LAKERS -at- BUCKS – 2-22-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Coach Kidd vs. Coach Scott… The final score doesn’t tell the whole story. Not even close.

The Lakers gave up 30 points on the break in just the first three quarters. Dunk. Dunk. Dunk. Dunk. They were outscored by 30 points in the paint, and it must have looked fun from the other side. The Bucks were throwing passes off the backboard for dunks. Just an embarrassing game out there.

Scott didn’t like the energy level. “Transition to me is just effort, and we didn’t do a good job getting back,” Scott said.

The Lakers offense was iso-prone. Their D was slow in transition and confused and late on rotations in the half court. Coach Kidd pushed the tempo right down coach Scott’s throat from start to finish, and the Lakers choked on it.

The 108-101 loss felt more like a 30-point blowout. Some late garbage-time scoring by Nick and Lou allowed the Lakers to make it look much closer. (The Lakers managed to cover the spread by a point or two with all those meaningless scores late in the game. So somewhere out there are some very happy or unhappy betters after what looked like a very lopsided score to start the fourth.)


Kobe -- -- Good job getting to the line. That was probably the only good part of his game tonight other than seeing him in Russell’s ear teaching at times throughout. Hopefully, it was a good teaching game, but things were so badly done on both ends, who knows? Kidd hoped Kobe stays close to the game in some fashion because he has a lot to offer. He also mentioned after the game about how Kobe worked hard, came off the bench, paid his dues before he became one of the league’s best ever. After the game, a lot of Kobe’s press conference was spent talking about the young guys and how to grow, including Antetokounmpo who had a triple-double tonight. “The last thing you want to do is at the end of your career look back and say ‘oh, I wish I worked harder,’” Kobe said. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 3-12 shooting (1-5 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -20. The Action: He missed a long three on a kickout. He backed his man down and hit the turnaround for the Lakers first score. He missed a wing turnaround jumper. He attacked from the wing on the chin series and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a wing jumper, then picked up his second foul. He missed a deep three on a stalled offensive sequence. He fired a pass out of bounds trying to hit Russell cutting. He airballed a long wing jumper. He attacked right and pulled up at the FT line for the jumper. He up-faked to lose a man, took a dribble, stepped back and drained the wing three. He missed a forced three from the same spot next time down. He was hacked on the perimeter and drew FTs, he made both. He had 11 points and 4 boards. Second Half: His cross-court pass was picked off. He bricked a wing three. He iso’d and was fouled on the pull-up jumper, he made both FTs. He couldn’t finish a hanging reverse. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He drew FTs on a three and made two.

Clarkson -- -- He kept the blowout at bay in the first half by draining a series of threes in the second quarter. Those four threes (including a 4-point play) kept the Lakers in striking distance. It felt like a blowout already then, but we were able to compete because of Clarkson in that first half. His three-ball has looked great since that game on All Star weekend. “I feel like I’m taking them more in rhythm,” Clarkson said. He mentioned that they need to take their defensive assignments on their own and not rely on the help D because it isn’t there. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting (4-6 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He missed a leaning prayer from the three line up against the shotclock on our first possession. He tripped on a cut down the lane and didn’t get a whistle, turnover. He blew past a man in transition for the layup. He attacked and kicked to Russell for the three. He was called for an offensive foul using his off arm on a probe. He hit Bass cutting for FTs. He missed a long pull-up three in early offense. He sank a three on a kickout. He took a dribble left and rattled down the three straight away. He deflected a pass for a steal. He sank his third three in this flurry and forced the timeout. He took the pass on the wing, fired the three, drew the whistle and sank the And-1, he made the FT for the 4-point play. He missed a wing three. He had 15 points and 3 assists. Second Half: He missed a corner three, skimming the side of the board. He attacked off the three line and missed the layup.

Russell -- -- One of my fewest amounts of notes on Russell this season. Typically, he’s got his hand a lot more. He scored all his points on three threes. That shot behind the arc seems to be improving a bit lately. Hopefully, he’s been strengthening those legs and won’t get fatigued as the season drags on. Some odd offensive possessions where it looked like he was purposely trying to pick up the pace for the Lakers, but it resulted in some rushed sequences and attacking a lack of space in early offense. Kobe said he was talking about sequences with Russell and how he should see the game four steps ahead of the action. Glad Russell got to spend a year with Kobe even if it was an ugly one. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a -29. The Action: He hit Hibbert in the middle of the lane for the short jumphook. He sank a sideline three on the kickout from Clarkson. He hit Nance cutting for the layup. He worked the two-man game with Bass and set him up for the jumper. He iso’d and sank the pull-up wing three. Second Half: He missed a quick-fire three in transition. He missed an open wing three. He tried to force it in early offense, stripped, dunk the other way. No spacing on a probe, turnover, dunk the other way. He sank a three working off the high screen (took it way too early when we should have waited for the last shot).

