LAKERS -at- HEAT - 1-23-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Luke Warm Against the Heat… The Lakers have played the Heat close in both games this season. On Christmas, it was a spirited game. Tonight, it was…well…boring despite staying within striking distance down the stretch.

“It looka licka scrimmage to me,” Barkley said, sounding as he does, like someone sucking on a golf ball while talking out the side of his mouth. This was between discussions of wanting to see Tiger Woods instead of NBA basketball or talking about how addictive little candy bars are. The TNT broadcasters lamented not having star power on the floor to give them more eye candy and that only sucked more life from the game.

The team defense was awful to start. The Lakers kicked up the intensity to open the fourth quarter. They were within a couple of hoops for most of the quarter, but couldn’t get over the hump, falling 109-102 to the Heat.

Gasol – -- Offensively, Pau seemed to have his way as he got a lot of single coverage against Bosh and Oden. For everything good he did on offense, he gave it back on D. Just a very soft game on that end. He didn’t get much help, either. In the first half, you could see Pau rotating and the extra pass leading to a score as we didn’t help the helper. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-15 shooting (4-5 from the line) to go with 11 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 38 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a turnaround in the post. He completely lost Bosh in transition and gave up an uncontested score. He got an offensive board and hit Meeks for three. He swished a wing jumper in the two-man game. He attacked Bosh with the shotclock about to expire and drew FTs, he made both. He took the repost and scored a layup, then gave it back with a poor challenge on a layup on the other end. He took a tricky pass in the lane and flipped in an off-balance one-hander. He threw a pass away next time down. He missed a pull-up FT jumper in transition, rarely see him taking that on the break. He took a post entry, spun and scored with his left. He hit a fade across the lane on iso. Second Half: He missed a short turnaround in the post. He drew the D and kicked to Meeks for three. He missed a layup off the post entry. He scored a layup off the two-man game with Marshall. He drew FTs on the offensive glass, he made one. He iso’d on Oden and hit the And-1 jump hook over him, he made the FT. He missed a forced baseline jumper over his man. He swished a face-up jumper over his man. He iso’d on Bosh and hit the turnaround jumper to cut the lead to 5.

Meeks -- -- Jodie sank 3 threes in the second half to help keep the Lakers in striking distance. The Lakers would have been completely toast without his shooting from behind the arc and ability to get out in transition for easy ones. I don’t know if the Lakers will be able to keep him next season. He’s shown some excellent improve and the kind of role player a lot of teams could use. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 7-13 shooting (4-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: Not close on a reverse he should have had. He drained a wing three on a kickout. He missed a wing three. He attacked to his right and drew FTs, he made both. He was stripped for a layup the other way. He attacked and was blocked, compounding mistakes with that turnover on the previous possession. He got out in transition on the next play and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked and was blocked. He backdoored his man on the baseline and Marshall hit him for the dunk. Second Half: He drained a corner three on a kickout. He swiped an inbounds pass and took it the length for a layup. He attacked in transition, faked on one side of the rim and reversed on the other, should have been an And-1. He missed a wide open three. He swished a three from the top of the arc. He drained a pull-up three to cut it to 4.

Kelly -- -- Lakers missed his shooting in this game, which was MIA in MIA. He’s given the Lakers some extra punch in the last few, but not having it in this one had them struggling to stay afloat. He’s really got to work on becoming a knock-down three shooter from the NBA range. It’s just not there yet. If he can, if he can be one of those guys you just don’t leave open or sag off, he’s got enough handles and midrange game that he can be a big threat and solid rotation player. He matched up against his fellow Duke alumnus in Shane Battier for a good chunk of the game. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-10 shooting (1-4 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He posted up a smaller man and hit the turnaround easily. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He missed a wing jumper on the catch and shoot. He coughed up a ball on the perimeter. He attacked and biffed the finish, didn’t hit rim. He missed a corner three, way short. He grabbed a loose ball and was fouled on the attack, he missed both FTs. Nice D on Bosh on iso to get a stop. He up-faked, attacked and missed. He drew a charge on LeBron on the break, great D. He drained a wing three on a swing pass. He attacked and was called for a charge taking contact, weak call. He fouled a three shooter (Battier missed all three FTs). Second Half: He up-faked to lose a man, moved in closer and hit the 17-footer. Way short on a wing three, dunk the other way. He posted up a smaller man and airballed the reverse.

