LAKERS -at- PELICANS – 2-4-16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Return of the Mamba… The Lakers pushed pace to take a double-digit leads in the first half. It was the old man, Kobe, who was leading the charge into early offense, and Jordan Clarkson leading the team in scoring making his first eight shots in the half. They had 12 points on the break in the first half, bettering their usual amount for an entire game.

Heading into the fourth, they led by 10. Clarkson suddenly became a train wreck of missed shots, turnovers and easy scores on D.

Scott went to his vet. The Mamba Returned and sank two threes right after entering the game. With the lead down to 3 and a minute left, he swished another three, waving his finger at the crowd. A huge make.

With 21 seconds left, up 2, we inbounded and Kobe wasn’t fouled for 15 seconds. Major brain freeze by the Pelicans.

Luckily for them, Kobe missed one of his FTs and lead was just 3 with 5.9 left.

It would come down to one stop. The Pelicans airballed the three and the Lakers held on to the win, 99-96.

These last two games, the Lakers had their resilient closer and held on.

Asked what it took down the stretch, Clarkson said, “Kobe.”


Kobe -- -- Great job helping push the pace in the first half. That helped the Lakers to their double-digit leads in that half. To start the second half, you could see him deliberately pushing it to keep that going. The games started to slow down for the Lakers later in the second half. With the Pelicans mounting a comeback, Kobe returned to the game and sank two huge threes. Then, later he sank the dagger three with a minute left. That was the shot that ultimately did the Pelicans in. Great job closing. Great job again on the glass, pulling down a team-high 12 boards to go with his team-high 27. Vintage Mamba right now getting the Lakers these W’s. “I’m going to try to bottle it up for the next two months,” Scott said. The Stats: He scored 27 points on 10-24 shooting (4-11 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He probed to his left in early offense and hit the pull-up jumper. He attacked off the three line on a fly-by and hit the leaner from the FT line. He missed a long wing jumper. He iso’d, backed his man down and hit the turnaround jumper at the elbow. He shed his man on a high screen and hit the long jumper behind the three line. He missed a wing three next time down. He threw a pass out of bounds trying to thread one to Russell who got hung up in traffic. He missed a sideline three, but got his rebound back, he attacked and missed the drive, but got his miss again and this time he knocked down the short turnaround. He dribbled out of a double team and got tapped on the three. Great job tracking a loose ball in the backcourt and then quickly lobbing to Clarkson for the layup. He missed a long three on iso. He missed a quick-fire wing jumper. He had 13 points on 5-12 shooting and 8 boards. Second Half: He got tapped on a three in transition. He missed a turnaround trying to back his man down. He missed a sideline pull-up jumper. He attacked to he left and missed the short one. He spun baseline to lose his man and scored the layup. He drained a sideline three off the split play right after coming back in. He lost his man with an off-ball cut and swished a three out of a timeout. He was hit on a drive with no call and missed. He missed a pull-up jumper. He poked a post entry away to get a stop. He cleaned up a missed drive by Randle in transition. He missed a three up against the shotclock. Up 3, he swished a long wing three with a minute left, then waved his finger at the crowd. He missed a three up 4 with 30 seconds left. He was fouled with 5.9 left and missed the first, made the second to lead by 3.

Clarkson -- -- Super streaky game. He went 7-7 in the first half to lead the Lakers with 16 points. He would make his first 8 shots before missing. Threes, pull-ups from the midrange and layups or floaters in the paint. He had everything going early on. Then he went through a stretch midway through the fourth quarter where he couldn’t do anything right. Misses, turnovers, easy scores on D. The lead was trimmed in half just from him. So after making his first 8 shots, he missed his last 6 to go along with those turnovers. Wow, things really went south on him. Thankfully, the Pelicans didn’t hit that last shot him because they were scoring easily on him in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-14 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +17. The Action: He pushed out the long board, Euro-stepped around a defender and scored the layup in transition. He split defenders and scored a layup. He attacked down the middle of the paint and banked in the runner. He pushed it up with speed and hit Bass for the layup. He sank the pull-up wing jumper in early offense. He sank a three off the handoff. He finished the lob from Kobe in transition. He threw a pass out of bounds, not sure who he was trying to hit on that one. He sank a pull-up three in transition. Second Half: He pulled up on the right side and knocked down his eighth in row. He missed a layup on a drive for his first miss. He attacked and was stripped. He fumbled a perimeter pass away. He missed a floater. He got backed down and gave up a layup on the other end. He was then stripped for a dunk a few seconds later. He iso’d and missed a wing jumper. He missed a wing three. He missed a layup on drive. He gave up another layup too easy on D, timeout. He missed a slow developing drive. He ran clock down, attacked and was stripped.

