LAKERS -at- BLAZERS - 11-28-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

2-13… Dropping another game, you start to wonder how the Lakers even won the two they got this season.

They opened the game with another bad first quarter, trailing big before the game barely got started. They outscored the Blazers over the course of the rest of the game, but that 13-point first quarter hole was too deep to recover from.

Their trio of young starters, Russell, Randle and Clarkson showed glimpses of the future as all three made good contributions offensively. Defensively, Randle showed some flashes of great play, while Clarkson and Russell were schooled most of the night by the Blazer guard duo.

Scott showed a lack of feel for the game with some wholesale subs during the third quarter when the Lakers were reeling the Blazers in. That was a pivotal point in this one.

Even though it was eventually a 108-96 loss, it was at least a little more entertaining because of the Laker youth showing glimpses of their growth. They need to string together a few more of these games where they all make positive impacts offensively.


Kobe -- -- Some much better looks for Kobe in this game. He came off the screens for catch-and-shoot jump shots where he could square up or shoot in rhythm. He was getting defenders to bite on the double pumpfakes for FTs (something we haven’t seen a lot of). Still, he had a couple of airballs and managed to get his typical 20% on threes by going 1-5. So while he got the 21 points it was on just 7-20 shooting despite some of the better flow out of the offense. He took a shot to the ribs after finishing a layup that jarred him. He’ll be feeling that one tomorrow. Scott said he will talk to Kobe tonight and tomorrow to figure out if he plays in the next one. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-20 shooting (1-5 from three, 6-7 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He hit Randle on the split play cutting for a layup. He airballed his first jumper from about 21 feet, great look. He pounded the dribble and missed a tough turnaround with a man all over him. He took contact in the post and missed. He swished a pull-up fade at the elbow after coming off a screen to take the pass. He sank a wing pull-up jumper next time down. He missed a forced wing three next time down. He airballed another wing jumper. He got a man to bite on several pumpfakes from the elbow (rare we see that foul like we used to), he made both. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He iso’d and got the Lou Williams call on the pull-up on the three line, he made two of the three FTs. Wild jump pass to Hibbert, turnover. He probed thee lane off the high screen and got a good bounce on the jumper to drop. He attacked off the screen and scored a layup, getting hit in the side with no call and going down hard. He missed a pull-up off the two-man game out of that timeout. He forced up an off-balance three at the buzzer and missed. He had 12 points on 4-12 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He sank a wing catch-and-shoot three to start the half. He missed a wing three on iso on his next possession. He drew FTs on a couple pumpfakes at the wing, he made both. He spotted Hibbert free after a loose ball scramble and hit him for FTs under the hoop. He sank a wing jumper off the down screen when Russell hit him. He missed a three trying to draw a foul. He swished the catch-and-shoot jumper coming off the screen at the elbow. He missed a wing three. He missed a pumping wing jumper. He was undercut in the post with no call and missed badly.

Clarkson -- -- The first few buckets by McCollum were on Clarkson (then Russell got his turn taking lumps). While this was going on, Clarkson was not punching back on the other end early. He eventually started to take a little more control of the game and became a threat, attacking the rim and getting into the fight. Felt like he got into the game and the flow for the rest of the night after that. I enjoyed seeing him and Russell tag team the Blazers on a couple of threes off each other’s kickouts in the second half. Those are little bits of chemistry that they can slowly build on. Defensively, Clarkson was awful at times despite the 4 steals. Don’t let the stat sheet fool you on this one. There was one play where he was rotating out to his man, who had already left the area and was dunking under the hoop about 15 feet away from him. He and Russell pretty much got tag teamed on the defensive end all night. They defended both Blazer guards off an on and had to switch quite a bit. Good game to learn from watching the film of this one. The mistakes were mental defensively. He was certainly a willing defender and tried hard. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-15 shooting (2-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He pushed out the break and hit Randle for the dunk. Good switch to swipe a pass, but then he coughed it up for a dunk the other way. He hit Randle on the wing two-man game for a jumper. He missed a long wing pull-up, but swiped it back in transition, then threw it away at the rim. He took the pass from Kobe, split the D in transition and scored the layup. He couldn’t finish a layup on a drive. Change-of-pace probe from the three line on the wing and he swished the short floater. He swished a wing pull-up jumper off the double high screen. Great job bouncing off a defender as he sealed him and he scored a layup (getting a burst of speed off that contact). Nice help D in the post to challenge a turnaround. He sank a three on the Randle kickout. He had 11 points on 5-7 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He probed and kicked to Russell for three, more please. Russell returned the favor on a similar play next time down and Clarkson hit the three. He took the great outlet from Randle, Euro-stepped and scored the layup around the D with his offhand. He got tapped on a wing three. Great job orchestrating the last play for a drive and kick to Nick at the buzzer for the corner three. He caused a turnover on our first defensive stand of the fourth, then setup Bass for FTs in transition. He lost the handle trying to put on the brakes. He airballed a three up against the shotclock. He got backdoored for a layup. He scored a layup when he and Randle trapped on the perimeter. Totally lost on D, covering no one and his man dunked. He missed a baseline pull-up jumper. He missed a short one in the paint on a drive against the shotclock. Aggressive attack from the perimeter and he drew FTs in the paint, he made one.

