Lot’s of work that they pay me for today, so just passing along my notes rather than organizing them into a coherent post:
• Sunday night’s game was the best the Lakers played this season, particularly in running the triangle. Look what happens when you run the offense smoothly — not only does Kobe still get his, but the front line gets involved. Chris Mihm had a very good game (the kind we saw flashes of last season and hope to see more of than that this season) and Kwame, while less so in part due to foul trouble, had some moments. That’s not to say things are perfect, still way too many turnovers, for starters (19 total, 4 from Kwame).
• I’m waiting for someone in the media to write a “Kobe Bryant is being more selfish†article because his scoring is up and he is averaging 7 more shots per 40 minutes than last season. But, the offense is giving him better looks, plus is fade away is unstoppable, and that is leading to more efficient scoring than last season. So far this season he is shooting 49.4% eFG% (up from 48.2% from last season), he is averaging 34.3 points per 40 minutes (27.1) and his true shooting percentage, which includes getting to the free throw line, is 56.5% (56.3% last season). His rebounds also are up from 5.8 per 40 last season to 6.3 so far this season.
(For those that don’t know, true shooting percentage is the same as points per shot attempt, just divided in half. While I still prefer the per shot stat, the general consensus in the hoops statistical community is that the TS% is a more understandable, digestible number and it should be the standard. So, I’m going to bend to the will of the people.)
• Lamar Odom is still not shooting the ball well for the season (40.2% and 3 of 16 from beyond the arc) but he’s getting in the flow better the last couple of games. He’s averaging 15.6 points, 5.8 assists and 2.4 turnovers per 40 minutes.
• Phil Jackson is right to be complaining about the Lakers on the offensive glass — they are rebounding 25.6% of their misses. Last season they got 29.5%, and the pace they are on this season would have had them 27th in the league.
• What’s the deal with Kobe’s tights? By all accounts it is just a way to keep his legs warmer and looser.
• In a comment, John asked what I predicted for the Laker first three games in the previous poll. I had 1-2 (picked before the first game, by the way). As was also said in the comments, I’m very happy to have been wrong. That said, if the Lakers can go 2-2 on this road trip it will be a success. They need the opening night win in Atlanta, because then they fly all night to take on Minnesota, and we’ve seen the Lakers in the second game of a back-to-back.
CTDeLude says
Another good thing about last night was the play of Smush Parker even without his scoring. I know everyone is expecting his average to go down and thus his game overall but if there is one thing a team can’t take away from you, it is your defense and Smush showed that despite a poor shooting night he still went on to deliever in areas where it counted…
That and the man can jump. That dunk from the baseline was great as I thought for sure it was going to be a layup. Instead he just kept floating up and dunked it. Very nice.
john says
phil supposedly said his goal for the road trip is 2-2 also.
i hope he’s really stressing the importance of BEATING ATLANTA. like threatening to run them all over the gym when they get back home if they don’t beat atlanta.
i also hope he’s couching his 2-2 in his ol’ zen mind games when talking to the team. like “2-2 is all i think you silly young ‘uns are capable of”.
if they can beat denver twice they can beat any of these teams. if they keep their focus locked.
Kurt says
If Smush can play like that all season I’ll be happy. Very happy.
The other reason that Smush looks good, and his +/- is so good, is that when he is not on the floor we’re left with nobody who can guard the point well. Sasha is better than he was, but still. I’m curious about him on this road trip, what will he do against Iverson as well as finally seeing him against teams with lesser players at the point.
dave says
The philly game’s going to be very interesting – a good test of our point guards. Both sasha (especially) and smush are going to get trashed by iverson if they don’t back off and give him the outside shot. They should also play some serious ball denial, and force everyone else to make plays. That’s a game where you happily let iverson go off for 48, since the rest of the team won’t crack 30. I’m more concerned about them not shutting down webber, since he’s shown some surprising scoring power so far this year.
Red 5 says
Suzy Shuster did manage to suggest
that Kobe’s attempt-to-make ratio was still high
on her NBA TV report.
Happily, Gail Goodrich countered
with praise for Kobe’s effcient and effective play.
And not only did the Lakers start closing
that back door, they came in on their own one time.
Smu-uu-sh!