CAVS -at- LAKERS – 3-10-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

LeBron, Have You Seen My Five Championship Rings?… Kobe and LeBron went head-to-head one last time. While LeBron got the win, Kobe stole the show with an efficient 26 points, taking LeBron and others to school in the post and on the perimeter. The old man still showing he has some serious game at times.

“Playing against him is fun because of his size,” Kobe said. The Mamba played a physical, post-up game quite a bit tonight, coming up with one of the highlights of the night on a step-through after losing LeBron on a pumpfake.

“That’s like a grown man, old man game,” Kobe said. “I catch it on the post, it doesn’t matter. I don’t have to be loose or anything like that. I’m just going to bump, turn, fade. Bump, turn fade.” Except when he didn’t and LeBron bit on the pumpfake.

That was the game within the game. For the Lakers part, they struggled defending the three shot. The Cavs at one point made 15-30 from behind the arc. Afterward, Scott and others lamented the 4-4 from three that Channing Frye had in the first quarter.

Had the Lakers defended that a little better and had Clarkson his usual game, they would have been in this one. Instead, they fell 120-108.


Kobe -- -- In his final game against LeBron, Kobe put on a show. It was mostly an iso attack in the post or facing up for jumpers. He was connecting. The prettiest move was losing LeBron on a step-through move for a layup. “He put LeBron in the popcorn machine,” John Ireland called on the radio. Great to see the old man take to LBJ one last time. Kobe played a couple minutes of essentially garbage time and LeBron stayed out there. “When you’re around greatness you want to be around as much as possible,” LeBron said. Kobe looked a little more serious in this one than the last time they met. He had two assists tonight and I think both were to Russell for threes. The shoulder looked pretty stiff despite knocking down the threes and jumpers. Good show for those who came out tonight. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 11-16 shooting (3-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 32 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He swished a pull-up wing jumper. He missed a baseline pull-up jumper. He sank a turnaround in the post. Early post position and he sank the turnaround from a steep angle. He lost LeBron badly on a step-through for a layup (Staples going nuts). He missed an iso pull-up jumper from the right side. He reached around his man to poke a ball loose and ignite a break. He grabbed an airball but missed the layup. He muscled LeBron back in the post and then drained the turnaround on him. He hit an elbow turnaround backing Smith down next time down. LeBron dunked on one end, Kobe iso’d and drained a three on him on the other. He had 15 points on 7-10 shooting in the half. Second Half: He drained a three straight away coming off the screen. He iso’d on LeBron and knocked the baseline turnaround next time down. He ballwatched and LeBron dunked on a cut. He iso’d on LeBron and buried a jumper over him as he pulled up going to his left. He jump passed to a cutting Randle for FTs. He found Russell for back-to-back threes. He missed a double-clutch wing jumper. He drew FTs on an elbow jumper (way short on the FT and he wound his shoulder up, trying to warm back up, they gave him a re-do on a violation) he made one. He missed a wing three on iso. He picked up Kyrie full court and blocked him (or got away with a foul). He rattled down a loud three (a boom-boom and it went down).

Clarkson -- -- Awful start for Clarkson, going 0-7 before his first basket. We would have competed had Clarkson had a steadier game. Our D was horrible, but Cleveland wasn’t stopping us. Clarkson was just having one of those nights. Missed threes, missed layups, missed everything. “He’s human,” Scott said, mentioning Clarkson’s poor game came at a bad time. Some clunky offensive moments trying to orchestrate the offense. He needs to bark at Randle to set hard screens. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-12 shooting (0-6 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals and no fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -17. The Action: He curled off a high screen and missed the drive. He missed a wing three. He blew a great backdoor pass from Huertas by not going up quickly and missing the attempt over a big. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He sank a tech FT. He bricked badly on iso. He choked a reverse layup. He airballed a floater. He had 1 point on 0-7 shooting. Second Half: He filled the lane on the break and Russell hit him for the dunk. He missed a wing three. He sank a baseline jumper on the inbounds pass. He clanked a pull-up three in transition next time down. He missed a wing three.

