reCAP: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers

12/17/12

Last night I was at the 76ers game to witness Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in person. Seeing Kobe play live in person was a spectacle to see, and truly is a once in a lifetime thing. The 76ers were coming into this game on a two game losing streak while the Lakers have been trying to get adjusted to their new coach’s philosophy. Lakers’ coach Mike D’Antoni’s philosophy is beating you by scoring as many points as you can score in a game and play no defense. The Lakers were without Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill, Steve Nash, and Steve Blake. Gasol has tendinitis in both of his knees. Hill has back spasms. Nash has a leg injury and Blake has a torn abdominal muscle. The 76ers were without the presence of Jrue Holiday with a foot sprain.

The first half was a whole lot of offense. It seemed difficult for the 76ers to contain the Lakers from scoring a lot of points. Kwame Brown did a decent job guarding Dwight Howard in this half. He only limited Howard to five points on bad shooting. Darius Morris posted a career high 15 points in the first half. The 76ers kept leaving him open at the three point line, and he never missed. Nick Young was playing with a chip on his shoulder when he scored 16 first half points for the 76ers. He is from the LA area so I’m sure he was motivated to play well against his hometown team. Kobe’s 18 first half points for the Lakers was only the beginning of what would be a magnificent night for the player they call Kobe Bean Bryant. The Lakers led at halftime 60-50.

The second half was just as bad as the first half. The 76ers tried to adjust to the Lakers game, but the Lakers were simply unstoppable last night. They tried double teaming Kobe and he found Howard in the low post. When Howard was double teamed, he would find players like Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest) and Chris Duhon. The 76ers let those two players shoot wide open three’s and were making them. The 76ers looked erratic on defense. Whenever they had to switch their defensive assignment on who to guard for the Lakers, they looked confused as to who that player should guard. The Lakers won 111-98. Kobe finished the game with 34 points and made some amazing circus shots that only he would make. World Peace had a spectacular game scoring 19 points and finishing with a career high 16 rebounds. He had a double-double in the game. Howard also had a double-double in this game. He scored 17 points and collected 11 rebounds. Howard scored 12 of his 17 points in the half and played better when Lavoy Allen and Spencer Hawes had to defend him. Chris Duhon had 14 points in the game. Former 76er Jodie Meeks, now with the Lakers, scored 12 points off the bench. For the 76ers, Nick Young had a season high 30 points. Hawes and Evan Turner both finished with 16 points in the game. Thaddeus Young ended with 14 points.

Overall, the 76ers had no answers to beat the Lakers. The Lakers have a lot of talent, and have the best player in the NBA in Kobe Bryant. If the Lakers want to show the NBA that they are a good team, they have to buy into D’Antoni’s philosophy and execute what they’re being coached. The 76ers really need to learn to get to the free throw line more and stop trying to make mid-range jump shots. Those shots worked in the NBA 40 years ago, but not in today’s NBA. They have to find a way to attack the basket and to be aggressive. The 76ers need to rebound better. There’s no excuse that World Peace should grab as many rebounds as he had last night. I did like at the end of the game that the fans gave Kobe a standing ovation because you never know when you will go to a game that features a legend like Kobe.

Does Nick Young deserve to be in the starting lineup and use Jason Richardson as a bench player? Sound off and stay tuned on Tuesday when the 76ers go on a mini Texas road trip and face off against the Dallas Mavericks.