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Derek Fisher D+
Fish looked completely lost in this game. Swarmed by incredible defensive rotations, he finished with as many turnovers (3) as assists. On a night the Lakers desperately needed someone to hit shots, Fisher shied away from firing away, and after his 3rd quarter mini-meltdown against Richard Jefferson (which undoubtedly will inspire many a "U MAD?" poster), the Spurs put the Lakers away. 0 for 1 from downtown, Fisher looked old and out of sorts against San Antonio's speedy, slashing backcourt. Fisher was -21 in just 25 minutes of action, a performance that could see the Laker brass scrambling for potential trades to shore up their PG depth, of which they have little to speak of.
Kobe Bryant F
Kobe gets the worst grade out of any player from last night. He began by immediately taking 5 of his team's first 6 shots, and didn't pass the ball on any of those possessions, completely removing any offensive flow the Lakers had. His spat with George Hill, along with missing 13 shots in a row made it very apparent that the Spurs combination of Manu and Hill with a dash of RJ on switches got into his head. Obviously bothered by George Hill's length, Kobe did get warm in the 4th, when the game was already close to being over, and pulled the Lakers to within 9 before the Spurs scored the knockout punch. His 5 turnovers to go with just one assist is a microcosm of the Lakers right now -- Selfish, stat-hungry, and completely out of rhythm on offense. After all his time in the league, Kobe still hasn't made the mental commitment to playing team basketball, and he killed their momentum before it could ever get started last night.
Ron Artest C-
One rebound. That's all you need to know about his contribution to defense last night. Really, does anyone recall Artest even playing? Other than knocking down a couple of treys (the only player besides Kobe to hit more than one three), Artest was largely invisible in this showing. He gets a C- because he was one of only three Lakers to finish with 10+ points, and was the only Laker with significant minutes who didn't turn the ball over. He actually didn't get a tech this game, so that contributes to his (relatively) serene score below.
"What about Bob?" rating: Chillin' on his shrink's couch, but needing a stress ball.
Lamar Odom D
The man who is usually a complete nightmare for the Spurs to guard, Odom shot 33% in this game. He did pull down 8 rebounds, but with both teams missing so much, that's not really as much to his credit. His hustle looked great at times, and at others he didn't even seem to want to be on the court. Overall, he wasn't nearly aggressive enough on either side of the ball. Odom gets a lower grade than usual because he HAS to demand the ball in games like this, as he presents perhaps the most difficult mismatch of anyone the Lakers have for the Spurs.
Pau Gasol D
Another player who gets a low grade due to the fact that he should be far more effective, Gasol continues his surprising lack of stellar play in the post for the Lakers. Be it from fatigue, injury, or just a lack of desire, Gasol's play as of late has to be highly disconcerting to the Lakers management. Gasol looked slow and hesitant all night, and got caught flat footed by the Spurs slashing guards, who blew by him early and often for easy points. He did finish with 3 blocks, however he wasn't closing plays out, and got completely smashed on the glass by DeJuan Blair. Harassed by help D and double teams, Gasol elected often to pass out of the post, something that will only give opposing bigs more confidence to force him into uncomfortable spots on the floor. The Lakers need to be patient and to repost Gasol, because if he isn't effective, they often must resort to Kobe's outside shot as their primary method of scoring.
Steve Blake C-
When the other team is actually happy to see you, that's usually a bad thing. Such was the case last night for Blake, who along with Fisher looked completely lost on offense, and couldn't guard a sack of potatoes on D. It stands to question that in the heat of the undoubtedly tough Western Conference Playoffs this year, will Phil ever feel comfortable putting Blake into the game? "Alright Steve, get out there and guard Deron. Steve? o?" "He fainted, coach." "Oh." The Lakers are going to struggle to get anything from this position in the playoffs unless Fisher is hitting his shots. Why the C-? Well, what were you expecting from Steve Blake?
Shannon Brown C-
I wanted to give Shannon an F, due to his 1-11 shooting. But did anyone notice that he also outrebounded every other Laker? In a minute less than Bynum, the 6'4" guard from Illinois pulled in 11 boards. For comparison, in 34 minutes Gasol had five rebounds. However, Shannon just couldn't hit a jumper in this game, and if you're a scorer on your team and you don't score, you're hurting the team. Phil should seriously consider starting Shannon Brown at PF instead of Gasol, just to send a message loud and clear to his struggling star. Phil could even borrow a jersey from Sir Charles to really drive the message home that a 6'4" guy shouldn't be kicking Pau's ass, even if they're on the same team.
Matt Barnes B+
I actually liked what I saw from Barnes, in the limited minutes (17) he played. He came with intensity on defense, and looked much more active than most Lakers. He drove into the paint and hit a couple of tough shots against the San Antonio defense. I can't understand why Phil didn't reward him with more playing time, because aside from Bynum, Barnes was one of L.A.'s positive influences last night on both sides of the court. In fact, every time I see this guy he seems to be consistently doing good things for L.A., making me wonder why he's relegated so often to the end of the bench.
Andrew Bynum A-
Really, how could you ask much more of this guy? He hit all 4 of the shots he took. He attacked on offense. He had nearly as many boards as Odom and Gasol in far fewer minutes. Phil says he's a step slow and so he's not playing him as much, but if anything I thought he was much more assertive at rotating to the ball than Gasol was last night. Bynum gets docked to an A because he only had one foul, meaning he should have been more aggressive, and down to an A- because of his Shaq-like line at the stripe: 2-8, the only Laker to miss from the free throw line, yet because of his struggles the team shot a collective 16-22. Yikes. Popovich is undoubtedly rubbing his hands, plotting in the playoffs to go with his vaunted, "Hack-a-Bynum" strategy, or perhaps the less well-known "Chop-a-Drew". Also of note, high school BBall coaches everywhere are busting their clipboards as their players think, "Wow, I can make it to the NBA without ever learning to shoot free throws!"
Derrick Caracter, Joe Smith, and Luke Walton: B+
Managing just 3 minutes between them (well, all allotted to a guy that I didn't even know played for the Lakers in Caracter), the trio of unsung superstars actually didn't do anything to hurt the Lakers last night. Caracter had 5 points in 3 minutes of play even, proving he's already a more effective scorer than Kobe.
Phil Jackson D-
Really, I'm not sure I can give Phil a grade for this game, because it was obvious as soon as the game started that #24 was the one in control of the Lakeshow. Still, Phil should be heavily critiqued for his coaching job last night. Failing to throw an early reign on Bryant, he let Bean single-handedly destroy any offensive rhythm the Lakers might have had, then didn't play the guys who actually seemed like they wanted to be on the court. More PT to Barnes and Bynum, and the Lakers might have kept the lead to single digits and had a shot in the 4th. Phil was completely outcoached by Popovich here, as his team could not deal with the frenetic speed and rotating D the Spurs used all night to frustrate and confuse the Lakers starters.
EDIT: Changed Barnes from B- to a B+, added some content.
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