Russell -- -- He’s scored 20+ points in 7 of his last 8 games. The kid is stringing them together. Offensively, we saw the three ball, some post ups (so effective there) and some nice finishes around the rim. He sank back-to-back threes in the third quarter. The release on his second one of those was super quick (when the D really has to game plan for him in the future, that’s going to be huge). A couple of heaves at the end of quarters and a goaltend that wasn’t called made his shooting percentage a little deceptive. His defense was a bit forgettable tonight. Laker D as a whole was soft, but we gave up too much space to the guards. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 8-19 shooting (4-10 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He backed his man down and swished the turnaround. He drained a three behind a screen next time down. He missed an early offense wing three. He missed a wing three. Nice feed to Huertas cutting baseline for a reverse. He got a switch, backed it out and swished the corner three. He scored a layup off the interior feed from Bass (good cut to get into that position). Looked like his reverse was goaltended with no call (another great cut behind his man). He missed an early offense three. He was blocked trying to chuck a three before the shotclock expired. He had 10 points on 4-10 shooting and 2 assists. Second Half: He spotted Kobe coming off the screen for the three. He clanked a pull-up jumper off the high screen. He knocked a ball loose, pushed it out and bounced to Clarkson for the dunk. He sank a transition three. Kobe found him popping free for a sideline three next time down and he drained it on a quick-release. He missed a layup in transition next time down after a great change of pace at the three line that had Staples buzzing (everyone wanted that one to go). He posted up Smith and drew his fourth on the swing through, he made both FTs. He lulled his man to sleep, made a basket cut and Huertas hit him for FTs on the layup attempt, he made both. He missed a chuck from three on iso after running clock. He missed a tough turnaround at the end of the quarter, had to quick turn and fire to get it off in time. He crossed over in early offense and flipped in a windmill-ish layup between defenders. He took a shoulder from LeBron and went down trying to draw a charge that didn’t come. He missed a wing jumper. He set up Bass for a short jumper off the two-man game. He attacked for a garbage-time layup.

Randle -- -- “Defensively, at times, I think he gets lost…and offensively at times, he forgets to dive and messes up our spacing,” Scott said. “Again, those are things he’s going to continue to work at and get better at as he gets older.” He had some moments of domination in the game and then some miscues/turnovers. He is finishing better at the rim lately – a few more dunks and more right hand finishes. I love the man child grunt by Randle when he’s around the rim trying to score or pull down a board. Much better than Pau’s “Aaaaaaaaahh”. Some moments on D when he matched up with LeBron. He held his own as he’s got that rare combination of size and agility to stay with him. In garbage time we saw Randle/Nance both out there with one playing SF. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting (3-3 form the line) to go with 9 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He missed an elbow jumper. He looked at the clock, attacked from about midcourt and hammered down a huge dunk over the D to beat the shotclock. Miscommunication with Clarkson on a handoff, turnover. He muscled across the lane to his right, brought it back left and powered in a score. He pushed the rebound up court, attacked to his right and scored the layup with his right. He was called for a travel trying to iso. He slammed off the drive and dish from Marcelo. He tipped in the missed Huertas floater. He got out of the way to not get on a LeBron highlight dunk. He had 10 points on 5-6 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He got Kyrie to cough it up on iso D on a switch. He sagged off on a weave and gave up a three to Frye. He cut off Kobe’s iso, took the pass and was hacked on the dunk attempt, he made both FTs. He attacked to his right and was rejected when he brought in back left. He missed a wide open 12-footer with his man sagging off, got to hit those. Excellent D on LeBron to force the miss, he then was called for a charge in transition on the other end. He challenged LeBron’s layup and got a miss. In at the SF, he drew a whistle on the And-1 post-up, he made the FT. He was called for a travel trying to go to his spin move and getting tripped up. He missed a toe-on-the-three-line jumper.

