I can’t believe I find myself wondering when Sasha’s gonna get into the game. “The Machine” is unstoppable in the corner! lol
My only concern is Bynum coming back and not being a defensive force. Pau is a more polished offensive player than Young Drew, but LaMarcus was using Pau like a chew toy last night. If Bynum comes back at full strength? I’m not gonna say it’s a wrap, because this team hasn’t proven anything yet. But it’s gonna be AWFULLY tough to out them.
Sasha has far exceeded my expectations of him. The man is just lights out on the floor these days.
Pau is horrible on defense. He’s softer than toilet paper.
That’s the only concern I have about the Lakers, everything else is straight. If Bynum comes back fairly strong, the Lakers are better than every team in the West when playing at their peak.
Period.
But, like Diallo said, if Bynum isn’t playing well Gasol is the weak link on defense.
You can get away with one week link defensively on the interior, but never two. I guess that is my way of agreeing with others that Bynum must come back as that defensive stopper if the Lakers are going to take the trophy…
True big man pau is soft on defense. One time he even mentioned in the news papers in Memphis that the grizzles needed a big man beside him to play defense and rebound.
The people on the the sports radio station said isn’t that what Pau is being paid to do………..LOL!!!
Anyway after watching pargo eat the paper champ nash alive last night. I almost died laughing. Its like the suns are playing worse defese as the season goes on.
If they don’t make the finals this year they need to take nashes last 2 MVP trophies away.
Him, Dirk and david Robinson are the worse MVPs I have ever seen.
David Robinson-wow. Didn’t the Dream turn him into a string puppet in the playoffs that year or am I “misremebering” things?
Not at all brotha AWB. I lost respect for Robinson after Malone threw that elbow and knocked him out the playoffs. Robinson said nothing after that. He was straight punked.
Same with Hakeem killing him.
Speaking of big men I lost respect for. I had made respect for yao. Until he let okur and kirilenko (sp?) punk him in last years playoffs. I mean okur was throwing him down and blocking his shots. All Yao would do is make silly faces and cry to the refs.
Man your @ss is 7′5″ he needed to be pimp slapping Okur and kirilenko cry baby @ss.
I think you’re being a little hard on Robinson. He had some dominant performances. Ain’t no shame in getting handled by an angry Dream.
I mean, it was the Dream, you could make the argument that at his prime he was the best center of all time. He didn’t have best total overall career, but at his best, he was better than anybody else in my mind. But, I’m a fan.
I hear you big man……….but what about that busta Robinson being treated like a punk by Karl malone in the 1994 NBA playoffs. That was the playoff round when Karl knocked Robinson out with an elbow.
I remember that. The Mailman was always a little to free with the elbows and feet if I remember correctly. Tried to take out Isiah Thomas and Dirk Nowitzki also. Remember the slow-mo shots of Dirks tooth flying across the court? Only difference is that he came back to play. Again bear with me because my memory is failing, but didn’t Rodman kind of (wink, wink, nudge nudge) imply that the reason the Spurs would never win was because of the “softness” of the locker room, i.e. Robinson?
Oh and you do have a point: The Dream was unstoppable in the playoffs that year.
Yeap Rodman did say that. Your memory is pretty darn good awb.
And the mailman busted up zeke because when they played the pistons in detroit zeke dropped 40 + on stockton and the Jazz.
So when they played them in Utah Malone came across zekes head with his elbow. I think zeke had 20 stitches put in his eyebrow. Also Zeke still came back.