Well, if we want to have Smart as our coach forever (insert preteen girlish gushing emoticon and some hearts and maybe baby unicorns), here's a note: The Bench is starting to play. That could be a huge benefit to the team. As long as you, the coach do not get confused about who is the bench and who is the starters.
So that's kind of what to take from this, another loss. The bench has had two good spurts now in back to back games. Which makes about two good spurts all season long. Given their complete incompetence for the entire season has been a major reason why our record is so bad, that can only be a good sign. Now the flip side is that the coach is now overplaying them. If he wants to play the bench starter's minutes nobody can stop him if he is new BFFs with the owners, but we will go 0-30 to finish this season with a lineup that would make the Bobcats cringe, and sometime between now and the end we will have the inevtable stars revolt.
Anyway, so we got beat, and our playoff doomsday clock ticked a little closer to midnight. But it was not an awful defeat after our ertshile scrubbies made a run and forced the Lakers to put Kobe back in, so its not a Girls loss. Its the weekend, got a day off, so we'll go with a different type theme. Soon as I dig one up.
Theme is going to be: Liu Bolin, an artist with a fun schtick.
Boxscore
Evans (B ) -- on the boards, set up Thornton for several shots, and a good job on Kobe defensively late in the first, but again had problems finishing over the rim. Muscled in several layups to start the 2nd as we tried to stabiize the bench, but again in what is quickly becoming a troubling pattern was left on the bench virtualy the entire second quarter despite generally strong play. Efficient takes and backdoor cuts in the early third and made a great defensive play coming over for the help block on Bynum after Cousins forced him baseline, then retrieving the ball along the sideline and getting fouled. Had some moments defensively against Kobe too as the only guy amngst our starters to have any chance on him, although it was kind of up and down. And then the 4th comes around and...not a minute again. Bench played well to get us a chance...and we didn't take out shot. So, going to try to ignore what has become a trend lately as this is the third time in the last 4 games Reke has been largely held out of the 4th quarter, and in 2 of those 3 games he was playing well.
That's not photoshop.
Thompson ( D- ) -- for the second night in a row faced a major frontline challenge and came up looking unworthy in the process. Was blowing easy ones at the rim in the early going again as the Lakers length had him off to an 0-6 start. Finally got a little inside flip to fall in the final minute before half, but it was the only hit of the night. Again he wasn't much on the boards, and in back to back nights against L.A.'s collection of giants he came up with 7pts and 4rebs, COMBINED. Now here's one of the starters who actually should have stayed on that bench in the 4th.
Cousins ( C ) -- well the good is that he racked up 10pts and 13rebs in only 23 min of action. the bad is that despite generally playing well early, he seemed to get distracted by the Bynum thing/rivavlry, got himself into foul tourble when we tried to bring him back to stabilize the reserve frontline in the second quarter, and then abruptly started having problems with the Lakers length in the third, began to tire and throw up junk, and just kind of quit running the floor altogether in what I can only assume was fatigue. Reminds you every once in a while of what a kid he really still is. did a pretty good job avoiding picking up the benchign fouls in the third, and was racking up rebounds, but as the efficiency went to hell and the body language and defensive effort slumped,ended up benched for the entire 4th quarter despite our radically underiszed resrves trying to battle Bynum and Gasol. that's some on him, some on the coach, who's needs a substitution czar intervention here.
Again, not photoshop. Incredibly meticiulous paint, and then a photo.
Thornton ( C+ ) -- a giveth and taketh away effort, depending on what side fo the court he was on. Unable to slow Bryant at all in the early going, but hit several threes in transition the other way and was scoring back in response. Kind of an Exhibit A to the additional defensive difficulties we have assumed with a 5'9" PG now. Two weeks ago with Reke/Thornton/Salmons we can play games and hide the Thornton defense on Fisher, have Salmons take Kobe, have Reke fight Artest. Now with IT Isiah has to take the PG, so our options are either have Marcus Thornton try to slow Kobe, or try to muscle 6'8" 250lb Artest. In any case, did not work so well, although Marcus mostly did what he is out there to do. Neither he nor Reke were bad at all offensively and both were on pace for 20pt nights before their coach scuttled them. It was the other end that killed us, and on that end Kobe just had his way.
