1st Quarter:
THE NUMBERS OF THE GAME!
Gasol has 11 points at the end of the 1st quarter, but the Lakers trail the Heat after the quarter 25-20.
2nd Quarter:
The Lakers' starting line-up shooting for the 1st half:
1-8 Kobe
0-2 Fisher
3-7 Bynum
5-10 Gasol
1-4 Barns
The Lakers starting 5 combine for 30 first half points, while the Heat hit 8 out of 13 3-pointers in the 1st half. 8 out 11 3-pointers? That's 24 points. The Lakers hit 2 of 10 3-pointers, that's 6 points. The Heat's bench scored 14 points. The Lakers' bench scored 7 points. The Heat lead the Lakers by 15 at the half 52-37.
3rd Quarter:
The Lakers hit 4 points in the first 1:31 of the quarter, while holding the Heat to 0. Small start to cut a 15 point lead but it's a start.
At the end of the 3rd quarter the Lakers' big 3 had 42 of the team's 56 points. Ouch! The Heat's big "2" had 37 of the team's 77 points. You do the math! OK, I'll do it for you. The Lakers are down 21 points at the end of 3 quarters of play. 77-56.
4th Quarter:
The Lakers' starting line-up shooting for the 2nd half, and game totals:
8-21 Kobe. That's 7-13 in the 2nd half.
1-5 Fisher. That's 1-3 in the 2nd half.
6-13 Bynum. That's 3-6 in the 2nd half.
11-19 Gasol. That 6-9 in the 2nd half.
1-6 Barns. That's 0-2 in the 2nd half.
The Lakers' big 3 finished with 65 of the teams 87 points. Troy Murphy scored 6 points and Peace scored 3 for the Lakers in the 4th quarter. 9 points! That's 9 of 31 4th quarter Lakers points; the rest went to the big 3.
The Lakers bench is hurting right now, and their 1 and 3 spots are not consistent enough to make the Lakers a dangerous team. I don't see how the Lakers get around the non-production of the 1 and 3 spots. Especially Fisher.
I don't care what anyone says, when the 1 and 3 spots have only 11 shots between them, something is wrong. You can't produce consistently while only shooting that many shots between 2 starters. And it's not because Kobe is shooting too much. I've seen enough to know that these guys are not looking for the shots. They seem to be looking for one of the big 3 to pass the ball to, before they consider that they might need to step up and deliver for the team.
Meanwhile, the Heat broke in Eddy Curry tonight and the guy scored 6 points in 6 minutes of playing time. The guy is huge and if he commits himself to the defensive end of the game...then, the Heat, in my opinion, would be favorite to win it all. I've said it once and I'll say it, again; without a defensive center, no team in the NBA will win a championship. Curry is an interesting "project."
Still, the best record in the league, right now, belongs to Chicago and Oklahoma City in terms of losses. Both teams have 3 losses. The Lakers, with tonight's defeat, have 6 losses. In other words: there isn't a dominated team in the league right now. The season is wide-open for anyone to win the championship this year. Heck, right now, Dallas and Boston wouldn't even get into the playoffs. They both sit at the 9 spots in their Conference standings.
In other words: no need to panic if you're a Lakers fan. If you're a Bobcat fan, you should panic. Let's see how this thing shakes out.
mike t.
At least the Heat have made no secret there's one reason and one reason alone they signed Shane Battier.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right. No need to panic... yet.
Battier's defense is well-known. He hits 3's, too.
ReplyDeleteToo early to trying to analyze what is going on right now in the league.
Yeah, no need to hit the panic button yet.
mike t.