Johnson -- -- Not sure if he wasn’t completely engaged or what, but he didn’t seem quite up to the challenge in this one. They need him imposing his energy on the game and doing the little things. Too often, there are long stretches where you don’t notice him out there. Defensively, LeBron tried to take him to the block and overpower him and had a little success. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-3 form three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He missed a corner three. He let a man fly by, moved in a step instead of attacking and bricked. He backdoored LeBron for a reverse. Second Half: He jab stepped to create space so he could brick a three. He faked LeBron into overplaying on the full court pressure, cut behind him and took the full-court outlet for the score. He sank a quick-fire wing three.

Marshall -- -- Okay job setting the table for others and orchestrating the offense. He certainly didn’t have that impose-your-will influence that we see in some of his better games. Or that we’d see from Blake or Farmar. Not as much north and south attacking, either. He doesn’t get to the freethrow line much and clanked a couple of his tonight, including one off a big And-1 layup he scored with 2 minutes left. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 11 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He hit Pau for the jumper on the two-man game. Turnover when his pass was deflected. Not paying attention, he gave up a layup to his man. He found Johnson backdoor for a score. He attacked and drew some rare FTs, he made one. He threaded a one-hander off the dribble to Meeks for cutting baseline for the dunk. He missed a three behind a screen. HE attacked and was swatted. He sank a long three on the Pau kickout. Second Half: He didn’t hit rim trying to beat the shotclock on our first possession of the half. He zipped a rocket pass right through Pau’s hands in the post. He filled the lane on the break, took a pass and gave it back to Nick for the dunk. He attacked strong to his left and flipped in an And-1 layup over the D with 2 minutes left, but he biffed the FT. He missed a three on a kickout.

Young -- -- A little bit of a wild one from Nick, but he was definitely one of the guys fighting back and battling. There’s a big difference between his game and some of the guys that just disappear. Nick will go down with his guns empty. Some poor shot selection at times tonight, especially when we’ve got clock. He can get his shot off anytime. If there’s still clock, reset the offense or look for something different instead of the long pull-up, fading chuck with a man on. Those are late-clock shots. When we have more weapons on the floor, he’s shown the ability to reel it in. Right now, we need him to produce. No chance without it. Just too inefficient tonight. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-20 shooting (2-6 from three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: His man left him and Young drained the wing three as we got the ball back to him. He drew a charge on LeBron, cutting him off on iso D as he went over the top of a screen. He missed an elbow jumper on the other end. He missed a drive, but Hill tipped it in. His pass was picked off for a layup the other way. He missed a sideline three. Second Half: He missed a baseline pull-up jumper. He worked past Allen easily and hit the floater. He missed a bad elbow chuck, way off-balance. He stepped on the sideline on a corner three. He flashed to the elbow, took the pass and hit the fade. He missed a three. He pushed out the break, gave it up, got it back and dunked. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a corner three. He pushed out the outlet and scored a layup. He sank a quick-fire wing jumper. He swiped a loose ball, pushed it out, changed direction and scored an And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He missed a wing jumper. He backed it out, rose up and got a kind bounce on a wing three to cut it to 4. He iso’d and missed the wing jumper. He missed a long jumper standing on the three line when the play busted, poor shot selection at a critical juncture. He attacked, spun and drew FTs, he made one.

Harris -- -- I feel like I’m waiting for Manny to have a break out game. Just one where he goes off. I don’t know if we’ll ever see it or not, but it shouldn’t shock anyone with his ability to get his shot off and get to places on the court with his dribble and athleticism. He got to the line for a few FTs. He needs to do that more to try to stick in the league. Do the Xavier thing. Draw that contact, manufacture points and play good D. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (0-3 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 21 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a wing three. He attacked the paint hard and drew FTs, he made both. He got through some pressure D and hit Sacre under the hoop for the score. He took a pass in the middle of the break and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He missed a three to start the second quarter. He missed a short one challenged by Oden. He banked in a one-hander from the right side. Second Half: He attacked and missed in the paint, but got it back. He stepped out of bounds getting ready to iso, ouch. He missed a sideline three. He jumped a passing lane on rotation and stole it to ignite a break.

