Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 9:13 pm Post subject: KNICKS -at- LAKERS – 3-13-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
Down to the Wire… The Lakers haven’t had too many chances to win a game in the final seconds this season. They went down to the wire tonight and down in flames once again.
With the game tied, Kobe got tapped on a good look at a baseline jumper with 9 seconds left. On the other end, the Knicks Jose Calderon lost Marcelo Huertas on a busted play. He squared up and drained the game-winning three with 0.2 left.
The second unit got to close the game tonight because of the sluggish play of the starters.
“They were playing the right way. They were playing well,” Scott said.
Just 4 assists in the first half as the Lakers only managed 35 points (just 11 in the first quarter). The offense fell back to some of that iso ball that’s easy for the defense to load up on.
“We just went back to our old way of dribbling, dribbling, dribbling it around,” Scott said.
The Lakers fell 90-87. If you were hoping for the tank, those late threes by Melo and Calderon turned this one around in the final minutes.
Kobe -- -- Another last stop in all things Kobe. This would be his final game against the Knicks and Melo. The ball stopped a bit in his hands in this one and, early on, he wasn’t connecting like the last game. He led the team with a -13 in the first half. In the second half things picked up. By the time he returned in the fourth, the Lakers had some momentum. Kobe stepped right in and hit a couple of big shots. Maybe that fired up Melo, because he came back with a series of makes himself against Nance (before we moved Kobe back on him). So we had a brief moment of the two superstars dueling. With 9 seconds left it was Kobe’s turn. He rose up on a great look on the baseline and the shot rattled out. Kobe denied Melo the ball on the other end, but it was Calderon stealing the show with the game-winning three. It was reported to be the 500 career loss of Kobe's career and 500 career win for Melo. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-15 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He pumpfaked and drew FTs on a 20-footer, he made one for the Lakers first score. He missed a wing three off a split play. He lost his man with a baseline spin and scored the layup. He missed a wing jumper on iso. He missed a three when the offense stalled. He missed a fade in the lane. He missed a turnaround. He threw a cross-court pass away. He missed a good look at a wing three up against the clock. He swished a wing jumper off the screen. He swished a wing three next time down. He missed a heave trying to draw a whistle that didn’t come. He had 8 points on 3-10 shooting. Second Half: He was fouled on a pull-up jumper in early offense (Melo didn’t like that call), he made both FTs. He got up to deflect a lob on D. He missed a forced baseline jumper. He posted up and swished the turnaround. He spun away from a double team and knocked down the baseline turnaround. He airballed a bad iso chuck next time down. He got tapped on a baseline jumper that rattled out with 9 seconds left and the score tied, that was a good look.
Clarkson -- -- Slow start, but he picked it up in the second quarter. “We were just playing into their hands a little, playing slow,” Clarkson said. Not an efficient game from him. None of our big trio of youngsters was doing much in this game. He has not looked good on his three ball lately. He was shooting blanks tonight. “We were playing dog crap,” Clarkson said of the starters. Defensively, he had some moments with 3 steals. That’s where he really needs to make his mark because he has the speed and athleticism. That can help make up for the other deficiencies on that end of the court. Just being disruptive at anything on that end is what we want to see consistently. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-16 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He missed a runner attacking baseline. He probed and threw a pass away for points the other way. He attacked off the high screen, good footwork around Lopez for a layup. Way off on a wing three. He probed and hit the floater in the lane. Another probe and another floater next time down. He swiped a pass in early offense and took it for the dunk. He probed, put the brakes on and hit a tough turnaround in the lane with a man all over him (just elevated higher). He posted up, took contact and missed the leaner with no call. He curled into the lane, hung and kicked out to Russell for the three. He missed a long pull-up off the high screen. He missed a long chuck up against the shotclock. He scored 10 points on 5-10 shooting and had 2 steals. Second Half: He missed a tough layup attempt off a long stride. He picked up the dribble in the lane and was blocked trying to avoid the 3-second call. He didn’t shoot a wide open three and missed a drive instead. He scored a layup off the pinch post out of a timeout. Sloppy pass on the break and Russell couldn’t finish. He missed a three next time down. He forced up a shot in the paint and was blocked.