Hibbert -- -- Tough situation for Roy in this one with a cross-match with Frye who will pull our guys out to the three line. Frye was burying threes early and often against Hibbert and Randle. “That was the x factor,” Scott said of Frye afterward. Scott preferred the more mobile lineups and limited Hibbert’s minutes in the first half because of that. In the second half, he brought Hibbert in early in the fourth when Mozgov was out there to steal a few minutes for Roy. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-2 shooting to go with 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He knocked down a 10-foot hook for the Lakers first score. He didn’t match up on Frye and gave up a three (Randle had to switch in transition). Second Half: He iso’d and hit the turnaround on the Lakers first possession. He iso’d and threw it away on a stalled offensive set.

Nance -- -- “He was the best player on the court tonight,” Nance said of Kobe over LeBron (and everyone else). Not a lot of impact from Nance in this game. He had a near dunk attempt in the second half that he was fouled on. Really the only buzz he created in this one. We’ve got to set him up once or twice for lobs to help bring the crowd to life. Had he started instead of Hibbert, we might have defended Frye a lot better and possibly taken the game. Nance is perfect for that kind of player on the two-man scenarios because of his mobility. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 1 assist and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He tipped a pass in transition to force a turnover and then was fouled trying to finish a dunk on the other end, he made one FT. He was blocked on a jumphook.

Bass -- -- He didn’t miss a shot tonight. A few jumpers for him and a couple of finishes at the rim. He led the team in +/- as we usually had more mobile defenders on the floor with him. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-5 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He hit Russell with an interior feed for a layup. He rejected a layup attempt. He hung to tip in a lob pass from Huertas. Second Half: Good job running the floor and Huertas found him with the no-looker for the dunk. He iso’d and muscled in a 7-footer. He sank a pull-up in the lane off the two-man game with Huertas. He was fouled on the defensive glass for FTs, he made both. He swished a jumper off the two-man game with Russell.

Black -- -- Not a great game. Looked like his timing was off as he couldn’t quite catch and finish on a lob and bobbled away another pass. Lack of minutes will definitely contribute to that. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 1 board, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 5 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He fumbled away a highlight lob from Huertas on the break. He finished the lob next time down off the two-man game. He missed a baseline jumper. He fumbled a ball away for a highlight LeBron dunk in transition. Second Half: He did not play in the first half.

Huertas – -- Career high in points. “He knows how to play,” Scott said. “That’s the biggest thing with Marcelo.” He likes the steadying influence he has. Great first quarter by Huertas, a lot of scoring and setting up the offense well. When they worry about the pass, he can get some great looks. A very Nash-like effect in that regard. He should have had a few more assists in the first half but guys like Black and Clarkson were robbing him with fumbles and misses. Up and down on the defensive end. He had a couple of blocks and some nice challenge, but like Russell, he gave up too much space at times to the guards. He ate a hard screen in the second quarter, shoulder to the mouth that staggered him for a second, but he kept playing. He had a big grin on his face when asked what it was like to see Kobe and LeBron go at it. “It was a privilege being able to be here and see their last battle,” he said. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-10 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He cut baseline on Russell’s probe, Russell found him and he reversed. He worked off the screen and banked in the short And-1 runner, he made the FT. He blocked his man on a transition drive. He blew past his man for the easy layup. He worked the dribble behind the Bass screen and hit the pull-up 18-footer. He hung in the air and then lobbed to Bass for the score. He pushed up a dribble, avoided the D and hit the pull-up in the lane. Clarkson and Black robbed him of assists on a missed reverse and lob, respectively. Black finished the lob off the two-man game next time down. He attacked and dumped it off to Randle for the slam. He missed a floater in transition but Randle tipped it in. He had 11 points on 5-6 shooting, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Second Half: He hit Russell cutting for FTs. He no looked to Bass on the break for the slam. His pass was picked off on the two-man game, layup the other way. He missed a wing three. He attacked off the three line and hit the running Nash-like jumper. He airballed a prayer behind the backboard up against the shotclock. He set up Nance for FTs on the break (good job not trying to force it to Metta and waiting for Nance). Quick two-man game with Bass to set him up for the short jumper.

