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Three Things To Take Away From The Lakers Loss To The Clippers
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- He LivesKobe Bryant drove baseline and threw down a viscous reverse dunk on Matt Barnes in the first quarter of the Lakers 118-111 loss to the Clippers Halloween night. Critics have pointed to Kobe’s age and his recent injuries as a reason to no longer classify him as an upper echelon player. Kobe’s dunk and subsequent stare down was a warning that he won’t just be shooting turnaround fall-away jumpers all season.
- Up Front MoneyJordan Hill had 23 points while Ed Davis went 5-6 from the field. Carlos Boozer had 9 points but was plagued with foul trouble in the second-half. Still, 52 points from the main core of your big men will be huge for Bryant and Jeremy Lin. Hill was 10-15 and had a touch from the outside that at times mirrored Dirk Nowitzki. The length and athleticism of Ed Davis is apparent on both ends of the floor. What doesn’t show up in the box-score is that he plays with attitude. He gave two hard fouls to protect the rim in the third-quarter, something the Lakers have been missing for years on the defensive end.
- The Lin Wave
Following a loss the the Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant challenged Jeremy Lin to run the offense. And so it was the next game, Bryant calls for the ball and Lin waved him off.
“I waved him off because he didn’t see Blake Griffin coming behind him to double,” explained Lin.
When Bryant doesn’t receive the ball after he calls for it, the possession better end with a made basket or else. Lin scored 17 points and dished out 9 assists on 7-13 from the field and 3-6 from the three-point line. He was effective in penetrating the Clippers defense, making Chris Paul work on that end of the floor against the Lakers for the first time since arriving in Los Angeles. Lin’s game is exactly why Bryant wants Lin to be deliberate in initiating the offense. He creates opportunities on the court even if he doesn’t score.
The Lakers out-rebounded the Clippers, even shooting better from the field at 51% to the Clips 47. But they committed 9 more fouls and shot 16 less free-throws. There has been improvement three games in, but they are still very much a work in progress.
Yeah the fouls killed us. CP3 was getting a lot of ticky tacks. The Lakers still need to figure out a way to tighten up that D. The 3rd quarter was great but how can they sustain that throughout a game? Warriors 2nite