Russell -- -- “We had a lackadaisical effort in the first half,” Russell said. Some early foul trouble limited his time in the first half to just 13 minutes. The ball movement was awful despite Russell moving the ball like he usually does, guys just were not hitting off his passes. He’d play just one shortened third quarter stint and watch with the rest of the starters. Even if Scott had brought him back midway through the fourth, his minutes would still be about 8 or so fewer than normal. “You expect him to have some bad games sooner or later,” Scott said of Russell. Poor shooting night, but I think Russell probably wanted a couple foul calls he didn’t get. Scott on not needing to play the young guys: “They’ve had enough experience doing that so far,” Scott said of letting them close. Yeah, okay. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-7 shooting (1-2 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He posted up and got tapped on a leaner (a little more advanced on the footwork on that one, but it would have been easier if he had a better angle to go glass). He deflected a pass to get a stop. He was blocked on a layup. He got tapped on a one-handed And-1 lob attempt, he made one FT. He sank a corner three on the kickout from JC. He missed a three off a great screen from Hibbert. Second Half: He was blocked on a pull-up at the FT line. He was called for a charge trying to iso. He wanted the foul call on the layup on the break (bad pass to begin with kind of put him under the hoop some when he had to finish). He was called for a carry in the post. He was blocked by Lopez on a layup. He drew the D and hit Bass for the open jumper.
Randle -- -- Even though he wasn’t having a great game, he was probably on his way to another double-double. Wish Porzingis was out there tonight to see those two go at it. He had a great coast-to-coast score in the first half, just blowing past everyone. One of the few highlights in the first half. Love it when opponents can’t stay with him on those sequences. The team picked it up in the second half. “Effort was better, especially from the second unit,” Randle said of the second half. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-7 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 1 assist, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He pushed out a rebound and missed the layup. He missed a rightly layup off the two-man game. He grabbed a board, pushed it out like freight train with speed and scored the layup between slapping defenders. He missed a layup next time down. He threw an interior pass away. He was blocked in the paint. He missed a layup off an offensive board shortly later, but Hibbert slammed it back in. He had 2 points on 1-6 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: Careless pass at the half court and Sasha swiped it to draw a foul on Julius on the layup attempt. He scored a layup off the Russell-to-Clarkson-to-Randle passing sequence. He curled weak to strong to take the pass from Hibbert and draw FTs, he made both. He muscled Melo in the post and gave him a shot to the chops as he drew the foul on the layup attempt, he made one FT. Nice challenge on the guard as he cut baseline and tried to turn and shoot.
Hibbert -- -- His counterpart, Lopez, led the Knicks in scoring in the first half with some iso’s in the post or getting fed when defender’s had to help. Lopez also had 2 blocks and a number of alterations. Just a much bigger difference in terms of impact by Lopez on both ends of the floor vs. Hibbert. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-4 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He missed a short baseline jumper. Great follow slam on Randle’s miss. Second Half: He sank the And-1 hook across the middle of the lane, he made the FT. He took a fumbled dribble from Clarkson and swished the baseline jumper.
Williams -- -- He was a huge reason for the Laker fourth-quarter comeback. Outside of a bad miss with 2 minutes left on an iso sequence, he sank a number of shots within the flow and also found teammates for scores. He led all Lakers with 15 points (and didn’t draw a single FT) and led in assists with 5. It’s tough for Lou I think with Laker fans because Scott is going to be taking minutes away from their youngsters to play Lou, which is painful. And, when Lou is doing well in a game like this, there’s a contingent that are annoyed because Scott is playing vets when we’re in the middle of the tank. But Lou did what he’s supposed to do and played a strong game. If we were fighting for a playoff spot, the feelings on this game/effort would be a 180 difference. “We fought, scratched and clawed,” Lou said. Good job The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-12 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He missed a baseline fade. He traveled trying to create at the three line. He missed a corner three. He scored a layup on the leak out. He hit Bass in the middle of the lane on the break for the dunk. Second Half: He attacked from the wing and scored a layup. He missed a baseline fade, expecting a foul call. He missed a wing three in early offense. He sank a step-back wing jumper. He banked in a runner. He blindsided Lopez for a steal, pushed it out, slowed it up and hit the trailing Bass for the layup. He sank a wing three, fading left. He set up Nance for the And-1. He found space against a double team and he sank the corner jumper. He missed a chuck from three on an iso possession. He sank a wing jumper moving to his left out of a timeout.