World Peace -- -- He and Kobe passed the baton between each other in guarding LeBron. A s our SF spot is a little undermanned, we managed to carve a couple minutes out of the game with Randle at SF. Some moments by MWP getting into the paint and making things happen. Pretty quiet otherwise. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He missed a sideline jumper after pulling out an offensive board. He was fouled on a reverse for FTs, he made both. Second Half: He missed a corner three. He posted up, drop-stepped and drew FTs, he missed both. Dumb foul with 4 seconds left 80 feet from the hoop to give up FTs. He posted up a smaller man and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked the paint and sank a step-back fade.

Scott -- -- Bass in for Hibbert midway through the quarter, Lakers down 7… Frye with four threes to start… He brought in Nance and Huertas for Randle and Clarkson… Metta in for Kobe, Lakers down 6… A 9-2 run by the Lakers to close the quarter… They trailed 33-31 after the first quarter… He started the Bass, Randle, Peace, Clarkson, Huertas lineup… He brought in Kobe for Metta, down 7… Black in for Bass who picked up a foul with 7:30 left… Clarkson sucking it up. Probably should site for Russell, leaving Huertas in… Down 8, he brought in Nance and Russell for Huertas and Black… The Lakers trailed 64-55 at the half… Kobe with 14 of Lakers last 16 points during a stretch between the second and third quarter… Down 11, Huertas in for Clarkson midway through the quarter… Nance in for Hibbert… Bass in for Randle down 8… He sat Kobe for Metta down 10 with 3:33… Time out down 14… The Lakers trailed 95-82 heading into the fourth. The Cavs were 15-30 from three… He started a Bass, Nance, Peace, Russell, Huertas lineup… Hibbert in for Bass after a minute and a half… Clarkson in for Russell… Down 17 with 7:37 left, Kobe back in with Bass for Hibbert and Metta… Russell in for Huertas… Nance in for Kobe. Randle going to the SF…

[OregonLakerGuy]

First
Thanks DB

[SweetP]

Thanks DB.
Fun game to watch. Too bad Clarkson didn't show up, we might have been able to steal this one.
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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

[cooleggs]

Love these recaps -- Sad to see KB's time winding down. Great performance from him in the head to head with LBJ.

-- on

[TDRock]

^ I see

Anyway, thanks DB!

[lakersfreak]

[lakersfreak]

Thx DB

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB.

[mhan00]

As awful as this season has been, watching Randle, Russell, and Clarkson develop has been fun.

[D-Dogg]

That up and under was legit. Just talked about Kobe's footwork at middle school practice yesterday... While we taught drop steps and up&under. Effin Kobe makes me look genius.
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17 on the horizon.

[Halflife]

Didn't expect a win. Was really fun to watch. Dlo looked right at home with elite. Bron is going beast mode in playoffs. He's more fun to watch now that people are trying to tear him down.

Not much to say about Kobe other than "Kobe doin Kobe things.

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[jjangx27]

Appreciate it DB

[DancingBarry]

[kenkoy]

[Goldenwest]

[Vin]

Amazing game from Kobe. It's crazy how he can still turn it on sometimes. He looks like the old Kobe there, backing up aggressively in the post and getting to his spots with ease. I loved every seconds of it.

[osj]

I was at this game...first time I've seen the Lakers or any NBA game live...been planning this dream trip for months, got tickets to see this game and the Knicks game on Sunday, because as a Lakers fan for 30 years, I wanted to see Kobe play in person before he retired.

The atmosphere at Staples was electric. Simply a tremendous experience for me and my wife.

[DancingBarry]

Awesome. Glad Kobe played for you and played well.