Los Angeles Lakers @ Atlanta Hawks Game Thread #48

That Nicka · Post #221 » by **That Nicka** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 7:13 am

semi-sentient wrote:

LOL as frustrating as it may be, surely you didnt expect us to win out now that we have Pau... everything will be fine it just takes time.... I dunno if any of you guys noticed this but, to me in the first half, it seemed like Phil was rotating guys in and out a lot trying to see who worked well next to Pau.. I could be wrong though.....

This seemed like an experimentation game... Maybe our coaching staff felt we could test things out and still cruise past the Hawks... It didnt work out, but its still just one game

Post #222 » by **milesfides** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 8:01 am

I do believe that was in another thread, but you liked that didn't you sir

a lot of my jokes go unnoticed, which is unfortunate, because they are hilarious

That Nicka · Post #223 » by **That Nicka** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 8:21 am

milesfides wrote:I do believe that was in another thread, but you liked that didn't you sir

a lot of my jokes go unnoticed, which is unfortunate, because they are hilarious

not to toot your own horn or anything

Post #224 » by **Slava** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 9:02 am

Credit to the Hawks, they played a 48 min game and we just happened to turn our focus off as soon as we had a considerable lead. They have an imposing frontline full of strong rebounders and shot blockers and we need a Kwame/Bynum like presence in the middle to counter that and box out on defensive possessions.

Kobe isn't playing freely and that didn't help much toward the crunch and a really bad mistake by Sasha at the crunch to take the ball inside, reminiscent of Odom's mistake against the Kings a couple of seasons ago.

We should have just put the ball in Kobe/Fish's hands and let Sasha, Farmar or Radman to stay on the perimeter to catch and shoot on that possession. We also made a bigger mistake the previous possession by choosing to inbound the ball at the baseline. Phil just needs to draw better plays and the players need to execute better in such games because late in the playoffs, every other game can be this close.

Post #225 » by **semi-sentient** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 9:19 am

That Nicka wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

LOL as frustrating as it may be, surely you didnt expect us to win out now that we have Pau... everything will be fine it just takes time.... I dunno if any of you guys noticed this but, to me in the first half, it seemed like Phil was rotating guys in and out a lot trying to see who worked well next to Pau.. I could be wrong though.....

This seemed like an experimentation game... Maybe our coaching staff felt we could test things out and still cruise past the Hawks... It didnt work out, but its still just one game

Awesome. I had a long ass post that pretty much broke down my thoughts on the game, but thanks to Internet Explorer {EDIT} and crashing just before subittal, I pretty much lost everything I wrote.

Kiss my ass Microsoft.

To summarize what I pretty much wrote... I missed the 1st half because I was in a conference in Vegas. Upon snapping to the fact that I was on West coast time, I promply stopped asking stupid questions in the conference (I was just killing time, really) so that I could bail and find the nearest sports bar in Planet Hollywood that was showing the game (none were... I had to beg some hot ass waitress to change it to the Lakers/Hawks game midway through the 3rd -- I enjoyed begging). What I saw was the typical game plan... our starters finishing off the 3rd, with Phil going with the reserves to start the 4th. While the reserves were shakey, they at least managed to keep us ahead by 8 points. That all changed, of course, when the starters came back in and went cold as ice, allowing the Hawks to come back and take the lead. During that time, Kobe, Gasol, and someone else (don't recall) all managed to shoot airballs. Airballs. Airballs? Airballs. Gay.

We should have won this game. We completely choked, and Kobe led the way, despite the choking of others.

IonSen88 · Post #226 » by **IonSen88** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 10:37 am

EiRON wrote:Lakers by 20

IonSen88 · Post #227 » by **IonSen88** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 10:41 am

gsuteke wrote:Joe Johnson has been playing poorly as of late. He's not going to kill the Lakers tonight.

Well, he did.

Wally Cleaver · Post #228 » by **Wally Cleaver** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 2:19 pm

IonSen88 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

You fixed our little red wagons, IonSen88.

Post #229 » by **snaquille oatmeal** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 2:49 pm

milesfides wrote:Well, it's an overreaction when people say Kobe sucks or whatever. But a bad game is a bad game, and it was a bad game tonight.

His shot didn't even bother me that much. He didn't force many shots, took a reasonable number, shot it in rhythm. He took good shots, they just didn't go down for him, most likely because of that dislocated finger on his shooting hand.

