Game Thread #9: Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers(Update below)

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Nov 20, 2005 1:55 PM CST in News

Big game tonight before going to Texas.

The Lakers have a front line that even the Bulls can take advantage of, although Kwame Brown always seems to have good games against the Bulls.(EDIT: Kwame is out with a hamstring pull.) NBA journeyman Smush Parker has been a revelation at point guard, but is still prone to turnovers.

But they still have that Kobe guy. and Lamar Odom. Who guards either? Perhaps Eddie Basden gets his defensive reputation tested and can make sure Kirk Hinrich doesn't get worn out (or fouled out) while guarding Kobe. And for Odom (who's usually the ballhandler in the triangle offense), I'm not sure Nocioni can stay with him, unless the refs allow him to clutch and grab his way all game.

Blogging with the Enemy: Forum Blue and Gold

No predictions, its tough to figure which Bulls team I'm going to see on a given night. I expect Mike Sweetney to continue to put up big numbers, and maybe this will be the game Tyson Chandler gets his season going. The Lakers (and most importantly Kobe) are banged up so an actual good effort by the Bulls could work wonders. Haven't seen much of that this road trip though.

UPDATE: I really thought this would be another 2nd half collapse like the game in Seattle, and was pretty disgusted after two turnovers early in the 4th.

But Duhon and Hinrich went on a 3 point barrage that was only partially matched by the Lakers in the closing minutes.

The Bulls front line overpowered the Lakers all game, with Sweetney performing well yet again getting 20pts, 12 rebs, and shooting 50%. Sweetney slowed later in the game, but like the win versus the Warriors a couple weeks ago he had a play drawn for him late and again he drew a foul. Tyson Chandler had a huge block in the final minutes as well, capping his best game of the season with 15 rebounds and 6 points.

The Lakers stayed close on the back of Kobe Bryant, who was making some ridiculous shots on his way to 43 points. They also went to the foul line 32 times as opposed to 18 for the Bulls.

But it was Duhon down the stretch, who literally assumed the Ben Gordon role(who sat during the Bulls final run) and landed 5-7 from 3 to give the Bulls a much needed victory.

A few days off before going to San Antonio on Friday. Too early to say games are must-wins, but it sure feels nice to stop the losing streak before heading to Texas. ::wipes forehead::

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Kwame . . .

Kwame is actually out for two weeks with a strained hamstring. Too bad too; I was looking forward to seeing Sweetney dominate him.

by Big D on Nov 20, 2005 2:40 PM CST reply actions

d'oh

That's what I get for skimming the post I linked at Forum Blue and Gold.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Nov 20, 2005 2:48 PM CST up reply actions

re: Kwame

I could dominate Kwame. What a huge fantasy bust for me this year...

by Rick S on Nov 20, 2005 7:08 PM CST up reply actions

Who's on Kobe

To keep Hinrich out of foul trouble, maybe Deng or Basden will be the one to guard Kobe the most. It may be a good game to bring in Thomas when Odom is on the bench to minimize his defensive shortcomings and give us some needed offense.

by Goshdengit on Nov 20, 2005 8:36 PM CST reply actions

On the pregame show

They said the Lakers are moving Kobe to SF and bringing in Profit to replace Kwame. So that'll mean Noc will start on him I suppose.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Nov 20, 2005 8:43 PM CST up reply actions

big game deng?

remember last year's circus trip where Deng dropped 20+ on the lakers, if my memory serves me correctly...

by CRG on Nov 20, 2005 8:41 PM CST reply actions

big man sweetney

this guy has a double doule in first half. what a load.

Dalibor and Dragan

by FAQ on Nov 20, 2005 9:36 PM CST up reply actions

Jesus. . .

Kobe took 71 shots the last two games, and he's already got 19 at halftime. Phil's got to be wondering what he got himself into.

by Big D on Nov 20, 2005 10:01 PM CST reply actions

The Lakers have no depth

Other than Odom, who else on that roster do you want taking shots? I took a look at the Laker stats page at knickerblogger as a bit of advance scouting and that team is absolutely brutal outside of their top two.

by The Underground Man on Nov 20, 2005 10:04 PM CST up reply actions

Re: The Lakers have no depth

Well, they could start be getting Odom more than the 1 shot he took in the first half.

by Big D on Nov 20, 2005 10:12 PM CST up reply actions

4 & 5

Sweetney is without question a better player than the gentleman we traded away. If only we could trade everyone on the roster for a better player who has less fanfare.

Completely unrelated: anyone know what happened to Chandler's ability to draw fouls?

by The Underground Man on Nov 20, 2005 10:02 PM CST reply actions

Chandler not active

Well, not nearly as active as last year... He's off to a slow start as usual. Alot of the Bulls bigs aren't doing the simplest thing--BOXING OUT...hence several easy put backs by the Lakers in the first half to keep them close. Chandler's not attacking the ball / changing shots on defense nor trying to grab offense boards and make put-backs. He also seems to take 3-5 seconds to process things when he gets the ball on offense. He might be getting rebounds this game but that's because the Lakers have nothing inside... We need him to be uber-active Bill Russell-style otherwise we're not making the playoffs.

by CRG on Nov 20, 2005 10:19 PM CST up reply actions

anyone else noticing this--

Bulls guards lack of ability to penetrate will be our achilles heel. Huge turnovers by hinrich / duhon / gordon when they get into the lane, stop, don't know what to do with it and don't even try to get to the hoop. Chandler's inability to get good position like Sweetney is really messing us up inside as well.
Nobody boxing out... we lost several key defensive boards and easy put-backs because of this...
Giving up on rotating to guard / challenging perimeter 3-pt players...it's been killing us the past two games as teams stretch leads on us...

by CRG on Nov 20, 2005 10:49 PM CST reply actions

Rebounds

Fifteen boards for Chandler, Twelve for Sweetney. This is what I imagined when I found out about the Sweetney/Curry trade.

by The Underground Man on Nov 20, 2005 11:08 PM CST reply actions

Duhon

How many times does Duhon need to come up big before people start giving him his due? Ever since the playoffs against the Wizards, I've been sold.

As for Andrew Bynum, yeah, he's unpolished, but he's gonna be a force in two years. Wow.

Interesting non-use of Gordon in crunch time, and with good results. Is Skiles giving up on him?

by Todd Lerner @ Blog a Bull on Nov 20, 2005 11:22 PM CST reply actions

Duhon

I'm not a Duhon hater (like Matt), but people have such selective memory when it comes to him. It seems he has at least two bad/mediocre games for every good one. See the two games last week where he combined to shoot 2-for-21. Sure he was 5-for-7 from long range last night, but he's still only shooting 34% on the season and only 38% from the field.

BTW, is it me or does Bynum look like a 7-foot Gary Coleman?

by Mike Aparicio on Nov 21, 2005 10:57 AM CST up reply actions

sigh

No? Nothing? Ooookay.

by Mike Aparicio on Nov 22, 2005 10:47 AM CST up reply actions

phew!

who would have expected that 3pt barrage from Duhon and Hinrich to come back and win this thing?! Duhon definitely has to hit those open 3pters if he's gonna be our starter...

I doubt Skiles is giving up on Gordon... it's still way too early, Gordon was just not hitting tonight 3-10 fg / 0-3 3pters.

I suspect we'll see roles / lineups solidify a quarter way into the season...better to gauge the team by then, but I would be very surprised if the bulls get at or over .500 by the end of the 2005.

Brand redux: hey we got our undersized yet efficient double-double PF again!

by CRG on Nov 20, 2005 11:41 PM CST reply actions