Turiaf Dominates As Lakers Demolish Mavs

Ronny Turiaf’s game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds paved the way for the Lakers as they crushed the Dallas Mavericks, 118-89 Saturday afternoon.

Arguably the most popular Laker at the Summer Pro League, Turiaf has consistently left it all on the floor for his squad, constantly being the focal point of crowd reaction.

The Lakers gained leverage during a high-octane 28-14 second quarter, going into halftime with a commanding 53-33 lead.

By the end of the contest, the Lakers broke away to push the margin to 29, their greatest lead of the game.

The Team

It was a complete reversal from last night’s letdown against Memphis, as the Lakers played as a cohesive unit.

Very few times were there selfish plays and/or forced shots. The majority of the time, the Laker players were looking as to how they could help their teammates. 22 assists in this game against the Mavs, as opposed to just 12 against Memphis.

The shot selection noticeably improved from the Lakers’ opener, as often the game became a dunk-fest. They created easy opportunities for each other by moving the ball toward the basket. The ball movement was outstanding in this respect and led to the Lakers shooting a ridiculous 59% for the game. This teamwork carried on to the other end of the floor as well.

The defense was usually on point with the Lakers. The rotational defense was smooth, holding the Mavericks to just 7 assists for the entire game. The Lakers forced the Mavericks into 20 turnovers, often trapping penetration in the lane and forcefully stripping their opponents of the ball.

The Lakers matched the Mavs in total rebounds at 44, but it was the weakest component of their team game. They allowed 18 offensive rebounds and were inconsistent in their aggressiveness on the boards. Not to throw all the blame on one player, but this is partially due to Andrew Bynum’s learning curve with discovering how to effectively box out in the NBA. Bynum would only grab two rebounds the entire game, although the proved to be effective in other areas.

The Players

Ronny Turiaf
As noted before, Turiaf had a dominant game, acting as a “garbage man,� cleaning up loose balls and turning them into scoring opportunities with his aggressiveness.

After a debut full of forced shots, Turiaf made a conscious effort to seek better scoring opportunites for himself, often finding himself on the receiving end of drive and dish plays from the Laker back court. His work in the paint was much more effective tonight, as his post moves were well-calculated. A prime example of this was Turiaf using his upper body power to simply demolish his defender, knocking him to the floor, as he threw down a thunderous two-hand dunk over his man’s seemingly lifeless body.

What also was impressive was Turiaf’s ability to run the floor on the fast break. In fact, Ronny was able to catch and throw down an alley-oop early in the game. Often he was the first man running the break, only to make haste and be the first man back on defense. His energy was contagious, and it seemed as if there was more than enough of it to go around.

I asked Turiaf where he gets this great amount of energy from. You will be pleasantly surprised to hear his fuel came from.

“I don’t know, you tell me. I have no idea,� Turiaf replied as he paused to think, “Actually today I tried to have a Red Bull with Andrew Bynum. I had a Red Bull before the game so maybe that was it. I don’t know.�

“It gives you wings?� I asked, quoting the tagline.

“I guess so. I was getting the ball tonight, so I guess it gave me wings.�

Could an endorsement be in place?

“We shall see.�

Charismatic and fan-friendly, Turiaf is destined to become one of the Lakers’ most popular players this season.

As with the majority of the players, Turiaf admittedly had to overcome the nervous bug after his first game at the SPL.

“It’s good to get your first out of the way. I was so nervous, Phil Jackson was in the stands and it was my first game for L.A., so it was kind of hard. So today, I was like, ‘Ronny, don’t put any pressure [on yourself], just go rebound the ball, play defense and the game is going to come down to me.�

Turiaf’s own advice was evident in his overall play, as he ate up the boards all night, finishing with 11 rebounds, including several rousing put-back dunks that excited the Pyramid crowd.

As usual, his defense was solid, contesting the majority of shots that the Mavericks attempted in the paint. His presence often deterred the Mavs’ offense from attacking the hoop and he forced them to take unnecessary perimeter shots simply by enforcing the paint.