Randle -- -- Any game where Randle doesn’t get close to a double-double will probably not be a good one. “I didn’t think he brought the energy,” Scott said. He couldn’t score, was crowded and continually late on D on rotations. He didn’t like the ball movement or spacing by the team. Just a poor game on both ends. He was getting frustrated late in the game and he started looking to jam on defenders and was drawing fouls. I’d like to see him try to finish that same chip on his shoulders a little more. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting (3-6 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -21. The Action: He missed a pull-up jumper on iso. He was called for a kick after getting stripped. Way short on a long jumper off the double high screen. Bad post entry pass (why is he making that anyway) and it was picked off, followed by a foul. Second Half: He faced up, attacked left and was fouled on a reach, he made one FT. Good seal before the inbounds came, he took the pass and scored the short one. Late rotation and we gave up a dunk. Iso, late recognition on a cut and he threw a pass away. Iso again and he couldn’t bully his way to a score. Another late recognition on D and we gave up a dunk. Frustrated, he attacked hard down the middle of the lane and was fouled on the dunk attempt. More FTs on another drive and dunk attempt, he made one. He attacked off the dribble to his right and couldn’t finish the layup.

Hibbert -- -- I appreciate his willingness to go to the floor and some of the hustle in transition on D. He was beating teammates down the court in transition D and that shouldn’t happen. Lack of hustle from a lot of other guys on the court in transition. Despite Hibbert’s effort, there was little impact. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting to go with 2 offensive boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: He missed a 17-footer. He missed a short one at the front of the rim. He took the feed from Russell in the middle of the lane, pivoted and hit the jumphook. He scooped up a loose ball and missed a jumphook. He hit the floor to recover a bad pass. Second Half: He traveled after pulling down an offensive board. He badly bricked a wing jumper.

Williams -- -- He was ticked at the refs and the 2-12 shooting was why. He wasn’t getting some of those calls he expected on those plays where he baits defenders. He still got to the line a lot, but was clearly frustrated he wasn’t getting there more. He and Nick were showing that offensive firepower as a one-two punch off the bench in that fourth. In a close game, that would have been trouble for an opponent. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 2-12 shooting (0-4 from three, 10-13 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He missed a scooping layup attempt in transition. He missed a sideline three on a kickout. He drew FTs trying to finish at the rim, he made both. He missed a pumping sideline three. He missed a three. He attacked down the middle of the D and was blocked at the rim. He missed a pull-up three on a stalled offensive sequence. He kicked to Clarkson for the three. He missed the fading wing jumper trying to draw the foul. Second Half: He drew FTs on a sideline three, he made all three. He attacked the paint and was irked he didn’t get the whistle on the runner. He missed a forced baseline jumper, then took a frustration foul on the other end and griped to the ref. Not close on a layup attempt. He drew more FTs on a runner. He split a double and took it for a layup. He made a couple more FTs. He swiped a bad post entry pass. He missed an open wing three. He drew more FTs. He jumped a passing lane on the other end, took it the distance and scored the layup over a couple defenders. He drew more FTs on a chuck.

Nance -- -- Sore right knee kept him out of the action in the second half. “We’ll see how he feels Wednesday morning,” Scott said. Nance said it was just precautionary and seemed upbeat about playing in the next one. Look for Vitti to get more conservative with resting people down the stretch as he goes into super-secret stealth tank mode. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He cut down the lane and Russell found him for the layup. He ball faked and two defenders bit, leaving him alone to drive and he hit Bass for the dunk. He tapped out an offensive board and it led to a Laker hoop. He missed a rushed baseline jumper up against the shotclock. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Young -- -- If you are watching the tank standings, this was a well-time outburst by Nick. The team was down big, he started to get hot in the fourth, but it didn’t matter. We outscored the Bucks by 18 in the fourth and still lost by plenty. It might have been interesting if he sank his fourth three. They disallowed that bucket as he was standing on the sideline on the shot. That would have cut it to 10. “They need to go back and review that,” Nick said. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 5-12 shooting (3-8 from three, 6-8 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper. He missed a deep three on a kickout. He sank a long wing jumper after getting space. He drew a foul on a pumpfake from three next time down, he made just one FT. He missed a long three. Second Half: He sank a three working off the high screen. He sank a baseline pull-up jumper. He swished a wing three shortly later. He hit another three. He stepped on the sideline to erase a sideline three next time down (that would have cut it to 10). He was tapped on a three getting open off a backscreen and cross-court feed. He missed an open sideline three on an inbounds. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs. He airballed a sideline three, was blocked on a reverse, got it back and drew more FTs on a three.