Randle -- -- A lot of flashes of the future in this one. He had his perimeter shot working early in the game and looked confident shooting it (we hope in a couple of years, he can’t be left alone out there). Early on, I didn’t see quite that catapult fling he often does on the shot, especially when rushed. “Some of the stuff we’ve done in practice has helped me get into a better rhythm with it,” Randle said of his shot. I liked seeing Randle curling off the perimeter split plays to make himself available in the paint for a pass. I also liked seeing him on the two-man game at the wing, just wished he rolled more on those plays. Late in the game we went to him to create on iso down the stretch. Defensively, he had several flashes of his future skills in this game. He pressured the guards really well off the screens (got to love that mobility). He had an excellent help D block at the rim. He also smothered his man in the paint using his feet and strength well, then stripped him like Metta. A little bit of foul trouble in the first quarter, but he kept that in check. “We were playing catch up the whole game,” Randle said. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 8-13 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He deflected a pass on one end and finished the dunk off the feed from Clarkson on the other. He missed a turnaround on the two-man game with Kobe (he needs to roll on those on the wing, not pop, frustrating). He scored a layup on the rare split play where he’s on the perimeter and takes the pass. He sank a wing jumper on the pick and pop with Clarkson on the wing. He picked up two fouls and had to sit midway through the quarter. He sank the 17-footer. He pushed it out and kicked to Clarkson for the three. He drained a very confident looking wing jumper on the kickout. He hit the side of the board on a drive. He had 10 points on 5-7 shooting and 2 boards. Second Half: Quick foul to start the half. He fumbled a ball away, losing grip. He got tapped on a spinning turnaround jumper. Great defensive read (one of his better timed ones all season), bouncing off his man to reject a layup on help D at the last second. He controlled it, pushed it out and quickly outlet to Clarkson for a score. Nice step out to trap a guard with Clarkson, force a turnover and Laker score. He was short on an elbow jumper. More great D off the screen to double the guard and force a pass out of bounds. He pushed up a steal, backed his man down and hit the left jumphook. They called him to iso next time down, he attacked baseline, missed the runner, but tipped the miss in. He iso’d, attacked baseline and powered in the layup over his man. Change of pace on the push out, attacked right and drew FTs, he missed both short. Great D, smothering his man and stripping him.

