LAKERS -at- PACERS – 2-8-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:21 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- PACERS – 2-8-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

To Live and Die… The Lakers trailed by 17 points when Bass and Russell returned to the game midway through the third quarter.

The second unit rallied behind Russell, getting the Lakers within striking distance when Kobe returned.

A jumper and two threes by Kobe forced a timeout. A three by Kobe out of the timeout and the Lakers were ahead. Those who came out to see No. 24’s last ride in Indiana got to see some of that vintage Mamba. The crowd was buzzing.

Unfortunately, Kobe couldn’t carry the hot hand through the final couple of minutes. “Sometimes you live and die with it,” Scott said.

The Lakers died, 89-87, giving up a couple of 3-point plays to Paul George, and unable to get any more late-game magic from Kobe.

“Tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat and the rabbit disappeared,” Kobe said.


Kobe -- -- Kobe looked over to the locker where he was getting ankle treatment during the championship series. “This was the start of the run,” Kobe said. Back in Indiana for his final game here and Kobe brought a little late-game magic. He looked a little stiff to start the game, barely able to get a dunk attempt over the rim on a breakaway in the first half. Late in the third, the Lakers started chipping away at the lead. They kept it close in the fourth. When Kobe subbed back in, he dropped a flurry of scores to give the Lakers a lead. He hit a baseline jumper, then three straight three’s. The crowd that game out to see him went nuts. What was Kobe thinking? “Yeah, I made a damn shot. About time,” Kobe said. He couldn’t keep it going, however, and the Lakers gave up a couple big fouls in the final minute to George to fall behind. The second one, Kobe was shading him to no one and George took it in for a huge And-1 with 38 seconds left. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 6-25 (4-14 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards and no fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: No communication with Randle to give up a lob dunk. He missed a wing three. He up-faked and drew FTs on the jumper, he made one. He missed an open wing three. He missed a pull-up from 12 feet out. He spun baseline and drew FTs on the reverse, he made both. He pumped a couple of times and missed the chuck. He scored the easy one on the long outlet from Russell (looked like he couldn’t get up high enough to dunk). He airballed wanting the foul on the turnaround on the baseline. He airballed a wing three. He drained a deep three on iso. He had 8 points on 2-9 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing three working off the screen. He missed a three. He got tapped on a long three. He missed a pull-up jumper. He hit Randle with an interior feed for FTs. He missed a long three at the end of the quarter. He missed a wing three right after entering the game in the fourth. He attacked, missed the runner, got it back and hit the short jumper. He sank the three on the swing pass from Russell next time down. He swished a sideline three next time down. Out of a timeout, he rose up and rained another three next time down, crowd going nuts. He missed a long three but we got it back. He missed the runner (airball) but Bass dunked it in. He missed a pull-up from the wing. He gave up an And-1 layup to George, he said he was pushing him to the nail and no one was there to cover, tough miscue with 38 seconds left. He missed a big three on the other end. He missed a long three.

Clarkson -- -- Foul trouble in the first half that limited his minutes. The foul with 1:11 left in the game to give up three FTs was especially painful. “Just a terrible foul by Jordan,” Scott said. Lakers had their 4-point lead trimmed to 1 off that. Jordan had to jump off the inbounder to try to close on George who was open for a three and clipped him. He fouled out shortly later having to take a foul with 20 seconds left. Scott ran him extra minutes in the second half to make up for the lack of time in the first half. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 6 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a face-up baseline jumper. He was blocked by Hill on a drive. He sank a wing pull-up jumper working off the high screen. He missed a sideline three. He probed off the two-man game and banked in the floater. He then picked up his third foul on the other end. Second Half: He iso’d and missed the pull-up jumper. He missed a three. He banked in a floater from the right side. He swiped a pass under the hoop. Unforced error trying to back it out off the sideline screen-roll. He attacked and missed the floater. He swiped a bad pass and quickly pushed it out. He drew FTs crashing the glass, he made both. He attacked and kicked to Russell for the three. He swished a pull-up working off the high screen. He missed a short baseline jumper. He threw a drive away. He fouled a three shooter on a close out with 1:11 left, Lakers up 4, ouch.

Randle -- -- “It felt like it was our game,” Randle said. The Lakers had it but couldn’t close in the final couple minutes. Massive numbers again. He said the game is coming easy to him. He should be a rookie, of course, and these numbers are ridiculous for a rookie. He followed up his 17-board game with a 19-board double-double tonight. “He’s been fantastic,” Scott said. Again, no love in the press because he’s not classified as a rookie, but he’s killing it and growing by the week. He knocked down a couple of jumpers early on. He had a few turnovers later on some lazy passes, but he he’s fitting in much better now. He’s moving the ball quicker, picking his spots quicker and dominant on the boards. Kid is beasting. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting (1-2 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 19 boards (4 offensive), 3 assists, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He sank a jumper from the top of the key, no hesitation. He flashed to the ball and swished the elbow jumper. He crossed over, attacked left and drew FTs on the drive, he made one. He iso’d and banked in the righty one-hander. He iso’d and hit the fade in the lane. He missed a baseline jumper. He fed Russell after a quick attack and Russell took it in the paint for the score. He threw a kickout away for a score the other way. He pushed it out slowly, stepped on the gas and drew FTs trying to finish with his right again, he made one again. Offensive foul on a semi-flop by George on a screen. He had 10 points and 7 boards at the half. Second Half: Sweet read to zip a pass to Lou from the perimeter as he cut in traffic, Lou blew the layup to cost Randle the assist but made the follow-up. He threw an inbounds pass away for a Pacer three. He blew a layup on a drive. He crossed over and was blocked on the drive. He drew FTs on the interior feed from Kobe, he made both. Quick-fire pass to Kobe for the three. He banked in a long three at the buzzer.