Bass -- – Standard night from Bass, just playing his game. One of those nights as a vet that you probably hate. The Lakers were getting embarrassed, the team has just 11 win after 58 games, second night of a back-to-back, you’re in Milwaukee… The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He dunked off the great ball fake and pass from Nance. He hit the wing jumper off the two-man game with Russell. He lost the dribble, dunk the other way. He rolled to the hoop and Clarkson hit him for FTs, he made both. He crashed the glass and drew FTs on the putback attempt, he made just one. He had 7 points and 4 boards. Second Half: He choked a layup off the bounce pass in the paint. He rattled down an elbow jumper. He threw a pass away. He sealed his man on the rim run, took the pass and dunked. He iso’d in the post and was blocked.

Black -- -- With Nance being sidelined, Black got to start the fourth quarter. Not really quality minutes. I’d like to see him out there in the heart of the battle. He should have had 4 points but didn’t dunk a finish and was promptly swatted. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 steal and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He grabbed an offensive board and powered in a layup. Soft finish attempt in transition and he was blocked.

Huertas -- -- Decent minutes from Huertas. Good job on the boards in that time, he was boxing out and doing the fundamentals, which gets you boards no matter what size. He sank a three, had just a single assist (Black robbed him of a great one). They orchestrated some nice place to get Nick some good looks when he got hot. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and no fouls in 12 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He hit Bass on the rim run for a dunk. Black robbed him of an assist with a soft finish that was blocked. He sank an open wing three. He missed a corner three. He pushed it out and fed it behind him to Kelly for FTs.

Kelly -- -- He came in midway through the fourth for garbage time. He had an embarrassing rejection of a shot and scratched out a few meaningless points. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-2 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He scooped up a loose ball and served it up for a rejection out of bounds. He hit a short one in the middle of the paint. He made a couple of FTs.

Scott -- -- Another horrible shot up against the shotclock to start the game. First possessions have been awful lately... Lakers down 15-11 when Lou came in for Clarkson at the 6-minute mark… Bass in for Hibbert, down 6… Kobe out for Nick, Randle for Nance, Lakers down 11… Too many transition hoops for the Bucks… The Lakers trailed 29-19 after the first quarter… He started the Bass, Nance, Young, Williams, Clarkson lineup… Zone to start the quarter and they gave up a three… Lakers down 10 when Kobe came in for Young after 5 minutes… Randle in for Nance… Clarkson with three threes to cut the lead to 4 and force a timeout… Hibbert in for Bass… Down 6, Russell in for Lou… A Clarkson 4-point play cut it to 2… The D couldn’t hold the line and they faded again before Russell hit a three at the end of the half… They trailed 54-48 at the half… Lakers just getting torched to start the second half. Too many easy buckets and no scoring… Down 17, Scott called a timeout… Out of that timeout, we go to iso and a turnover… Just awful on both ends, no rotation on D and not making the Bucks D need to rotate at all… The Laker iso ball was just awful, every time down… Bass and Williams in, followed by Young… Nance in for Randle… The Lakers trailed 90-65 heading into the fourth… He went with the Black, Bass, Young, Williams, Huertas lineup… Nick and Lou trying to make some kind of a comeback…

[twisted]

First?
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“God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together.” – Vanessa Bryant

[twisted]

Yes! Thanks DB!

Young's Stats: 5-12, 19 pts, 3-8 from 3, 1 ast, 2 to in 23 min.
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“God knew they couldn’t be on this Earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together.” – Vanessa Bryant

[SweetP]

Thanks DB.

Missed much of this game stuck at work but don't think I really missed much. At one point I checked the score and Lakers were only down maybe 4 points. Next time I checked they were getting blown out.
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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

[Shaber]

Thanks!

Finally a proper emoticon for Scott.
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[TDRock]

That game was agony, missed the ending cos I fell asleep on the couch...

Thanks for toughing this one out DB!

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[lewis]

[70sdude]

Thanks DB. I tried to watch but I had to look away. That was as ugly as any contest this season, which is saying something.