12/22 Lakers @ Grizzlies

[semi-sentient]

It's great to see us dominate for a full half. That first half was a complete joke, but the team recovered nicely.

Baby steps.

The defense in the 4th was pretty solid, but I think much of it had to do with the Grizzlies inexperience as well. They took some very poor shots down the stretch.

Odom looks like he might be a bit shaken by the trade rumors, which quite frankly he should be used to by now. His head is definitely not completely in the game. I liked his effort though when he wasn't snoozing. He was pretty aggressive throughout so that's a good sign.

Anyway, I'll take it.

[LLcoleJ]

re: Kobe's last dunk.The Griz were chasing him and looking to foul. In that instance then he certainly shouldnt let them in. If the Grizz were done and it was game then they should have stopped playing D ..

[Jajwanda]

You know something pretty strange I've noticed is that this spread the floor from the SF position vs. Boston is not necessarily the only way to beat them. I think a trade for Gerald Wallace is in order.

[crazyeights]

SS, this is the most aggressive I've seen Lamar take it to the hole in some time.

Kobe's dunk wasn't douchey at all. It's basketball, there's time on the clock, play it out.

We really needed this win. Vlad looked good, again. Bynum learned how to avoid ticky-tack fouls on the P&R. He still needs a Wii Fit to improve his balance (would cut down on offensive fouls and TOs)...maybe he still believes in Santa.

[DEEP3CL]

Needed this win like a thirsty man in the desert.

[Minhee]

We won and I don't know if I should be happy/relieved that they pulled it off or if I should stay angry that it took a maximum effort to pull off a comeback against Memphis. Maybe if they did this at New Orleans I would be happy, in the past few weeks we have had close or comeback wins against the likes of the Wizards, Kings at home, Knicks at home and at Memphis.

Therefore, conclusion is Not Impressed and it will remain that way until we have a real victory such as a convincing win or a victory against a quality opponent.

[Slava]

Luke Walton and Derek Fisher are so terrible on defense that its not even a question right now. We need to stop playing him for longer minutes. Screw the passing and movement on offense when he's such a major liability on the defensive end. Gay had like 6 dunks and on not one occassion was Luke even remotely close to recover and get back. For a player that lives on his smarts, he's been doubling onto Pau's man very unnecessarily. Whats the point in doubling Milicic and Marc Gasol away from the basket while leaving a wide open lane for Gay to dunk it?

Fisher is slow and everytime the opposition guard wants to take him off the dribble he falls for it. This needs to be stopped or else guys like Parker/Rondo/Paul etc are going to kill us without a contest.

[Jajwanda]

What did you think of Sasha's defense at PG?

We may by the way see Fisher on Ray Allen once again this Thursday (it helped to some degree).

[Slava]

I actually think Sasha's 1 on 1 defense is above average and he'd help reduce the differential in opposition PER if given the extended minutes at the PG spot. This might happen in the coming games, and this is the reason why I thought Farmar's injury during this stretch might be a blessing in disguise. WHat really stood out with regards to his game has been his passing and playmaking to me. He's been able to get the ball to Kobe and the bigmen consistently and effectively, which is what we really demand from our PG.

[Jajwanda]

Maybe with a little bit of luck he may eventually become what we wanted originally wanted him to be, a triangle PG.

[Slava]

That is not entirely out of the equation, considering that's his preferred position and he's cut back on his trigger happy ways to accommodate himself into that role. He's been the real bright spot to me during this tough stretch and if this part of the game continues to develop well, we might have an answer to the PG issue on our own team.

[Jajwanda]

It would seem that his length and ability to shuffle his feet as well as height give him a major advantage that he's using very well. Mike Conley is one of the fastest players I've seen in a long time yet he couldn't run by Sasha. Sasha recovers very well on screens as well.

[hermes]

yay lakers win