Warriors Bring Solid Effort, But It Isn't Enough to Defeat the Lakers
The Golden State Warriors started out the game on fire. Keeping the game close against the Los Angeles Lakers, but when Don Nelson made his first substitutions and the momentum went to the Lakers.
Before the momentum shifted it seemed like Corey Maggette could get anywhere on the floor he wanted. He came out the gate with 12 quick points, but only scored seven points the rest of the way.
After the first substitution The Lakers defense picked up and the Warriors became ice cold culminating to the Lakers largest lead of the game of 17. It looked like another blowout victory similar to the one in Los Angeles.
The Warriors were able to do an excellent job defensively on Pau Gasol in the first half at one point Gasol was only 3-10 and was getting frustrated by the physical defense of Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright. With the phsyical play Gasol was able to get to the free throw line though and it cost the Warriors some points.
Once Ronny Turiaf got into the game Gasol was able to score a little bit easier and at half time he was 6-13 from the floor. Even in the second half the Warriors at one point held Gasol to 1-2 shooting.
In the second half the Warriors were without Wright due to a partially seperatedleft shoulder. In came Anthony Randolph who did the same thing that Wright had done earlier in the game, he did have times where he let either Gasol or Bynum get too far down low.
Gasol finished the night going for 33 points, 18 rebounds, one assist, and two blocked shots. Gasol went 12-21 from the floor, and hit all nine of his free throws.
Andrew Bynum finally looked like the player he was a year ago finally getting back into double figures for the first time in since the Lakers last played the Warriors. Bynum finished 7-12 from the field and had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocked shots.
Kobe Bryant was relatively quite throughout the game he did have some great drive one on Kelenna Azubuike and one where no one rotated over on the defense which allowed Kobe an easy dunk.
Through most of the game Marco Belinelli and Azubuike did a solid job on Bryant. They forced him into tough shots and very rarely was he left wide open to take a three. Most importantly they did not foul Bryant, he only had one free throw attempt the whole game.
Which, to me is that's outstanding defense considering Bryant uses a variety of moves to try to get defenders to bite. It also helps to note that Kobe usually gets seven attempts per game.
Belinelli and Azubuike did an excellent job on not biting on the fakes. Yes, there were times in the game where Kobe thought he was fouled, but he wasn't. The Warriors were lucky that the refs didn't buy Kobe's act or complaints that he was being fouled. For the most part on those plays it was Kobe creating the contact, so they were good no calls.
If it's possible to say Bryant scored a quiet 21 points then today is the day he shot well going 9-20 from the field and 2-5 from beyond the arc. He also added five boards and five assists.
One other thing the Warriors did well was to play a little pick and roll game which caught Bynum and Gasol out of position which lead to easy layups for Andris Biedrins and even Ronny Turiaf was able to score on a layup.
In the fourth quarter the Warriors actually had a lead, but it soon evaporated and once Sasha Vujacic hit a three to put the Lakers up three it seemed like all the momentum the Warriors had gained disappeared.
Part of the reason for that is during the first few minutes of the fourth quarter the Warriors picked up four quick fouls and were never able to recover from that. The Warriors did cut the lead to four with a few minutes left in the game, but like usual since they have no true point guard the Lakers were able to make their free throws to seal the victory.
Another thing that the Warriors should be kicking themselves for is the missed free throws. It wasn't like the Lakers were doing the hack a Andris dance, the Warriors had their best free throw shooters at the line and they missed free throws.
Jamal Crawford was the only one that did what he was supposed to do. He shot 4-4 from the free throw line. Maggette is an 85.4 percent free throw shooter he shot 1-4, Wright is 76.3 percent shooter 1-2, Azubuike is a 79 percent free throw shooter he went 1-3.
So, combined the Warriors went 11-17 from the free throw line. If you want to win in the NBA you have to make your free throws. For example in the game the Lakers only missed two. They ended up on the night 27-29.
Now onto the positives of the game. Andris Biedrins came two assists shy of having a triple double. He finished the night with 12 points on 6-8 shooting, had 17 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and three blocked shots. With Biedrins athleticism soon he'll be one of the best defensive centers in the NBA.
Jamal Crawford lead Golden State with 25 points but he only went 10-26 from the field including 1-8 from beyond the three point line and he also added nine assists. Azubuike off the bench created a spark he had 15 points on 6-8 shooting going 2-2 from beyond the arc.
Even with the great effort by the Warriors they somehow found a way to lose this game. The Warriors did show the glimpses of the team that beat Boston on December 26th, but it was all for naught.
In the end the Lakers pulled out a 114-106 victory. The only good news is that it's going to be fun over the years to watch Andrew Bynum and Andris Biedrins go at it year after year.
