So, kind of like the Lakers did tonight in beating the Clippers 87-86, I’m going to depend on Derek Fisher to bail me out. I could tell you how the Lakers were gassed. How Derrick Caracter turned his ankle and forced Pau and LO both play 40+ minutes and alternate at Center. How the Lakers played poorly for most of the night. But I’m not going to. Instead I’m just going to ask that you watch the above clip of Derek Fisher hitting the game winner over and over. Seriously, just do it. Because while there were other great plays down the stretch – Kobe’s leaning floater, two fantastic steals by Ron Artest, Eric Gordon’s drive and dish to give the Clips one last lead – in the end it was all Fisher. With one lefty scoop he turned a loss into a three game win streak and got the Lakers’ road trip started off on the right foot. It wasn’t a pretty game, but it sure was a beautiful finish.
Reign on Parades says
Winning solves everything. We would have raged long and hard had we loss. But with this win, it just reminds me of everything I love about each Laker.
Derek Fisher.
Ron’s defense came back with a force
Kobe’s killer crunch plays (the one that didn’t count almost killed me)
Lamar Odom doing whatever it takes… and making a few boneheaded plays along the way
Pau Gasol gritting it out with a bad hammy (this one is kind of a stretch)
And the Killer Bs raining 3s and playing with energy, holy crap.
Cdog says
Man, that was an ugly game. Neither team played particularly well, and just watching the camera zoom in every time on Pau, that man is gassed. Our Frontline is ridiculously thin right now, I wonder if the lakers will try and sign a body now that Caracter is out (and isn’t really that good anyways).
Raymeister says
Man, I love D-Fish. Mostly because he’s not supposed to be the star, he’s not the one who is incredibly gifted. But is he ever heady & competitive and his focus is always right where it needs to be when it’s all on the line. Bam!
Aaron says
The NBA: SIze Matters
I don’t know why people think something is wrong with Pau. He has done as much as you can ask of a PF forced to play Center and play a ton of minutes. Tonight’s game was a perfect example of a guy playing out of position, Jordan dominated Gasol in the paint and didn’t let him get a shot out of the post. Jordan is the same guy who gave up 40 points to Bynum as Drew made him look like a skinny kid out there.
Defense is a Talent
Did you see the 6-10 Lamar Odom get abused in the paint by Blake Griffin? Did you see the 6-7 Artest abuse Blake Griffin? I might get a lot of flak… and I might deserve it… but this is why when Bynum comes back and proves to be healthy I think he should be closing games over Lamar like in the first round last year. If Lamar doesn’t foul out the Lakers lose tonight’s game. Lamar isn’t a good one on one defender and that is a very big deal down the stretch of games. With Bynum, Gasol, and Artest in the front-court no team can attack the Lakers. While Gasol isn’t a good post defender at Center he is a star post and perimeter defender at PF. I am a huge fan of Lamar… but I am a bigger fan of post defense in the playoffs and during winning time.
Busboys4me says
Now that even Caracter is out can we please get another big from somewhere??!!! I’m just asking!!!
Busboys4me says
Oh yeah, Fish is kinda clutch, huh haters. He may be the worst starting point in the league (not my opinion but you know who you are), but he knows the game. I still would like to find his replacement before we actually need him. Where is Jaravis playing these days?
Busboys4me says
Sorry Javaris.
Simonoid says
Like I said in the previous thread, when Derek started trucking towards the lane at about 5 mph, I was thinking time was gonna run out with him still dribbling.
harold says
Listening to the postgame interview on AK & BK blog, and kinda surprised how often Fisher and Phil say “you know.”
Just random stuff but thought it was funny.
shannonlover12 says
Excuse me! But you’re praising the wrong dude! If it
weren’t for SHANNON BROWN IN THE THIRD, with his
magnificent 3pt shooting and his hustle that sparked
the Lakers from their embarrassing stupor, Fish’s
shots would NEVER have materialized! So PLEASE, try to give credit where credit should be due. Didn’t any
one see his incredible shot from 5pt land???!
UNBELIEVEABLE!!! GO SHANNON!!!
John Morris says
Can someone tell me how many dunks/layups the Lakers have given up in the past two games?
Road trip – Time to wake up Pau. Joaquim Noah ran circles around you last time out. Also, please, please, please let DC’s ankle be a one-night injury. I know he’s a rookie but if he’s out it would make us 2-deep in the front court.
Also, I think Blake Griffin must be pissing some people off out there on the court. First Andre Miller laid him out then Lamar fouled him hard last night. I want to see someone put Lebron’s ass on the floor when he goes to the basket. I wonder why that never happens.
Mico says
I wonder, if Jordan didn’t get that slightest of tips, there was a chance that the shot could have been too strong?
On another note,
Kobe looks frustrated that he didn’t get the last shot. Kinda reminds me of the gesture he did when Rick Fox shot a three (that went in) while Kobe was asking for the ball during one of the championship runs.
Matt R. says
We need to find some way to rest Pau or do something with him. His shooting is off and he fumbled away at least three scoring opportunities in which Kobe got him the ball in the paint – plays we’ve all just become accustomed to seeing Pau and Kobe complete.
Kobe has cleaned up his game in recent games but Pau is really struggling.