Hill -- -- With Kelly struggling, Jordan imposed his size on the Heat and got some more run than we’ve seen recently. He killed it on the offensive boards, pulling down 5 and getting some putbacks. We might have tried to milk our advantage in the paint a little more in this one. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-7 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards (5 offensive), 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He swiped a pass and ignited the break. He swatted LeBron under the hoop. He tipped in a missed drive by Young. Sloppy screen and he was called for it. He completely choked an uncontested dunk/layup. Second Half: He grabbed a missed three and put it back in. He battled in a crowd, pulled down the board and scored the And-1 putback, he missed the FT. He missed a jumphook. He worked the post and hit his jumphook. He grabbed an offensive board and missed the putback.

Sacre -- -- Serviceable minutes, but we need more star power to replace our serviceable-minute players. We have too many minutes where we can’t pounce on teams. When we had our depth, our bench was able to do that. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting to go with 1 boards and 2 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He tapped out an offensive board to give the Lakers a second chance. He scored a layup off the Harris feed. He missed an elbow jumper. He cut off baseline and forced a player out of bounds. Second Half: He sank a baseline jumper.

D’Antoni -- -- Really careless defense by multiple Lakers to give up uncontested scores and D’Antoni called a timeout down 13-7 early on… Very poor start defensively… He sat Johnson and Meeks with 5 minutes left, down 7… He sat Kelly for Hill and brought in Meeks at point… Good close by this unit… They trailed 30-27 after the first quarter… They started to flounder opening the second quarter and trailed by 10… Down 12 he brought in Marshall to run point again… He brought in Pau and Kelly for Sacre and Hill down 11 after 4-plus minutes… Down 9, he had all the starters out there midway through the quarter… Laker team D just horrible… The Lakers trailed 57-46 at the half… Down 16 quickly to open the half and D’Antoni took a timeout after just a minute. We then couldn’t inbounds and called another timeout. (Lakers had issues with inbounds plays in this one)… They floundered through most of the third quarter until a brief stretch where they cut it to 8 late… The Lakers trailed 85-75 heading into the fourth, need more fire in them to compete and they would start to get a little… He started the Pau, Hill, Young, Harris, Meeks lineup… The Lakers cut it to 85-80 on a 9-1 run and forced a timeout… They trimmed it to 4 with 4 minutes left. They traded hoops again and cut it to 4 with 3 minutes left and forced a timeout… Too close for comfort for the Heat… And that’s as close as they would get. They were unable to get stops and took some suspect shots down the stretch… They gave up 31 points to Bosh on a ton of open jumpers…

[ODotSoHot]

first?

[ODotSoHot]

heeeeeeeeey! I DID IT!!!!!!

[wolfpaclaker]

Thanks DB.

As I've said most of this season - while I fully understand our lack of O at times and what not - the coaching staff should have done a better job than the 2nd worst D in the NBA this year. We're one of the 3-4 worst teams in the NBA on D, and I do think some of that falls on our coaching. We don't run back in transition and often just don't move. It's not like this team has no speed at all or lacking energy, because they certainly show it on O when they run and up and stuff. There's lineups out there a lot of games this season that I go, man if I actually cared if we won, I'd get so angry right now.

But since I'm in coast to the 2014 draft mode .... A drink and relax time instead of venting at the TV !

BTW, nice to see that we're scoring against some of the better defenses in the NBA (Chi/MIA) on this trip despite a lack of talent on that end. Pau has been playing great. I do think we should go more to him. Seems he was quite upset with his PG towards the end of the game for not getting him the ball at all. Lebron was the go to guy for Miami but we kind of went to Young, Marshall etc the last few min. Pau looked upset, especially when he finally got a post up, drew a double, kicked out and Marshall took a 3 he had no business taking (really way out from 3, the re-post was the right play there).

[Rawr]

I don't quite understand Wesley Johnson. He becomes completely invisible for stretches. He seems like a pretty well rounded player but I think maybe he just forgets he's supposed to be doing something and just watches the action? He should be fighting for rebounds and cutting through the lane anytime he doesn't have the ball.
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You are either in or on your way to the NBA Finals.

[SweetP]

Missed this one entirely (family thing) so thanks for the recap. At least it wasn't a blow-out, sigh.
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks again DB. No surprise at the result, but I'm glad they showed a little life late in the game.

[Chronicle]

TNT commentators were beyond awful.

My heart broke when they said there never has been a pass first superstar before lebon.
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Kobe

[kobeandgary]

[Lakersneuron]

[foshowtime]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[DancingBarry]

Looks like it might be a DIY T&R night for me tonight. My schedule is overloaded!