Dominant Kobe Bryant, Lakers Beat Back Kings 112-100

She moved to NYC.

His post work was very effective, particularly against Gasol, who did flop on that one particular play. And if that was an offensive foul on DMC, then the stuff Shaq got away with on offense back in the day would be felonies in most states. Nice to see Gasol’s understudy to master thespian Fisher is going well.

On a somewhat related side note, I always found it amusing/irritating that Divac got so much crap for flopping back in the day while nobody mentioned that the Fakers had not 1 but 2 academy award winners back in those days- fisher and horry.

move your feet man!

Obviously, there was a Lakers-centric slant to everything, but that’s understandable.

I saw the whole game (switched to ESPN after the 1st). I knew when the Cs went into overtime that they would move the game to another ESPN network, and they did.

If this doesn’t get better, it’s time for Pooh.

TWSS?

He was 3-8 from three before last night, which is good. And he killed in preseason. And he was the only King who could slow down Kobe.

PW does seem to get pretty stubborn, in both good ways and bad ways I think. Obviously JT should have been on the floor more after cleaning up on the boards during our first half run. I think Luther was left in the game far too long, especially since we couldnt score. Let Cisco or Donte get on Kobe, he was going to get cold at some point, he always does, he doesnt have a great shooting percentage. We needed buckets last nite in the fourth.

My two problems with this game are Westphal’s obsession with Carl Landry and Luther Head. These guys have played well so far this season, but I don’t know why they should get guaranteed minutes when he’ll pull Omri after a couple bad plays or won’t let Donte in the game at all.

Are you shitting me? He did this shit at Kentucky too. Not worry? Playing to his strengths is a definite problem of DeMarcus Cousins that he will have to solve in order to become an All-Star level player. He is nowhere near that point though, unfortunately.

Those were just the things that stood out to me in this game. Whether Westphal can be the coach to take us into the future is a difficult question. On the one hand this is a very young team with a lot of very raw talent. But on the other hand, in his second year at the helm I think it’s fair to expect some of last year’s lapses by our players on the court to have worked themselves out.

Disclaimer: I follow the league very closely, but I have never played organized basketball. I know very little about what plays most teams call outside of the pick and roll and stuff that’s made it into the common lexicon. That said, I often find myself asking if there’s a plan out their for our guys. The “play” usually seems to be to put the ball in Tyreke’s hand and hope for the best. I feel like the team might benefit from Westphal exerting himself a little bit more in the X’s and O’s department rather than just setting the kids loose to learn the hard way. (Again – this is what it looks like to me personally with a very limited knowledge of basketball playcalling.)

As for the positives you mention, I’m with you. But how much of that is Westphal and how much of that is Omri working his ass off over the summer? How much of that is the fact that Tyreke and Cousins are just exceptionally talented players? We knew that Omri was a hard worker and that ‘Reke and Boogie have oodles of raw talent. What I’d like to see more of is Westphal refining that talent.

I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve more time to see what he has, or that he isn’t the guy to possibly take this team deep into the playoffs. I just worry that this team may need more tangible guidance to eventually move to the next level.

It’s an interesting puzzle he’s trying to put together. I think we’d all like a much more consistent rotation than we’ve seen so far, but I think it will be a bigger issue if this is still the norm later in the season.

Agreed, lttg.

I thought the board was waaaay to easy on him, he was a new coach to our team, not a new coach to the NBA. This year, I am surprised at the sharpness in comments after only five games.

I think that we have enough talent on this team that any combination of players seems to have a good chance to score and to defend, and who gets the minutes on any particular night is probably going to come down more to who’s got the hot hand and who’s in foul trouble than by any pre-conceived combinations.

LA got a little lucky from 3-point range. Subtract 2 of those makes (still a great 43%), make 78% of our FTs (18-23, something the team should demand of itself) and you have a two point game late. A bit better shot creation/selection from our 3 point shooters or Landry not seeming to take yet another step farther out to shoot late in the game – and anything might have happened.

I don’t know what all the talk about the LA bench is, they still seem thin to me. 2-4 of the Starters now . . . .that makes up for a lot. Pau Gasol Had to play every one of those 44 minutes last night and Kobe Had to play 36+. That’s progress.

And, he’s always been a good finisher on the pick & roll. Now, it’s up to our guards to put him in position to get the shots he can make.

Yeah i knew that would get one laugh of ti at least. Reason I like starting Dalambert is the fact for early defense and to set a tone for the game defense wise, while we have plenty of offense on the floor. .Should cousin’s have some time against other starter C’s, yes, but maybe not all at once…

and he could not be more versatile. I dont care how or where he gets his minutes, I just think we need him out there 25 minutes every night.

that Westphal hates the whole “é” thing – thinks that it’s panzy. “He better lose five more pounds and that damned apostrophe thingy over his name,” the coach was heard to mutter. “I’ve got his Doratio Kane, hanging right here.”