DY says
We are flirting with disaster right now with such a thin frontcourt. God forbid anything happens to Pau or Odom, we have no bigs. Maybe we can give AC Green or Robert Horry a call?
Seriously, Fisher never ceases to amaze me. He knows a lot of people say negative things about him but like a consummate professional, he goes out there and just does his thing. Awesome.
VoR says
One thing I liked about that last play was that Kobe didn’t take the last shot and the Lakers got a high percentage look (OK for a player other than Fish it was high percentage 🙂 ). Nothing against Kobe, just like to see that ball move to other players when appropriate rather than forcing Kobe into a double covered, long distance, leaning, fall away…
Aaron – Lakers need Bynum desperately. They don’t need him to be all world – just solid. Right now, I really think the only thing wrong with the Lakers is the lack of their two back up big men. Other problems will be addressed when that situation is resolved.
Craig W. says
We have some talented players, but – right now – we are not a championship caliber team.
I know, it only counts in APR, MAY, JUN, but it is worrying that we are continually having so much trouble with middle-of-the-road teams.
Sure, we have some clutch plays in our games, but we should not be fighting for the game at the end against the teams we are playing.
P.S. There was a bit of luck involved last night. I think there was .01 left on the clock when the ball finally left Fish’s fingers. That’s luck, not skill.
Anonymous says
John Morris @ 13 – “I want to see someone put Lebron’s ass on the floor when he goes to the basket. I wonder why that never happens.”
I love the idea of it, but who’s strong enough to do it?
T. Rogers says
I am trying not to overreact to all this, but I agree with Craig. Right now this is not a championship team. The good thing is the Finals are six months away.
Let’s keep some perspective with the Clippers. They have beaten the Spurs and Hornets. And they have done it very recently. They are playing some good ball right now. The Clippers are a poster child for a team that is loaded with talent and can be a tough out on any given night. Their record is very misleading. I am not surprised at all the Lakers struggled with them. The Wizards, on the other hand, was inexcusable.
We all know the impact of three straight Finals runs. It’s a lot of basketball. Throw in the Olympics and Worlds and it is a heck of a lot of basketball. I guess my point is the Lakers are looking a bit old. It really shows when they play teams like the Clippers and Thunder. Sure they are loaded with vets and won’t keep pace with those kinds of teams. Still it is surreal to actually see it playing out. I can’t remember the number of times a Lakers shot went up in the post only to see some Clipper player flying off the floor to block it. If the Clippers were a little smarter with their execution that game would have been theirs.
Believe it or not, I am still optimistic about the upcoming roadie. I think 4-2 is reachable at this point. The Bulls have Boozer back so that will be a challenge. And the Pacers come on a second night of a back to back. We’ll see.
Lastly, if anyone has any friends or family members who are 6’9” or taller they can probably score a ten day contract from the Lakers. The Lakers locker room is turning into an infirmary for big men. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to play some small ball for a few games. Heck, it may not even be a choice at this point.
exhelodrvr says
Fisher is a mediocre, at best, NBA player. But he is perfect for this roster, and he doesn’t get overwhelmed by the moment, and lose a little of his focus, like many players do.
Darius Soriano says
Not to dismiss what’s being said about how the Lakers are playing, but why wring hands right now? I’m not saying they can’t be doing things better, but this team hasn’t had it’s starting group together for one minute the entire year. They’re missing their starting Center, their 4th big, and their 5th big just went down with injury last night. They’re thin up front and the domino effect of that is real.
At times I feel like the comments act like the Lakers don’t miss Bynum or that they should be just fine without him. Well, they’ve won 16 of 22 games without him, but now we want to dissect the quality of win or harp on the things that they’re not doing well.
This isn’t to say that Bynum is a cure all. He’s obviously not. Other Lakers will have to improve facets of their game(s) and the team will need to work together on both sides of the ball to continue to improve. But when Bynum returns and this team is fully intact with some games under their belt I think we’ll see different (and better) results. Really, patience remains the key.
Phillip Barnett says
Morning Links are up:
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2010/12/09/around-the-world-wide-web-lakersclippers-reactions/
Pat B says
Mico, I also noticed Kobe’s tantrum, giving up on the play.
chearn says
First, lets give Shannon Brown his due, his 3 point shooting in the 3rd rallied the Lakers to be in the position to win the game in the 4th quarter.
Secondly, I’d like to give Matt Barnes credit for not forcing the ball to the double teamed Kobe. And instead, passing the ball to the wide opened D-Fish.
Thirdly, Kobe had his hands ready for the pass, just in case Derek passed it to him. Kobe’s hands were in the catch and shoot (sling) position. Someone said that Kobe gave up on the play. What? There were 3.1 seconds left on the game clock, if he did not receive the pass when his hands were up there was nothing left to do, but head to the locker room.
Matt Barnes inbounded the ball and sauntered onto the floor, Pau did not attempt to go for a rebound, and Artest, merely stood on the side of the basket spectating. My point, is there is no complaint about any of the actions taken by these players: So, why Kobe?
Lastly, one heck of a shot, once again by the player that should not be the Lakers starting guard. Any other guard would have forced the ball to Kobe, to afraid to take a shot even in a game in December. Ha, Fisher is still King!