Open Thread: Regular Season Game 46

by Jake Whitacre on Feb 3, 2008 12:21 AM EST in Game Threads

The essentials:
Lakers (29-16) at Wizards (24-21)
12 p.m.
Verizon Center
CSN

Last year:
December 17: Wizards 147, Lakers 141
February 3: Lakers 118, Wizards 102

Notable Lakers numbers this season
7th in expected win percentage (.677)
5th in pace factor (95.6 possessions per game).
6th in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (111.9)
8th in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (106.1).

Key links (drop any others in the comments)
Forum Blue and Gold
Lakers Blog
Lakers Library
Lakers4Life
Lakers Nation
Nick Young will probably be a little star-struck today.

Starting lineups:
Lakers (this is a pure guess)
PG: Derek Fisher
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Vladimir Radmanovic
PF: Lamar Odom
C: Ronny Turiaf

Wizards
PG: Antonio Daniels
SG: DeShawn Stevenson
SF: Caron Butler
PF: Antawn Jamison
C: Brendan Haywood

Tonight's lines:
Lakers at Wizards: I've looked everywhere and I can't find a line for this game, probably because no one wants to put a line down with two key players as game time decisions. So for today's game there's no spread. Just pick who you think will win.
Over/Under on total scoring: 205
Super Bowl XLII (yeah, that's right!): Patriots by 12

So who exactly is playing today?: By now everyone knows that Pau Gasol is a Laker and Kwame Brown is teaming up with Darko Milicic to form a (insert adjective here) frontline for the Grizzlies. I don't think I can add anything to the discussion that hasn't been added already, but if you're looking for added analysis, I recommend checking out this post at Forum Blue and Gold, which breaks it down nicely. While you're at it, make sure to check out this interview with FB&G, most of which was conducted pre-trade. I'd also encourage you to check out Stephen A. Smith's comments on the trade, since everything he says is important.

With all that said, don't expect to see a lot of the Spaniard today. Mike Jones (who!) has the scoop:

But don't expect to see the 7-foot Spaniard on the court at Verizon Center on Sunday. Gasol had to fly to L.A. to take a physical and hasn't practiced with the team. Wouldn't be too great an idea to throw him into a complex offense like the Triangle without a little prep work.

If this was any other team, they'd probably just pound it inside to take advantage of the Lakers' lack of bodies in the post. Unfortunately Brendan sucks, so he won't be able to take advantage of it.

The Lakers are probably going to be shorthanded, are we? All signs point to yes. Here's Ivan's update on Caron's health:

It looks as though the Wiz will play a fourth straight game without Caron Butler tomorrow when Kobe and the Lakes are at the VC for a rare noon tip. Butler did not practice today but did go through some shooting drills afterward. He didn't say that he was in our out, only said that he's feeling better today than yesterday and will have to see how it is tomorrow.

Coach Eddie Jordan sounded like a guy who wants Butler to miss at least one more. "He didn't do anything that was high impact and physical. He didn't get into a four or five or six minute scrimmage and that's why I'm very hesitant. I have not seen him get contact and I haven't seen him change direction in competition. As a coach, you always like to see a guy get through practice."

How are we going to know if we're slowing down the triangle offense?: TrueHoop recently interviewed Lakers' assistant coach Kurt Rambis (yes, that Kurt Rambis) about how the Lakers and how the triangle offense works.

If I'm a fan watching on TV, how can I tell if the triangle is "working?" How can I tell if you're running it well?

Any time you see that ball is not being dribbled a lot in the half-court set, it's probably working. If you see the ball being moved around, and players making their respective cuts, those are good signs.

That said, within the triangle, you can do almost anything that you see other teams do, whether it's a high screen and roll or a wing screen and roll.

You can do all that within the triangle. We can do it, however, without yelling out "FIST UP, FIST UP!" and then the opposing coach is screaming to his players "HIGH SCREEN AND ROLL!"

We can get into a high screen and roll through the reactions of our players.

Basically, if the Wizards can cut off the passing lanes and force the Lakers to dribble a lot, then they'll be taking them out of their element. If you caught the Cavs-Lakers game last Sunday, you saw how the Lakers bogged down offensively when the Cavs forced them to use dribble penetration to move the ball in the 4th quarter.

Bench production: Friday night the Jazz's bench just destroyed the Wizards' bench all night long. 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists is acceptable for a bench player, but it's pretty bad if that's the production from the entire bench. The Lakers are stretched thin at the moment, but they still have one of the better benches in the NBA. If the Wiz want to stay in this one, the bench is going to have to play much better than they did on Friday.

Key to the game: Your guess is as good as mine. A lot of it is going to come down to which players suit up tomorrow. A good recommendation for tomorrow would be to have Stevenson stick tight on Kobe. He's pretty good.

As always, this an open thread. If you want to talk about the Lakers-Wizards game, or that other game happening today, you can do it here.

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Comments

Picks

Wizards
Under
Giants (Final Score; Patriots 31, Giants 21. No I didn't get that from here.)

Bullets Forever: Your place for the very latest in Wizards news and PhD-level analysis.

by Jake Whitacre on Feb 3, 2008 12:48 AM EST reply actions

Pick Set

I'm taking the Pats 42-18. I hate to do it...but I've already bet lunch, giving the 12, with a co-worker. I hate both teams, so what was I supposed to do? I'll take the over on the 205 for the Wiz-Lake Show. I'd like to say that if Kobe is held below 24, the Wiz will get the win...but I've seen Bryant win games with his passing [what!? passing!], yes, passing this year. What would be the over/under on Kobe's points? If I had to guess, it'd be 32.

www.truthaboutit.net

by Kyle Weidie on Feb 3, 2008 1:44 AM EST reply actions

picks

lakers; i can't get a clue on these over-unders so I'll lay off there...needs a bit more monitoring.

