We lost the game due to one play: and its this play: Kobe had the ball for the Laker's last possession of the game. He and Gasol did a pick and roll. Meanwhile Steve Blake was in the corner and Aaron Brooks was meant to be guarding him. Aaron Brooks just stood there in the middle of nowhere while Steve Blake quickly sneaked up to the top of the arc and drilled the wide-open game winning 3. Freckin' Aaron Brooks was caught ball watching doing jack shi!t standing next to the paint guarding no one. And Aaron Brooks could have easily passed the last second shot to a wide-open Scola for the game winner. Instead he went up in a bunch of forest trees and tried to do a weird looking layup that had 0 chance of going in. Freckin' Aaron Brooks.
Why does Yao's minutes have to be in a 6 minute stint? Mix up his minutes in the 2nd half. For instance 3 min in the begining of the 4th and 3 at the end. Or you could slice it in a bunch of different ways, just so long as Yao is in late in close games.
Amen, they gave so many phantom calls to the Lakers, I thought it was 2002 and we were Sacremento in game 6. And that BULL**** Technical foul call on Martin as he was walking away....after he got all ball on Kobe. Pathetic. DD
The first stint was almost 8 minutes, the 2nd one I believe was 4. I dont think any of them were 6 minutes
AWFUL call... I saw much worse from Gasol and Artest as far as "complaining" about a call. Not saying that Gasol or Artest warranted a tech, but if you call one on Martin for FU**ING RAISING HIS ARMS IN THE AIR you have to call them on their protesting.
Even Reggie was saying Martin was walking away and that wasn't worthy of a tech Was waiting for the refs to give Odom, Barnes, etc techs for reacting to calls.. *sigh* oh well, the missed layups and the consecutive Shannon Brown 3's killed us as well Hopefully bounce back tonight in GS
There was a play at the end, one where Scola was shooting FTs that Pau was very upset and looked like he was yelling and pouting, but no cal, just pathetic
This loss is entirely on Phil jaxxson. Why didn't he keep Artest and Fisher in the game more towards the end. I hate it even more when guys like blake and brown are drilling daggers. I would have been ok if that had been Kobe draining those threes. It was also good to see that the refs were in midseason form with their 'there is no such thing as superstar calls' in this league approach. In all, It was a hard fought game with many mistakes that can be corrected. Turnovers derailed the efforts of the reds. I, like many, want to see Hill reinforce the Frontline a little more often. He brings energy,size and is quick enough to keep up with Gasol. Kevin Martin in the third quarter looked like he never played against the Lakers before. He allowed things to get in his head and drifted away from team play. And with this new calling technicals for things like Martin's mannerisms..then I'm assuming Kobe will get around 2,000 Technicals this season. Something tells me that won't happen.
Some of you guys need to chill. First game of many, and we played good enough to stick with the Lakers until the last seconds? That's pretty damn good in my opinion. We just had stupid turnovers and some stupid plays. But we are a young team, you only learn from experience. I'm loving this team, let's get GS tonight!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy with the team. I thought that we looked really good, albeit out of synch. One posession Brad Miller would thread the needle with an excellent pass, the next he would bounce it off of a Laker. Issues like that are fixed with familiarity. Scola will start to score more efficiently, Chase will continue to grow, and Lowry's return can only help. Don't get it twisted: THIS TEAM IS GOOD. The refs? Not so much. That's my beef.
Too much talk about the call against Martin for complaining. It's true that Odom, and Pau did much worse and were let off the hook for it, but that's not really why we lost. Brooks had a great game. He would have had double digit assists if Yao and Scola made a couple of easy lay ups that Brooks set them up for with nice passes. Overall Brooks looks to be a competent passer, and improved in running the offense. Brooks' defense also looks improved. Scola in addition to missing some point blank - 7 ft shots out there, lost Odom twice on the defensive end. We also had over 20 turn overs and that killed us. We can't do that against a team like the Lakers and expect to win. Martin got out of his game in the 3rd quarter, but overall had a great grame. He and Brooks are what made it so close. We had a chance, and overall I think our defense is much improved, so I'm pleased about that. It should be a great year.
We did not play our best last night. With that said we played well enough to beat over 95% of the league. Sadly the the Lakers fell in the 5% tonight. My biggest concern is our issue guarding elite 2 guards and above average 3 guards at the same time. I don't know what the staff was thinking putting Martin on Kobe to start the game. I am of the school of thought that you let Artest get what he wants and let Martin play him the best he can. Shane should not have been on Artest in the first half, Martin got in foul trouble that effected his ability to play crucial 3rd quarter minutes When our lead was getting slashed. Because of the Bad matchup on Martin he only got 29 minutes I know he is efficient but a extra 5 minutes of time would have made up the points we lost by. Thank God for Back to back games to wash away the taste of loss from your mouth.
I thought about that last night while I was watching. What reassured me though? There are very few elite 2 guards in the league. We'll be fine.
I know Scola had a good game, but I have put the blame on him for that "L" ~ way too many shots missed in the paint
Look at the end of the day if we had Kyle Lowry we win by 15+...... AB got tired, and we needed Lowry's energy off the bench..... And it is clear that Rick does not trust Ish enough to give AB a rest.... I just hope AB can play well tonight after going for 40+ minutes last night. DD
When will Adelman play Hill? Scola was out of gas after a summer of pro ball. Does somebody have to shoot Scola in the leg for him to get a chance?
