The Los Angeles Lakers (11-8) topped the Los Angeles Clippers (9-6) in the second edition of “Battle: L.A.” last night. After losing two exhibition games and the first regular season meeting between the two, the Lakers were able to pull out a physical victory over their Los Angeles counterparts, 96-91.
Kobe Bryant (24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) had an all-around game (although his seven turnovers were not a stat we would have liked to see filled up), and Pau Gasol played big (23 points on 9-13 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists). Andrew Bynum added 19 points and just six rebounds, but also had four blocks (including one big one against DeAndre Jordan to help protect the lead down the stretch). Rookie Andrew Goudelock (14 points on 5-8 shooting; 2-3 from the three) and Derek Fisher (11 points, 3-4 from three) added some scoring to the back court.
However, it was Metta World Peace who seemed to be the spark for the Lakers. World Peace scored just three points on a critical three pointer with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter, but was the high assist man for the Lakers with seven. He was seemingly everywhere, doing everything. He had two steals, and also had a nice block on Chris Paul, who was driving to the rim. When he wasn’t powering his way to the rim and getting Andrew Bynum easy buckets, Metta was playing the role of defensive enforcer.
On one play, Blake Griffin fell to the floor in order to recover a loose ball, and it was World Peace who wrestled on top of him and forced the jump ball. When he wasn’t doing that, he was escorting Reggie Evans out of a Lakers’ huddle. Evans had apparently come over to talk trash to Pau Gasol, but World Peace chased him out of the huddle, offering his own response. Kobe Bryant even said World Peace looked like Ron Artest, although not quite the Ron Artest from the Auburn Palace brawl a few years back. Perhaps he wasn’t on that level, but he definitely came to play and play physical.
The rest of the game was just as physical, with a total of six technical fouls being called, and one ejection (Josh McRoberts). Even Pau Gasol and Chris Paul exchanged some words towards the end of the game.
As for the Clippers, Blake Griffin (26 points, nine rebounds, six offensive) did most of the scoring. Caron Butler and Mo Williams chipped in 16 points apiece, while DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and five rebounds. Their starting back court, however, combined for just 13 points on 3-16 shotting. Chris Paul, in his first game back, managed just four points but still had 12 assists, and Chauncey Billups added nine points on 1-8 shooting.
The game started out slow for the Lakers, who trailed by 10 in the first quarter, but quickly picked it up and ended the quarter down just two due in large part to nine points from an aggressive Pau Gasol.
The second quarter featured the emergence of rookie guard Andrew Goudelock, who scored 10 quick points, as well as the continued aggressiveness of Pau Gasol, who had already surpassed his season average of 15.8 by half time (he had 17). Still, at the Lakers still trailed by two, 51-49 at half.
The third saw the Clippers go ahead for a nine point lead early on, but the Lakers managed once again to cut the lead to just three for a 71-68 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lakers had a strong overall fourth quarter, led by Kobe Bryant, who had 12 of his 24 in the final period to lead the Lakers to victory over the Clippers for a season series tie of 1-1.
Next Page: The Breakdown
1. Offense – The Lakers looked much smoother last night on offense than they have so far in this short season. Surprisingly, Metta World Peace was a huge part of this with seven assists and zero turnovers. We can’t expect Metta to do this every night, but if the Lakers can have various guys step up and make plays, much like certain guys must step up and score or step up and grab rebounds by committee, the Lakers will have a much easier time scoring.
2. World Peace – Metta World Peace had a great game in big minutes (38, a 17 minute increase from his season average of 21). Because he was aggressive and very much into the game mentally, Mike Brown let him play. Subsequently, Matt Barnes only received 10 minutes. Barnes had been playing well, but last night it would be Metta who delivered at the small forward position. The question will be: “Can he keep it up?”
Everybody loves World Peace, but we love it even more when he’s contributing and entertaining; He seemingly does the two in correlation. We love the banging of the chest gorilla style, and we love the bicep kisses and kisses to the crowd. But, those only come out when Metta makes a big play or is playing well. So, it will be up to Metta to involve himself in each game no matter how many minutes he gets. If he plays with this kind of energy and fire, he usually makes things happen. Heck, he only had three points, but got the whole crowd going with various other parts of his game and his unique antics, so it’s not even about scoring with him. If he plays with the energy and fire we saw tonight, however, he will undoubtedly earn more minutes and truly be the leader of the Peace Corps, and even emerge as a leader on this team.
3. The Big Men – Pau Gasol recently said he wants more touches in the post in order to be effective. Although he only shot the ball 13 times, he was efficient, and definitely worked out of the post much more. With 24 big points in 40 minutes, Gasol proved what he can do for this team. If the Lakers want to be a contender this year, they will need Gasol to remain this aggressive and assertive all year. Mike Brown recently stopped a practice and praised Gasol when he sprinted down the court and posted up for an easy left-hook. Gasol acknowledged that perhaps his number won’t be called on every play, and he must be assertive and create his own shots. Starting from practice and extending into the game against the Clippers, it appears Gasol knows what he must do in order to be an offensive force.
Andrew Bynum again had a solid night offensively with 19 points on 6-11 shooting, but he also proved that he can be trusted down the stretch. After scoring a bucket to put the Lakers up by four with 30 seconds left in the contest, and blocking DeAndre Jordan on a separate play down the stretch, Bynum is proving that he can be a reliable option on both offense and defense with the game on the line. If he can get his free throw percentage back around his career average of 67 percent (he’s currently at 56 percent this season, but 7-10 last night), Bynum can provide a reliability at the very end of games that the Lakers need.
4. Andrew Goudelock – Andrew Goudelock surprised a lot of fans last night with a quick 10 points in the first half, and 14 overall, a career-high. He looked confident, and he looked like a player presented with an opportunity. That, he is. With Steve Blake out, Darius Morris not playing under control, and Jason Kapono not shooting as expected, Goudelock has an opportunity to earn some minutes right now. It doesn’t look as though he’ll be asked to make plays for others, but the Lakers are in desperate need of some shooting and scoring anywhere they can get it, so look for Mike Brown to use it.
5. Rebounds – The Lakers were once again out-rebounded by the Clippers, 42-36. They were also out-rebounded on the offensive glass by seven (17-10). With two seven-footers to start with, the Lakers must look to out rebound every opponent, and more specifically, limit as many offensive rebounds as possible. With their biggest advantage being length. If they can utilize this, they will have a better shot to win games.
Overall the Lakers played a good game. They battled all night and put the Clippers away in the end. Their offense showed signs of life, and got contributions from unlikely sources. However, if every player on the Lakers can play the way Metta World Peace did last night–with energy, passion, and fire–the Lakers will be in much better shape down the stretch in big games.