Russell -- -- With Lou Williams out with his grandpa’s passing, the Lakers leaned on Russell for a few more minutes than usual. With the bigger minutes, the assists and scoring were up some. He ran the offense pretty well in this one, orchestrating the ball to Kobe in better positions where Kobe could come off screens for better looks (instead of dumping it to him too much for iso’s). He had some better space off the two-man game to set up teammates for open looks or try to score. Defensively, he and Clarkson really struggled with the split plays. As good as we were offensively at times by our young guys, we gave it back pretty easily on the other end. That’s the way it is with youth. “Those dudes can flat out play,” Russell said. Scott gave Russell some praise for some of his shot contesting, but said their young guys made a few too many errors. “Just mental mistakes on the defensive end,” Scott said. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-11 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed an open three straight away in early offense. He missed a wing jumper off the two-man game. He tried to lead Roy way too much on the two-man game, pass bounced slowly to a Blazer, turnover for a score the other way. He swished an elbow jumper working off ball out of the horns sequence out of a timeout. Great feed to Hibbert as he rolled down the middle of the lane, Hibbert fouled on the dunk attempt. He came off the arm to tie up a drive, but was called for the foul (nearly a great defensive play). He swished a floater attacking off the Kobe screen (Kobe clapping intensely for Russell to do what he wanted, while Russell was calling for Hibbert to move out of the paint). He tied up Lillard at midcourt out of a timeout. He had 4 points on 2-4 shooting. Second Half: He hit Kobe on the swing pass for the three. He sank the long three on the kickout from Clarkson. Russell returned the favor kicking out off the drive to Clarkson for the three next time down. He missed a pull-up 18-footer. He was blocked on a three up against the shotclock. Burst of speed off the early offense screen from Randle and he drew FTs at the rim (more please), he made both. He sank the pull-up on the wing with a couple seconds left on the shotclock. He hit Bass for the open elbow jumper. He sank a three off the handoff when the defender went under the hoop. He gave up a layup on the other end. He missed an 18-footer in early offense. He scored a layup on a leakout in the final minute.

Hibbert -- -- He had a few more opportunities offensively early in the game, but wasn’t a factor there as the game went along. Our first unit got steamrolled early on, but played better in the second half and looked like they were reeling in the Blazers before the Scott made some wholesale changes. Defensively, he had some poor moments being too far back off the two-man games or even at a bad angle when he got up. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-4 shooting (4-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He swished a hook form the post with the shotclock low. He was stripped in the middle of the key. He missed a 17-footer. He missed a lefty hook. Lame flagrant when he made sure he took a foul in transition, hitting a Blazer’s arm as he tried to dunk. He was fouled on the dunk attempt when Russell found him on the screen-roll, he made one FT. He drew a FT getting fouled off ball as Randle sank a jumper, he made the FT. Second Half: He drew FTs when Kobe found him open under the hoop off a loose-ball scramble, he made both. He got split on the two-man game with a poor angle and we gave up an And-1.

Young -- -- Quiet game from Nick. He was mostly used as a sniper in this one with 6 of his 7 shots coming from behind the three line. He had a good moment with a couple of threes at the trail end of the third quarter. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting (2-6 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He missed a wing three. Second Half: He missed a three straight away. He missed a wide open wing three off the nice cross-court kickout from Russell. He swished a three off the split play. He sank the corner three on the kickout from Clarkson at the buzzer. He missed a 17-footer off the split play. He airballed a three trying to draw a foul.

Nance -- -- Great team D in his first stint in the first quarter, forcing turnovers and pass deflections. Our PFs played well on the defensive end in this one. Offensively, he airballed a jumper but got all his points on a set play out of a timeout set up for him. I’d still like to see them set up some lobs for him off deadballs. Not sure why this isn’t a regular feature once a game. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He swiped a cross-court pass. He found Bass coming weak to strong for FTs. Nearly another steal but he dropped the pass out of bounds. Nice reach on a guard to force a turnover. He airballed a wing jumper off an inbounds. Second Half: He reset the offense off the missed Young three getting to an offensive board. He threw a pass away expecting Russell to go one way when he went the other. They called his number out of a timeout (the play he had that monster dunk on), he scored an And-1 runner off it and made the FT. He swiped a pass in the backcourt.

World Peace -- -- Some good energy in the first half. The Lakers needed that after falling behind big in the first quarter. Good activity out there in general. Probably more minutes than you’d want from him typically, but we were a little short-handed tonight. He was a little bit of an adventure offensively. You weren’t quite sure what was going to happen. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He probed off the three line with the shotclock nearly expired and he made the flat leaner from about 11 feet out. He missed a sideline three. He swished an open wing jumper on some ball movement. Nice job tapping out an offensive board. Second Half: Great reach from behind on the perimeter to knock the ball off his man for a turnover. He missed a three after nearly losing it on the perimeter. He threw a pass away in the paint, points the other way. He didn’t hit rim on a wing three. He fumbled a rebound out of bounds on the other end.