Even that last turnover at the end didn't bothered me, because it was very uncharacteristic; i can't remember the last time he made such a mistake at an important time. He did lose control of the ball with his right hand, so maybe that had something to do with it, but then again, he did have 10 assists and zero turnovers until that moment. So, no excuses. But I doubt that happens again.

What bothered me was his lack of rebounding this game when we needed somebody who could help out on boards. One rebound? Finger or not, that's inexcusable. Kobe usually figures out what his team needs and provides it, and the arrival of Pau seems to have convinced Kobe he can take it easy.

Stop messing around, that's all. I could care less what his shooting percentage is, just get over the trade already and start playing ball.

Will Kobe refocus and get his game in order? Of course. In a hurry, no doubt.

But it doesn't mean we can't be disappointed right now. Like Tesla said, no need to overreact, but a bad game is a bad game. And it comes rarely enough so that we can make a big deal about it.

I am as biggest fan of Miles' writting prowess as the next guy, but I got to disagree with him here. I think you are over reacting a bit here miles. Kobe had a great game, the problem was his shooting and not going to the basket which can be both atributed to his pinky injury. "but it is only his pinky" , well it doesn't do you much good when you can't get a firm grip on the ball and it doesn't make you confortable to slam your hand on the rim. yes, Kobe should not have been playing because he was a liabilty on the offensive end, but with that said the rest of his game was well.... Kobe like.

That Nicka · Post #230 » by **That Nicka** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 4:09 pm

IonSen88 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

IonSen88 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Well, he did.

21-24 in the East....

Congratulations...

Tommy Trojan · Post #231 » by **Tommy Trojan** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 4:20 pm

Man I wish Kwame was here so he can point the finger at someone for the loss.

Kobe_for_3 · Post #232 » by **Kobe_for_3** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 5:59 pm

Well i just hope we bounce back and have a strong game on friday. It would be nice to beat the magic, and finish the road trip.

hermes · Post #233 » by **hermes** » Thu Feb 7, 2008 6:33 pm

Big_Bad_LA wrote:Man I wish Kwame was here so he can point the finger at someone for the loss.

Post #234 » by **milesfides** » Fri Feb 8, 2008 4:14 am

snaquille oatmeal wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

I am as biggest fan of Miles' writting prowess as the next guy, but I got to disagree with him here. I think you are over reacting a bit here miles. Kobe had a great game, the problem was his shooting and not going to the basket which can be both atributed to his pinky injury. "but it is only his pinky" , well it doesn't do you much good when you can't get a firm grip on the ball and it doesn't make you confortable to slam your hand on the rim. yes, Kobe should not have been playing because he was a liabilty on the offensive end, but with that said the rest of his game was well.... Kobe like.

Maybe I am overreacting, but one of the things that make Kobe unique is his recognition of team needs and ability to compensate.

1 rebound, in a game when Al Horford was pounding the glass like it was St. Paddy's Day. That's inexcusable. Any other player, whatever, but to me, 1 rebound is a lack of effort.

I just felt Kobe was cruising in too many aspects of his game, inlcuding defense - he should've shut Joe Johnson down early in the game.

Kobe's not like Vince, T-Mac, or Lebron. He plays through pain, through injuries, and he plays well.

Maybe I am going overboard and am overcritical, but it's only because I expect him to play at a top level in all circumstances, no excuses, because that's what he does.

And Kobe did have a nice drive to the basket late in the game. He should've attacked more, but he played like a scaredy cat. He's just too good to let a bad pinky bother him. I remember he played with a glove on like Michael Jackson, and he played well.

It was obvious that he played soft, because he didn't get to the line the past two games. Yes, I'm sure it's excruciating when it gets hit, thank you everybody for your personal anecdotes about the stinky fingers, but come on, this is Kobe. Pain is his middle motherforsaking name.

Spanish_Laker · Post #235 » by **Spanish_Laker** » Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:00 pm

No Orlando game thread?

Griever24 · Post #236 » by **Griever24** » Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:25 pm

Spanish_Laker wrote:No Orlando game thread?

Post #237 » by **snaquille oatmeal** » Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:34 pm

Spanish_Laker wrote:No Orlando game thread?

SashAlex · Post #238 » by **SashAlex** » Fri Feb 8, 2008 2:56 pm

Yeah ! Who has to make it ? 8'reverse !