Not much could be criticized about Turiaf’s game tonight. He played with superb energy and had a huge impact on the game for just playing 27 minutes.

One would hope that he now can continue this high level of play.

Andrew Bynum
Finally the Lakers recognized that they must throw it in the post to Andrew and it made his game much easier.

Bynum finished with 16 points on the night, on 6/11 shooting, positioning himself to receive several scoring opportunities down low. He often used his size to push his man back down, allowing him to turn and shoot. Fundamentally, it remains that his post game will require polishing, but Bynum was able to work around that against the Mavericks.

Bynum still struggled at the line throughout the game. After hitting his first two foul shots, he went just 2/6 for the remainder of the game, unable to draw any rhythm at the charity stripe. For a big man that has stated his ability to knock down his free throws, he has not displayed it yet. One could give him the benefit of the doubt in this case and blame it on nerves.

An impressive aspect to Bynum’s game is his quickness on defense, especially for a guy who was somewhat out of shape three months ago. His rotational defense on the pick and roll is 75% there, and I say that because he switches men on the play quickly and effectively, but often has trouble finding his original man toward the basket when switching back. Nevertheless, Bynum is surprisingly quick and athletic on defense, and this newfound athleticism can be used to his advantage on offense as well.

In fact, Bynum was able to run the floor at a decent speed considering his size and even threw down an alley-oop on the break in first half action.

At the same time, defensively Bynum must work on his body control when playing man-to-man defense. In once case, former Laker training camp invitee Eric Chenowith was able to square up on him down low and rise up for a lightly-contested jumper. Considering how Chenowith performed last season during the pre-season, this should not have happened. Bynum must show increased tenacity on defense and constantly should keep his hands up over his man.

In addition to this, Bynum still has experienced inconsistency when rebounding. Collecting just 2 rebounds against a Mavericks team with a soft frontcourt is not a pleasant result. During the offseason Andrew should be required to focus on boxing out, as he still gets lost in the skirmish underneath the boards. Rebounding at a higher rate will give him the opportunity to score second chance points and possibly even get his opponent into foul trouble.

Bynum has a great body foundation– now it’s time for him to learn how to use it to it’s potential.

Smush Parker
After a solid first game performance from William “Smush� Parker, he stunned spectators with his spectacular play against the Mavs. Parker hit 7/9 shots, finishing with 17 points off the bench.

In just 20 minutes Parker showed he could do it all on offense. Smush provided a nice touch from outside, hitting 2/3 three pointers as well as a multitude of other jumpers after breaking down his man off the dribble.

While he finished with just 1 assist, Parker’s penetration and passes led to buckets for the Lakers, as he showed flashes of play-making ability.

His defense was decent, but provided no spectacular plays to take notice of. He uses his speed to harass his man, but did not make stops in this game.

Yet the highlight of his game was a spectacular two-handed facial dunk over the Mavericks in traffic. Smush dangled on the rim a la Spiderman following this red hot throwdown, leaving the crowd buzzing.

After the game, I spoke with Smush and we discussed this jaw-dropping play.

“I got a great pass from Turiaf on a backdoor stepper. He bounced it to me when my man got caught up on a screen and the lane opened up and I took off. I guess the man thought I was going to lay it up because I was a guard. He underestimated me and I just went up and dunked it. I showed a little New York City attitude [and] hung on the rim and looked down.�

I asked Smush if an apology was necessary after embarrassing his defender.

“Oh no, there’s no apology after a dunk like that.�

We can expect to see more high-flying action with Smush Parker in the back court.

Sasha Vujacic
Following a forgettable performance against the Grizzlies, Sasha followed up with a decent game against the Mavs.