Randle -- -- He didn’t get the double-double in this one. It seemed like he was on his way to it as he was gobbling up boards early. Some good ball movement by Randle. He led the team with Russell in assists with 3, he’s not ball stopping as much as he was earlier in the season. He’s either taking a quick look to see if he can attack or shoot or then moving the ball if he can’t. That’s experience of knowing his current limitations. A little bit of foul trouble in this one. “I don’t think he’s ready to retire yet,” Randle joked of Kobe’s game of late. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed an open wing jumper on a kickout (should have been cutting). He pushed it up court, crossed over a guard, stepped on the gas to attack to his left and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He took an inbounds and swished the baseline jumper. He sank a long wing jumper on iso. He up-faked, attacked and missed the short one. He attacked to his right up against the shotclock and hit the bank. He had 9 points on 4-6 shooting and 6 boards in the half. Second Half: He missed a 19-footer. He attacked the paint, drew a crowd and kicked to Hibbert for the jumper. He missed a drive, getting Davis with an off arm, we got it back to him and he was called for an offensive foul using his off arm on the second drive. Quick burst of speed from the wing and he scored the And-1 over Davis, he missed the FT. He was blocked in transition but Kobe cleaned it up. He kept a Clarkson miss alive. Lost on an inbounds and he gave up a dunk.

Williams -- -- The Lakers changed their sub pattern a little, sitting Clarkson first and keeping Lou out there longer with Russell. Then, they’d return in for the final 3 minutes or so of each half to close with the Clarkson/Williams backcourt. That combo combined for 9 turnovers in this one. Ouch. Quiet game from Lou, not getting to double digits in scoring. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-7 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 5 turnover and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He swished a step-back jumper from the left side. He attacked from the wing and drew FTs, he missed both. He missed a deep three up against the shotclock. He sank that drifting baseline jumper of his on the left side. Second Half: He lost a pass in the middle of the lane. Aggressive attack in early offense and he drew FTs, he made both. He missed a fade from the left side. He missed a three. He sank a floater down the middle of the lane. He got caught in the air and threw it away. He attacked own the middle of the lane and lobbed to Bass for the dunk. He threw it out of bounds when Black slowed up.

Hibbert -- -- Some very good moments on help D with rotations and also getting rebounds. Rare we’ve seen him with this many boards lately. We close with our more mobile Bass/Randle lineup. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 8 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He missed a layup on a drive (should have gone for the dunk). Nice rotation to the corner to cap off a good D sequence by the Lakers that turned into a turnover and score. He couldn’t handle a pass on the two-man as he tried to roll (may have been tipped). Nice challenge at the rim to get the stop. Second Half: He knocked down a baseline jumper on the kickout from Randle.

Russell -- -- Good job working the post for several scores. Amazing seeing a 19-year-old rookie with a little bit of old man’s game in him (that is only going to get better in the next several years). Imagine when he gets stronger and improves his footwork. “That’s something new,” Russell said of his game. He mentioned he’s been working with the coaches on that and he was happy Kobe was trusting him down there. That should be a pretty good weapon for him and may eventually force double teams. He has also shown a bit of craftiness in drawing fouls out of those kind of like Duncan with his ability to draw the arm contact in those situations. In the first half, I thought he did a poor job by actually running the offense and not keeping the pace going that the starters had when he came in. We started going to our slow sets and everything bogged down. Got to scrap that crap and get up and down the floor quicker. You could see the difference in play when Kobe and Clarkson were going fast (those two were a +25 and +24 respectively in the half. Russell was a -2 in the half.) The team just played better when they try to strike early. In the second half, he worked the two-man game a little and picked his spots. Some very nice upfakes off the three line in this one to attack the paint where he’s killing it with that floater. Just more glimpses of the future on all of this. “It’s just a process of getting to where I want to be,” Russell said, mentioning he’s enjoying that process. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a pull-up from the left side. He attacked to his right and missed a layup. Early offense post up and he hit the And-1 turnaround, he made the FT. He posted up and swished the baseline turnaround. He backed his man down again into the paint out of the timeout and he hit the And-1 turnaround, he missed the FT. He missed a jumper badly expecting a whistle that didn’t come. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting and 2 assists at the half. Second Half: He probed off the wing screen and swished the leaner. He airballed a wing three on a kickout. He up-faked on the three line, attacked and hit the floater from 9 feet out. He missed the elbow turnaround trying to create on the post up against the shotclock. Nice pocket bounce pass to Black for the dunk next time down. He missed a wing three on a kickout, rushing his shot. He got back in D to rebound a missed dunk by Davis, pushed it up court, stepped on the gas and scored the layup.

Young -- -- He had 8 points in 7 minutes in the first half. That’s what you want to see from him – instant offense. He scratched out a few more points in the second half. Much better impact in this one playing his role well, and he was in Swaggy mode in the postgame. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assists, 1 streal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He sank a sideline three. He hit a step-back pull-up jumper next time down. He drew FTs on a three, he made all three. He missed a deep three. Second Half: He got a defender to bite at pump fake the three line and drew FTs, he made all three. He ripped a ball away from a Pelican, then threw the outlet away.