Nance -- -- At the very least, I’m glad to see Larry got a chance to close a close game. The starters came out sluggish. “We’ve just got to figure out a way to fix that,” Nance said of the Lakers slow starts to games. He helped with that mobile defensive front court with Bass. He had to defend Melo, however, in the fourth and gave up some threes. “Our guys were just a little too soft on him,” Scott said. You definitely need to make Melo a passer in those situations and blanket him. Important learning moments for him. Larry was close to getting to that Kobe miss with 9 seconds left. That was a fingertip from a big play. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 block and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Short on an open 17-footer. Nice hustle to track down a long defensive board. Second Half: He crashed the glass and tipped in a miss. He missed a layup and follow tip on one end, but hustled back on D to reject a shot out of bounds. He powered in an And-1 trying to hammer over Lopez, he muscled it in, he missed the FT.
Bass -- -- Some great moments running the floor tonight. He had one sequence where he rejected a layup on one end, then finished a dunk on the break on the other. The team generally plays much better with him out there because of his mobility. I guess we’re going to play out the starters with Hibbert all the way through the rest of the season. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting (3-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He posted up and drew FTs. He rejected a layup on one end to ignite the break, then filled the middle of lane on the other to slam off the pass from Lou (great job changing ends). Second Half: He swished an open wing jumper on the kickout from Russell. He was blocked trying to power up under the hoop. He dunked when the Knicks were complaining about a call and he kept hustling down court to take a pass. He drew a foul as Lou shot and made the FT. He missed a short one in the paint. He got out on the break and Lou hit him for the layup.
Huertas -- -- Scott went with the same bench unit for most of the quarter. When you need one stop, however, do we really want Huertas out there? Calderon appreciated it and drained the game-winning three after getting some good space against Marcelo on a busted play. He was able to square up, measure and sink that one. This is kind of the issue for him if we want to bring him back. We really could use a defensive guard with Clarkson, Lou and Russell out there. That’s just not Huertas’ strength. His strength was getting the Lakers offense organized, finding teammates and picking his spots. He was a key part of the fourth quarter comeback and ultimately, the loss. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Quick attack off the three line and he drew FTs in the lane, he made one. He missed a runner off the motion weak (which he was late to get into). He missed a heave at the buzzer. Second Half: He made a tech FT. He attacked and threw it out of bounds. He sank a wing pull-up jumper off the screen. He smacked his head after running over a shooter on the perimeter. He hit the runner down the middle of the lane. He got caught in the air and threw the pass away. He barely hit rim on a wing jumper. He sank the And-1 elbow pull-up, he made the FT. He got tapped on the runner off the glass.
World Peace -- -- Not much offensively, but he was putting in a decent physical game on D. The lineups with him out there, though, just struggled badly to score. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He missed a deep three up against the shotclock. He posted up, missed, muscled down the rebound and then choked the putback. He probed to his right and rattled down the baseline jumper. A couple feet long on the airball three from the right wing. Second Half: He attacked from the wing and drew FTs, he made both.
Kelly -- -- Odd sub pattern to bring Kelly in after staying on the bench all game. I guess he was stealing some minutes for Kobe. However, Kelly had to cover Afflalo. So why not Nick instead? Afflalo was able to produce some with that matchup. Kelly, for his part, missed a wide open three. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He did not play in the second half. Second Half: He missed an open corner three.