Williams -- -- Some sloppy passing in this one. He and Randle combined for 9 of the Lakers 12 turnovers. Pacers were sitting in the passing lanes and the Lakers aren’t ever very good about going to any counters. That stretch in the first half of this one where both teams were missing was ugly. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 3-11 shooting (1-5 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 4 turnovers in 26 minutes. He was a -17. The Action: He scooped up a loose ball (after a collision that sent the Pacers’s biggest player to the locker room), he pushed it out and missed the short one. He swished the corner three off the handoff. He missed the baseline pull-up jumper. He missed a wing three. He manufactured FTs on an attempt from three, he made all three. Wild kickout off a probe, turnover. Wild pass on the two-man game, dunk the other way. He missed a baseline jumper. Way short on the wing three. He swiped the ball on the other end and ignited the break. He swiped a pass, then was stripped in transition. He had 6 points and 2 steals at the half. Second Half: He cost Randle a sweet assist as he cut in traffic and Randle found him behind a defender, Lou missed the layup, but scored on his follow tip. He hit an And-1 runner after splitting the double team, he made the FT. He missed an open three. He attacked the paint and earned FTs, he made both. He missed an open wing three.

Sacre -- -- He got the start in Hibbert’s absence. First time Roy hasn’t played all season and it comes in his return to Indiana. Sacre picked up on the boards where Hibbert left off with none. He was a -15 in those 15 minutes he was on the court. Not good. He also didn’t score. Really just a warm body out there tonight going up against his buddy Jordan Hill. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting, had 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He was stripped on the perimeter, turnover. Second Half: He couldn’t handle an interior feed from Lou. He missed a turnaround on iso. He missed an open baseline jumper.

Russell -- -- “It was fun just being able to finish the game,” Russell said. Hope we see more of it. After a slow shooting first half, he rallied in the second half to help the team come back. Scott let him finish the game out as a result. His statline across the board in this one is crazy good as far as making an all-around impact. The scoring was inefficient after the misses in the first half, but 16 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals and 1 block as a 19-year old? And he led the Lakers with the +14. Very nice. Defensively, again he places himself in the right spot on rotations to the point where he’s getting passes thrown right to him. Some people never anticipate the game. He's already great at it. “I thought D’Angelo was very poised in that fourth quarter,” Scott said. We didn’t really give him the keys in the final minutes as we were looking for Kobe, but at least he was out there. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-18 shooting (1-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: Great read, stepping into the passing lane under the hoop on recovery to swipe the ball. He drained a baseline jumper on the other end. He missed the step-back wing jumper. He missed a three in transition. Quick feed to Bass on the sideline pick and roll for a dunk. Great advance pass across court to Brown for the open transition three. He posted up and wanted the foul on the turnaround miss. He missed a runner in the lane, then the easy putback follow. He missed an open wing three. He couldn’t finish a layup after his behind-the-back fake (which looked like it actually worked for once). Great full-court outlet to Kobe leaking out for the layup. He took the dish from Randle, attacked the lane and hit the floater. He traveled attacking off the three line. He stripped the ball off his man who was trying to take it to him on a drive. Not close on a corner three. He swiped a pass and was blocked on the half-court heave. He was 2-11 in the half but had 3 assists. Second Half: He swiped a kickout pass. He finally swished a three on a kickout. Great job using his length in transition to finish a tough one with his right around a big for And-1 layup, he made the FT. He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He attacked baseline but was blocked on the layup by the help D. He set up Bass for the layup on the two-man game. He pushed out a blocked shot and drew FTs, he made one. He sank a long pull-up jumper working the two-man game. He posted up, spun baseline and hit the And-1 turnaround jumper over the double team, he made the FT. He posted up again and wanted the foul on the miss.

Young -- -- Too bad he couldn’t knock down one or two of his threes. “They just tightened up their defense a little bit,” Young said of the Pacers down the stretch. You could see George really working hard against Kobe. Nick had his moments on D, as well. Good effort on that end. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-7 shooting (0-5 from three) to go with 4 boards and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a three, got it back and missed the shorter wing jumper. Nice challenge to force a tough shot at the buzzer. He missed a catch-and-shoot three. Second Half: He sank a pull-up wing jumper out of a timeout. He missed a wing three, we got it back to him and he missed again. He missed a wing three.

