GAME 60 vs the Lakers, Preview & Game Thread

You wont see ANY all-stars or big time players get frozen out (allow themselves to be frozen out) in the manner in which he has ALL season long

Thats what frustrates me!

What I saw was a team that got frustrated and started trying to do it all with one person. There was no reason to jack up off balance fade aways. If you drive to the hoop and they double you down low, somebody is open outside. The Lakers do not have the personnel to shut down Ron and K-Mart if the team is willing to pass off the double.  

• He got the ball at the top of the key and dribbled into traffic and got stripped as Fisher passed to Kobe for the uncontested breakaway dunk that capped the 14-0 Lakers run and made it 107-100.
  
• He passed the ball in the sequence that led to Udrih passing to Artest back to Udrih for the 3 pointer that made it 107-103.
  
• He got the ball on the left side with the score 109-103 and acted like it was a hot potato, getting it out of his hands quickly to Mikki. Mikki was smart and gave it right back (two touches on one possession). Martin drove and missed the layup, but Mikki cleaned up the garbage and it was 109-105 with 1:33 to play.
  
• With 40-45 seconds left and the Kings down 113-105, Martin came behind a posting Miller from the left side, got the ball but stumbled near the free throw line. He nearly fell down and coughed it up. He recovered and passed the ball to Artest, who missed a three with 35 seconds left. Gasol would make two free throws with 23 seconds left to make it 115-105.

You could certainly make the case he should have gotten more touches. You can also make the point that he could have done more with the touches he did get.

On the other end during the same sequence, he fouled Kobe with 4:06 left, and Kobe converted the two free throws that gave the Lakers the 101-100 lead. Then with 3:35 left, Kobe turned Martin's world upside down with the great 360 spin layup in transition that made it 103-100. He didn't guard Kobe after that.

I'm not blaming Kevin for losing the game by any stretch. He had some opportunities to make a difference, though, but clearly not enough with five touches on the Kings' last 14 possessions. You could blame Artest, Udrih and Miller as well. The Kings as a team did not step up and execute well, and Kobe and the Lakers did.

You can argue why Martin was on the bench until the 6:02 mark, but my guess is that Theus was trying to keep him fresh for the final run, similar to what Phil Jackson was doing with Kobe around the same time. The Kings were up 100-93 when he re-entered, so it wasn't a terrible strategy. The players who replaced him (Salmons, Garcia) are better defenders, and the Kings were doing an OK job of scoring without him.

You could also argue that the set the Kings have used successfully at times, with Martin and Artest on the same side, high-low, could have worked, but that would have put Kobe on the same side and allowed him to guard both players at times.

There was one moment when Martin was trolling the baseline and was open under the basket for a moment, but he stopped there and Udrih may not have thought he could thread the needle. There was another sequence where Martin came around Brad and Brad did not get him the ball.

I have seen a lot of times this season when Brad and Udrih did not reward Martin with the ball when he worked hard to get it, and I think they should.

Re: Artest's shots, I agree with Section's comments that Ron only took one bad shot, a 22-footer early in the clock with 3:22 left and the Lakers up 103-100.

I'd be happy to share what happened on those 14 possessions as well as what the Lakers did with theirs when I get a little more time so you can view the situation with a little more perspective.