-sw

by Steve Weinman on Feb 3, 2008 2:22 AM EST reply actions

i'll break a cardinal rule

and disagree with steve weinman. i'll pick the wiz to bounce back today and get a W.

by DarrellWalkerFan on Feb 3, 2008 9:34 AM EST reply actions

Picks

Lakers
Under
Patriots

(FWIW, I'm rooting for Wiz, over, Giants.)

by Aldo on Feb 3, 2008 9:39 AM EST reply actions

Picks

I'm picking upsets today -

Wiz, under
Giants 32, Patriots 28

Also just got my game notes for todays game from the wiz, Andray is listed as the starter but its only a probable lineup

by ooba on Feb 3, 2008 10:06 AM EST reply actions

Wiz, under, Giants

The Washington Wizards: providing career scoring nights for unknown opposing bench players since 2004.

by mamemimo on Feb 3, 2008 10:32 AM EST reply actions

w00t!

Caron is starting, Pau isn't!

Bullets Forever: Your place for the very latest in Wizards news and PhD-level analysis.

by Jake Whitacre on Feb 3, 2008 12:09 PM EST reply actions

Worst defense i've seen the wiz play this year

What the heck is going on? Depleted lakers are killing us.

Why isnt antonio, Deshawn and Haywood playing? Why isnt Blatche playing if Haywood is out? I've only seen the 2nd quarter but none of them have been playing and in turn our defense (Especially interior defense) has been TERRIBLE.

What the heck is going on? Daniels and Haywood need to be put in the damn game!!!!

by billy332 on Feb 3, 2008 1:06 PM EST reply actions

Super bowl pick

Pats-58
Giants-13

This is the most pathetic defense I have ever seen the Wizards play, including last years team and every other Wizards team in our history.

by billy332 on Feb 3, 2008 1:08 PM EST reply actions

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY WIZARDS?

MY GOD THE WIZARDS HAVE COLLAPSED SINCE THAT MILWAUKEE GAME!!!! SINCE THE DAMN CLEVELAND GAME!!!! ABSOLUTE COLLAPSE!

What happened to the team that went 24-13 since the 0-5 start?

by billy332 on Feb 3, 2008 1:09 PM EST reply actions

Disgusting

What an absolute disgrace this team has been since that Cleveland game...... absolute disgrace.

by billy332 on Feb 3, 2008 1:11 PM EST reply actions

Real recognize Real, right Caron?

Sure looked that way, Kobe and the Lakers recognized exactly what they were up against.

Real recognize real.

by billy332 on Feb 3, 2008 1:21 PM EST reply actions

This is torture

I cant watch any more, this is disgusting. Im done, ive got to give up on the Wiz today, time to turn it off. This is torture, I cant see any more lack of effort on defense and wide open layup line for LA. Cant watch us give up offensive rebounds repeatedly walking towards them while LA is running for em, getting every loose ball and shooting jumper after jumper without hands in their face, plus our lack of rotation.

So soft, absolutely soft.

This has been an absolute collapse in the last 2 weeks all in all.

I cant watch any more, I just cant. I quit.

by billy332 on Feb 3, 2008 1:41 PM EST reply actions

Being at the game was horrible-

This felt like the longest game I have ever been to. I swear it was 5 hours not 2.5. Wizards played terrible. I don't know how we are meant to have a chance in winning when three of our starters aren't playing much and also can't contribute on offense. Haywood was atrocious. He has completely regressed. And now we have more games against good teams. We need Gilbert back. Everyone is so bunched up in the eastern conference, we can easily slide out of the playoff picture. Also the wizards need to play hard straight from the get go - the first five minutes are crucial. Cannot afford to start off slow against a good team. I am also done going to Wiz v Lakers games. I've been to the game every year for the past ten years and enough is enough. Half the crowd was cheering for the Lakers, chanting for Kobe - MVP and wearing Kobe jerseys. There was even some chants of Wizards suck on our home floor. As long as kobe is playing I will not go. I realized when I wanted to strangle the 10 year old sitting next to me for cheering for Kobe that I probably shouldn't be at the game. I wanted to leave at half time but I've never left a game early because I can't abandon the Wizards like that. Instead it was torture.

by ooba on Feb 3, 2008 3:15 PM EST reply actions

our offense

Our defense is bad since Milwaukee, no doubt. But i think a lot of that comes from how terrible our offense has been of late. It's hard to get energized to come back on defense when you just see jumper after jumper brick off the rim on the other end. We need Caron back for sure, but mostly we miss a Gil who can get to the basket and score or draw fouls when nothing else is working. Watching our offense was painful on friday against Utah, and while our defense was solid for three quarters, by the fourth you could tell everyone knew it was just not going to happen unless we could make some shots and that affected the defense. The only time we looked like winning that game was a five minute stretch when AD started taking it to the rim.

by five by five on Feb 4, 2008 12:28 PM EST reply actions

I'm going to look at this more when I get a chance

My guess is that both our offense and defense have been bad, though not necessarily due to each other, but again, it merits a closer look.

Notice how we struggle against system offensive teams (Toronto, LA Lakers, even Utah had they made their open shots all game) that move the ball instead of relying on isolation (like Dallas and Boston). I don't think this is an accident.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Feb 4, 2008 12:46 PM EST up reply actions