Bass -- -- When he and Russell entered the game, the Lakers were down 17 points. Our more mobile D and Russell running the offense helped turn things around. Again, we closed with our scrappy Bass/Randle lineup. Those two had 9 offensive boards. Wish they were better at shotblocking because we could have used some help on that And-1 by George. He did get a good challenge in early to force an offensive foul. Offensively, some moments with Russell on the two-man game. Never a fan when we just dump it to him to create on iso. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting to go with 6 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals and 6 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He kicked out to Russell for the open jumper. He slammed off the quick sideline two-man game with Russell. He hit the floor for a loose ball and was tied up. He swiped a pass in the paint. Good foul on a dunk attempt and it saved a point (and highlight reel play). He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He drew FTs getting out on the break with speed, he made one. Second Half: He missed a short jumper in transition. He iso’d and missed the pull-up jumper. He scored a layup off the two-man game with Russell (got two players in the air on an up-fake before muscling it in). He was fouled on an inbounds jumper with a second left on the shotclock, he made both. Nice challenge to force a clear-out foul. He gathered the Kobe airball and dunked to beat the shotclock with just over a minute left.

Brown -- -- He had a brief first-half stint to take up some minutes in the first quarter with Clarkson in foul trouble. He drained a three in transition as we moved the ball up court with speed. Love seeing no hesitation from him on that. Want to see some more minutes for him. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting from three to go with 1 board and no fouls in 4 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He sank a three off the advance pass from Russell. He missed a three up against the shotclock. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Black -- -- He didn’t score and we didn’t integrate him much in the offense. He had a great shotblock in the second half. The Lakers could use more of that. With the youth and speed on this team, if they can get an anchor that can shotblock well and get them out on the break the team would play to their strengths more. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 5 boards, 1 block and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Nice verticality to prevent a layup, then control the miss. He missed a jumphook in the middle of the paint. Second Half: Great help D rejection of a layup to ignite a break.

Scott -- -- Good effort from the Lakers in this one even if it was ugly offensively… Bass in for Sacre, Russell in for Lou, Lakers up 3 midway through the quarter… Brown in at SG down 3 (different sub pattern with Clarkson in foul trouble)… Black in for Randle… Young in for Kobe… They had a 22-21 lead when the timeout came with 2 minutes left… The Lakers trailed 23-22 after the first… He went with Black, Bass, Young, Lou and Russell… Both offenses flatlined… Kobe came in for Nick with 8:31 left, Lakers down by 2… Randle/Sacre in for Bass and Black, Lakers up 2… Sacre picked up his third quickly and Bass returned, Lakers down 3… The Lakers trailed 39-31 when Scott called timeout. He sat Russell for Clarkson… A lot of turnovers on the perimeter by the Lakers… Clarkson picked up his third and quickly sat for Russell again… The Lakers trailed 46-38 at the half. The Lakers shot 30% in the half (3-16 from three). The Pacers shot 37% (2-15 from three)… Pacers just jumping the passing lanes for easy steals… The Lakers trailed 60-45 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Bass and Russell in for Lou and Sacre down 17… A 12-0 Laker run and they cut it to 5 (Russell with a couple 3-point plays)… The Lakers trailed 64-59 heading into the fourth… He went with the Black, Bass, Young, Clarkson, Russell lineup… They trimmed it to 3… Lakers down 5 when Randle came in for Black midway through the quarter… Down 6, Kobe in for Young with 4:44 left… Kobe tied it on three straight scores. Timeout with 2:45 left… Another three out of that timeout to give the Lakers a 3-point lead… Lakers trailed by 2 with 38 seconds left. They couldn’t get the key stop… Clarkson fouled out. Nick and Lou in with 20 seconds left down 4… He sat Kobe with 10 seconds left down 5. Nice move by Scott to give the crowd a chance to give him a final cheer…


Last edited by DancingBarry on Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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CannonBrown
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:24 pm    Post subject:

first
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pio2u
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:31 pm    Post subject:

Thanks again DB!
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SweetP
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:32 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
Another close one, seems they are improving?
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OregonLakerGuy
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:34 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:35 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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H0B0
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:52 pm    Post subject:

THX DB. GO LAKERS
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:08 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
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PLATNUM
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 10:23 pm    Post subject:

20 years strong and Kobe still hasn't learned how to balance his game out. ZERO assists tonight. (The AIRBALL to Bass for the dunk doesn't count, unfortunately) Not like the guys were knocking down shots, but instead of jacking up a few of those shots he could have played the decoy role and tried to set up his guys for buckets. Not sure how much of that is on him or Byron, but it sucks to watch.

Nothing but straight up iso plays with a pick up top the last few minutes of the game. They missed a shot off the iso/screen play, got the offensive rebound and went straight back to the same play off the rebound. Good grief.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2016 1:03 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB for another excellent recap. Lakers had this game. DLO reeled the Lakers back into the game, Kobe pulled some Vintage Mamba out and willed the Lakers up 4 then the Pacers defense went all-in to stop him in the last minute. That's when Kobe should have found a wide open DLO instead of trying to iso and take the circus shot route.

Still - the Lakers are starting to give good teams a hard time in opposing arenas, and the defense seems to be improving. Held the Pacers under 40% shooting. Win or lose this one was fun to watch.
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