Scoring 10 points while only recording 17 minutes, Vujacic’s shot selection and decision-making improved. Sasha would run curls around the arc to free him from the defender and played the catch and shoot game for the majority of the first half. His only assist of the game was a memorable one, delivering a bounce pass to Bynum for an easy bucket on the fast break.

Although there were not many opportunities to see Sasha on defense, his fundamentals have received some much-needed polishing. Sasha kept his hands right in his man’s face when placed in a one-on-one position, and he denied the Mavericks of a sure two points by stripping a Dallas player of the ball on the way up to the basket on the break. Bulking up may have helped him slightly on defense, but the improvement I witnessed was mainly centered around his fundamentals.

Sasha may see greater amounts of playing time in the coming games and hopefully he will capitalize off of these opportunities.

Von Wafer
The Lakers’ second round pick had a relatively quiet game compared to the season opener, but broke the silence in the final minute.

With the game winding down, Wafer drove diagonal to the baseline, rose up and threw down an up-close-and-personal one-hander over a Mavericks defender. This wasn’t your average posterization– Von drilled the ball down with authority, bouncing the Pyramid out of their seats.

Wafer let out an emphatic war cry as his feet hit the ground.

Memo to those who left early: you missed out on a fantastic play by an incredibly athlete.

Other than this show-stopping play, Wafer was the man who lobbed it up for Turiaf on the break, hinting at play-making ability just as Smush did throughout the game.

Although his shot percentage was decent, his shot selection at times was questionable, forcing two jumpers early in the game. All that said, Wafer still has a nice outside shot and possesses explosive elevation on his jump shot.

He should make a habit of flaunting his athleticism throughout the course of the Summer Pro League.

Will Conroy
Conroy received a DNP (coach’s decision) in the first contest, but got the start against Dallas.

If there’s one word to define Conroy, it’s “sparkplug.�

Will was a constant source of energy in the game, often waving his hands at the crowd to “make some noise.� Not only did he pump up the crowd, Conroy had a similar effect on his teammates

In one case, the Mavs were at the free throw line with Andrew Bynum in rebounding position. Before the second foul shot was released, Conroy shouted over to Bynum, “Box out big fella! This is your rebound.� Sure enough, Bynum showed an intensity around the boards unseen throughout the game and snagged the rebound. In addition, Conroy would often call his teammates over for huddles to touch base and communicate with them. His verbal support to the rest of the Lakers was echoed by his playmaking.

Conroy ended the afternoon with a game-high 6 assists, almost matching the Mavericks’ team output single-handedly. His most crucial play was a crisp pass after penetration to Ronny Turiaf for a reverse layup and the foul. It provided a nice cushion for the Lakers on the scoreboard and helped them pull away in the second quarter.

On defense, Conroy’s side-to-side footwork is similar to that of Derek Fisher’s. He sticks with his man at a decent level and it would be interesting to see if he can sustain this at the NBA’s pace.

The critical knock on his game against the Mavs was that he shot poorly. Going just 1/6 in the game, Conroy could not find his jump shot. It is a necessity for him to hit his open looks if he wants to have any shot at making the team.

However, Conroy assisted the Lakers in many other ways, most of his contributions not showing up in the box scores.

Devon Green
Elevating a step up from the previous game, Devon Green put in an above average performance against the Mavericks.

Green chipped in with 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds to go.

He played solid defense as well, showing his ability to sneak up for steals. Green recorded a game-high 5 steals, forcing turnovers for the Mavs.

Tied in with these statistics, Green also had 4 assists in the game, second only to Conroy.

Green was much more aware on both ends of the floor in this contest and had a nice all-around game.

Marcus Douthit
Douthit had a quiet night up until the third quarter, when he was ejected from jawing with the Mavs’ Derek Hood. It seemed as if the referees had overreacted, as Douthit himself was just as puzzled by the ejection as the crowd was.

The only item to take away from Douthit’s game is that he has the ability to drive to the basket and draw contact and/or score.

The rest of the Lakers either did not receive enough playing time or did not make a considerable impact on the game.

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