Bass -- -- Wish he was more automatic on his jumper. He’s getting some great looks at open 15 footers and they aren’t dropping like you’d hope. The Lakers had just 2 blocks in this game, Bass had one, Randle the other. “Me playing the 5 is me being willing to do whatever it takes to help this team,” Bass said. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He curled weak to strong to take a pass and draw FTs, he made one. He blocked a jumper in the lane. Second Half: He couldn’t finish the dunk between a couple defenders. He bricked the open elbow jumper. He drew FTs in transition when Clarkson set him up, he made both. He sank the elbow jumper off the two-man game with Russell.

Scott -- -- Clarkson getting lit on D early by McCollum but not attacking on the other end, Kobe clanking. The Lakers trailed 14-6 when the timeout came… Randle picked up two fouls midway through the quarter and had to sit for Nance… Now Russell’s turn to get lit by McCollum… Bass and Metta in for Kobe and Hibbert, Lakers down 13. Nick in for Russell… Lakers in a zone out of a timeout and gave up a wide open three… The Lakers trailed 34-21 after the first quarter… He ran the Bass, Nance, Metta, Young, Russell lineup… Then brought Kobe in for Nick after one possession… Then he sat Russell for Clarkson, just a minute stint for Russell… At a timeout, he went back with Russell, Hibbert and Randle for Bass, Clarkson and Nance, just 2 minutes later… Down 10 when the timeout came midway through the quarter, he brought Nick back in for Metta… They trimmed it down to 8 with a FT coming when the timeout came… They had cut it down to 6 before the Blazers strung together several straight scores… The Lakers trailed 60-46 at the half. Lillard/McCollum had 29 points. The Lakers were 1-5 from three, the Blazers 8-16 and shooting 55% overall. Blazers had a 9-2 advantage on the break… They cut it down to 7 to force a timeout… He sat Kobe, Clarkson and Randle for Nick, Metta and Nance. Ill-timed to pull that many guys when they are rolling. First, stick with the hot hands a little longer, second, don’t go wholesale subs… Hibbert out Bass in, shortly later… Scott called a timeout down by 9… They run the Nance play and he hit an And-1 runner across the lane… Down 9, he sat Russell with 2 minutes left when he picked up his fourth foul… The Lakers trailed 84-76 heading into the fourth… He went with the Bass, Nance, Kobe, Young, Clarkson lineup… Down 12 after 3 minutes, he brought in Russell and Randle for Young and Nance… Kobe out for Metta, Lakers down 11 with 7 left… Hibbert in for Bass a minute later… Lakers guards struggling defending some split plays… The Blazers shot 12-30 from three. The Lakers were outrebounded 46-33…

[Yumyumcha]

First n thanks DB

[SweetP]

Thanks DB
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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

[ReaListik]

Man, it's crazy that this team may end up going 2-20 and that's totally feasible.
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"We are the goodest." - Shaq ESPN interview

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[cdg]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[A Mad Chinaman]

How well and fast will the Young Thundering Herd (DLO, JC, Randle and Nance) will embrace the lessons being brutally taught to them

When will the Young Ones get mad about losing and punch back?

It appears that the vets are starting to become resign to the inevitable future (from the words and descriptions provided)

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Laker7]

The most frustrating thing for me is the lack of intensity / passion the team is playing with. It is almost like some of them are going through the motions. Even Kobe. I think Byron has lost the team (if he ever had them at all) and it will be a long time before he can get them back (if ever).
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[A Mad Chinaman]

[danzag]

Thanks, DB

[ibitegirls]

"Scott showed a lack of feel for the game with some wholesale subs during the third quarter when the Lakers were reeling the Blazers in. That was a pivotal point in this one."

That was a big "Tank Commander" moment. I was screaming at the TV and everything. Byron is just awful.

[70sdude]

Thanks DB. I turned off the game at halftime. The rout was on.

I'd not thought it possible before last night, but perhaps Portland's "burn it to the ground and start over" Summer journey was a better strategy than what the Lakers used. I think I'd trade rosters and staff with them happily and move on from here.

[Annihilator]