Bass -- -- Some sloppy moments from Bass with the ball getting swiped on a handoff, a travel, getting stripped under the hoop on a layup, blocked from behind on another. We went to him and Randle to close the game again, more mobility on D. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed an easy layup after losing his man on an up and under. He traveled on a drive. His handoff was swiped. He iso’d and missed a lefty layup. Nice job running the floor and Clarkson found him for a layup. Second Half: He was blocked from behind off the feed under the hoop from Russell. He drew FTs trying to power up under the hoop, he made one. He threw down the lob from Lou on our last possession of the third.

Black -- -- The Lakers didn’t run the screen-rolls with him in the first half. They went to their sets and that limited Black’s effectiveness (and the team’s) as things bogged down. In the second half, better moments, including a quick screen-roll with Russell that led to a dunk. He just needs minutes to get into the flow of things on both ends. Good job avoiding the foul trouble tonight. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He slammed on the early offense two-man game with Russell after taking out Russell’s man with a hard screen. He fumbled, stumbled and somehow hit the hoop in the paint on the post.

Scott -- -- Just when he was at rock bottom in his tenure with the Lakers, Scott got a timely dose of vintage Black Mamba to pull a couple of wins in a row… The Lakers led 11-2 after 3+ minutes as they were pushing tempo… Zone out of that timeout to get a stop… The Lakers led 19-8 when Russell came in for Clarkson midway through the quarter… Bass in for Hibbert, Lakers up 9… Young in for Kobe who had a strong start, Lakers up 10 with under 4 minutes left… Scott called a timeout up by 6 with 2 minutes left… Pace slowing down for the Lakers with Kobe out… Black in for Randle out of that… The run for the Pelicans extended to 14-0… The Lakers trailed 28-26 after the first… Black, Bass, Young, Clarkson and Russell to start the second… Kobe in for Young, Lakers down 2. The pace picked up again (Kobe doing a great job dictating tempo) and the Lakers went on a 7-0 run… Hibbert in for Black… Randle back in with 6 minutes left up 6. The Lakers going to Russell in the post for several scores… The lead extended to 10 when the timeout came with 5:10… He sat Russell for Lou, Lakers up by 10 with 3 minutes left… The Lakers led 59-48 at the half. The Lakers had a 12-6 advantage on the break. The Pelicans bench had 23 points… Randle sat midway through the quarter with his fourth foul, Bass in, Lakers up 10… He sat Clarkson for Russell up 8… Young and Black in for Hibbert and Kobe up 6… Young/Williams scratching out some points… The Lakers led 79-69 heading to the fourth… Black, Bass, Young, Williams, Russell to star the quarter… Randle in for Bass early… Then Clarkson for Lou… Clarkson sucking it up for a stretch and the lead was chipped away… Kobe in midway through the quarter up by 6, Nick sat… Bass in for Black… Up by 7, he sat Russell for Williams with under 3 minutes… The lead trimmed more on Clarkson miscues. Just 3 points with 1 minute left… Then Kobe hit the dagger three…

[KoPauChicken]

FIRST?
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[dcastillo]

Damn second lol

[SweetP]

Thanks DB.

Some vintage Vino recently and I do love it when they win.
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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

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB!

[lakersfreak]

[DShotMaker1824]

Thanks DB. Only seen the highlights. The assists number still bother me too much.
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"Through the legs to the left, through the legs to the right, we don't run them Laker plays, we just Kobe fadeaway..."

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks again DB!

Big improvements in Randle's game lately. It was easy to forget how bad Russell's first half was once he came out and balled in the second half. That post up game looked real solid. I thought Russell's defense looked decent tonight.

I heard a lot more chatter from the Lakers on defense tonight as well.

I was looking at a TNT split screen this game, and during just about every break in action I kept seeing Russell talking about some sequence with Scott at length, with a lot of back and forth about what should be done, lots of hand motions, looked like a point/counterpoint type discussion, and it seemed to extend to both Clarkson and Williams on the court during free throws, etc. It seemed to last at least 5 minutes, continuing between plays and during timeouts. Wish I knew what they were discussing. I do know DLO didn't get yanked for questioning things, so I take it as a good thing.

[OregonLakerGuy]

Eighth!

Thanks DB

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[A Mad Chinaman]

Kids are comfortable and more efficient when their Teacher is on the court to calm things down and making key shots.

[Laker7]

BS should not have pulled Russell late in the 4Q. Lead was 8 and as soon as Russell went out it was cut to 2. Kobe bailed us out with iso.
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[yinoma2001]

The Lou as starter/finisher experiment needs to end NOW.
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals

[22]

It just hit me guys. I think Lou would be better suited to a 6th man role.

What do you guys think?

[yinoma2001]

[AJLakerFan]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[Car54]

I'm tired of winning and it's only been two games. What a jerk our coach is.
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Coach Vogel, Kidd, Hollins
Max slot : Kawhi

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[CannonBrown]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[CannonBrown]

[Shaber]