Rodgers Report: Jazz at Lakers (Game 3)

The Starting Five The usual suspects for LA, including Fisher, Kobe, Walton, Turiaf, and Kwame Brown. LA moved the ball well, found open men consistently, moved readily without the ball (!), and played with intensity, pride, and speed on D. Fisher and Kobe looked fantastic, as the duo combined for 52 points and 22 trips to the charity stripe. Walton and Turiaf combined for 20 points, 10 boards, and a surprising 8 assists (from Forwards!). In just 20 minutes, Kwame tossed up 6 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 4 blocks, and a steal compared to 3 TO.

The Pine Riders
Apparently the experience from the Phoenix game ignited LA's bench. Andrew Bynum played some of the best ball we've seen from a Center since Shaq's exodus. In 19 minutes, he finished with 15 points, 9 boards, and 2 assists. Farmar played very well also. Vlad and Evans were solid. Cook was atrocious.

What did I like? This team is feisty. LA piled up 6 blocks and 9 steals while working the ball around for 29 assists. Solid execution on offense, energy on defense, and a fantastic amount of support from everyone involved.

What did I dislike? LA gave up 109 points, which is far from good, but more concerning were 16 3pt attempts (although many were good looks, but the shots were not falling). 18 TO would be unacceptable were it not for the 29 assists.

Overall impression: LA should be 3-0, having knocked off three playoff teams. As it is, they are 2-1, have looked impressive on offense and have played hard on defense. The team should continue to mesh, a fact that excites me as the season progresses. Health is the key at this point. This unit must stay healthy and continue to build upon the early success.

trodgers wrote:Fisher and Kobe looked fantastic, as the duo combined for 52 points and 22 trips to the charity stripe.

Cook was atrocious.

thanks for this report again, always a good read that I'm sure to include in my cocktail of post-game reports. I'm curious what you thought of the unit that we put in there at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, I thought they REALLY struggled on the Offensive End until Kobe came in.

Off the top of my head I believe the unit was Mihm, Cook, Radman, Evans, and Farmar. On paper, having two great shooters a post up big a slasher and a facilitator sounds great, but Mihm's jump hooks weren't falling, Radman and Cook's shots weren't going on, and the guards were just ineffective. I hope Phil is just experimenting with lineups and won't use this one again... although I think taking out Evans for Critt and Cook for Luke would've really upgraded the lineup.

I was flipping back and forth between that game and the Cowboys at that point, but my thoughts on that unit generally are that Farmar is a solid ballhandler. Evans is spotty, Cook can't do it, and Mihm can't do it. So if Vlad is having an off night, it's a terrible group. Actually, I think it all comes down to the fact that all five of those players are Jeckyll and Hyde players. When they're on, they'd be a nice unit in terms of mobility and outside shooting, but when they're off they're going to be porous on defense, foul prone, and they'll just chuck.

Cook sucks, and if vlad is having an off night, Odom can slide to the PF, so that'll be a relief when he's back.

Punk-101 wrote:Cook sucks, and if vlad is having an off night, Odom can slide to the PF, so that'll be a relief when he's back.

Yup. I'm thinking the PF rotation will be Turiaf/Vlad once Odom returns, which will reduce Cook's minutes. I think he is better in a purely offensive role, so you have to put good players around him or his effectiveness is limited.