So that's kind of what to take from this, another loss. The bench has had two good spurts now in back to back games. Which makes about two good spurts all season long. Given their complete incompetence for the entire season has been a major reason why our record is so bad, that can only be a good sign. Now the flip side is that the coach is now overplaying them. If he wants to play the bench starter's minutes nobody can stop him if he is new BFFs with the owners, but we will go 0-30 to finish this season with a lineup that would make the Bobcats cringe, and sometime between now and the end we will have the inevtable stars revolt.
Anyway, so we got beat, and our playoff doomsday clock ticked a little closer to midnight. But it was not an awful defeat after our ertshile scrubbies made a run and forced the Lakers to put Kobe back in, so its not a Girls loss. Its the weekend, got a day off, so we'll go with a different type theme. Soon as I dig one up.
Theme is going to be: Liu Bolin, an artist with a fun schtick.
Boxscore
Evans (B ) -- on the boards, set up Thornton for several shots, and a good job on Kobe defensively late in the first, but again had problems finishing over the rim. Muscled in several layups to start the 2nd as we tried to stabiize the bench, but again in what is quickly becoming a troubling pattern was left on the bench virtualy the entire second quarter despite generally strong play. Efficient takes and backdoor cuts in the early third and made a great defensive play coming over for the help block on Bynum after Cousins forced him baseline, then retrieving the ball along the sideline and getting fouled. Had some moments defensively against Kobe too as the only guy amngst our starters to have any chance on him, although it was kind of up and down. And then the 4th comes around and...not a minute again. Bench played well to get us a chance...and we didn't take out shot. So, going to try to ignore what has become a trend lately as this is the third time in the last 4 games Reke has been largely held out of the 4th quarter, and in 2 of those 3 games he was playing well.
That's not photoshop.
Thompson ( D- ) -- for the second night in a row faced a major frontline challenge and came up looking unworthy in the process. Was blowing easy ones at the rim in the early going again as the Lakers length had him off to an 0-6 start. Finally got a little inside flip to fall in the final minute before half, but it was the only hit of the night. Again he wasn't much on the boards, and in back to back nights against L.A.'s collection of giants he came up with 7pts and 4rebs, COMBINED. Now here's one of the starters who actually should have stayed on that bench in the 4th.
Cousins ( C ) -- well the good is that he racked up 10pts and 13rebs in only 23 min of action. the bad is that despite generally playing well early, he seemed to get distracted by the Bynum thing/rivavlry, got himself into foul tourble when we tried to bring him back to stabilize the reserve frontline in the second quarter, and then abruptly started having problems with the Lakers length in the third, began to tire and throw up junk, and just kind of quit running the floor altogether in what I can only assume was fatigue. Reminds you every once in a while of what a kid he really still is. did a pretty good job avoiding picking up the benchign fouls in the third, and was racking up rebounds, but as the efficiency went to hell and the body language and defensive effort slumped,ended up benched for the entire 4th quarter despite our radically underiszed resrves trying to battle Bynum and Gasol. that's some on him, some on the coach, who's needs a substitution czar intervention here.
Again, not photoshop. Incredibly meticiulous paint, and then a photo.
Thornton ( C+ ) -- a giveth and taketh away effort, depending on what side fo the court he was on. Unable to slow Bryant at all in the early going, but hit several threes in transition the other way and was scoring back in response. Kind of an Exhibit A to the additional defensive difficulties we have assumed with a 5'9" PG now. Two weeks ago with Reke/Thornton/Salmons we can play games and hide the Thornton defense on Fisher, have Salmons take Kobe, have Reke fight Artest. Now with IT Isiah has to take the PG, so our options are either have Marcus Thornton try to slow Kobe, or try to muscle 6'8" 250lb Artest. In any case, did not work so well, although Marcus mostly did what he is out there to do. Neither he nor Reke were bad at all offensively and both were on pace for 20pt nights before their coach scuttled them. It was the other end that killed us, and on that end Kobe just had his way.
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