Scott -- -- Huertas in for Clarkson midway through the quarter, Lakers down 4… He sat Russell a few seconds later when he picked up a second foul, Lou Williams in… Nance and Bass in for Hibbert and Randle… The Lakers trailed 15-9 with 2 minutes left. Metta in for Kobe…The Lakers trailed 18-11 after the first quarter… He started a Bass, Nance, Metta, Lou, Huertas lineup… Clarkson in for Huertas shortly later… He brought in Kobe, Hibbert and Russell for Lou, Metta and Bass, Lakers down 5… Randle back in for Nance with 6 minutes left, Lakers down 6… The Lakers trailed 46-35 at the half. Lakers shot 31.8% and just 2-11 from three. Just 4 assists… Coaches wanted better ball movement… Sluggish start to the half, getting outscored 7-2 so Scott called a timeout… Clarkson out, Huertas in midway through the quarter, Lakers down 11… Kobe out for Metta, Hibbert out for Bass, Lakers down 10… Nance in for Randle… Lou in for Russell with 3 minutes left. Uggh, pulling minutes from Russell looks like the sub pattern with Lou back in the mix… The Lakers trailed 65-60 heading into the fourth… He started the Bass, Nance, Peace, Williams, Huertas lineup… The offense flatlined, but the Knicks were stone cold, as well… Tank special sub, bringing in Kelly for Metta with 8:37 left, Lakers down 6… They trimmed it to 1 when the timeout came midway through the quarter. He stayed with that lineup… Kobe in for Kelly, Lakers up 4… Melo with several threes to bring the Knicks back… A lot of vets out there for the Lakers. At least Nance was getting some quality run… Need one stop, Scott’s lineup: Bass, Nance, Kobe, Lou, Huertas. And they gave up a great look at a three by Calderon over Huertas…
Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 6054 Location: My own little piece of reality
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 9:40 pm Post subject:
Thanks DB.
And yeah, at the very end, with Kobe locking down Melo, maybe another defensive player out there to at least hamper that final shot by Calderon. Huertas played some good minutes but defensive specialist he is not. Just a simple sub might have helped that possession and resulted in the win. If that is what Scott was aiming for. _________________ “There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman
Probably Kelly's height was the deciding factor to have him over Swaggy P
Maybe Clarkson or DLO coming in cold could have been a better choice. Hard to disagree with Byron to let the subs finish the game since they were the ones playing with energy. With the winning basket coming on a broken play
Probably Kelly's height was the deciding factor to have him over Swaggy P
Maybe Clarkson or DLO coming in cold could have been a better choice. Hard to disagree with Byron to let the subs finish the game since they were the ones playing with energy. With the winning basket coming on a broken play
Very easy to disagree with the decision.
This may have been the worst coached game of the year and thats saying something.
However, Byron reverted back to relying on Veterans after the rookies had already proven their value.
1) Winning is probably a negative
2) The lineup limited development
3) The lineups had zero entertainment value
While some people were arguing that Byrons benching was responsible for the young guys better play, others claimed that it was Kobe playing less and Lou being hurt.
Tonight proved that the young guys improved play was a result of increased playing time (without Lou) and better ball movement (without Kobe).
Moreover, Byron clearly has preference for guys like Bass, Huertas, Lou, Kelly; and he will give them every chance to succeed, but the young guys will be punished and blamed for the slightest faltering. Tonight also showed that this was not just some style to toughen up the young guys at the beginning of the year but it is Byrons philosophy.
Tonight was disgraceful. _________________ Llluuukkkeee
Probably Kelly's height was the deciding factor to have him over Swaggy P
Maybe Clarkson or DLO coming in cold could have been a better choice. Hard to disagree with Byron to let the subs finish the game since they were the ones playing with energy. With the winning basket coming on a broken play
Very easy to disagree with the decision.
This may have been the worst coached game of the year and thats saying something.
However, Byron reverted back to relying on Veterans after the rookies had already proven their value.
1) Winning is probably a negative
2) The lineup limited development
3) The lineups had zero entertainment value
While some people were arguing that Byrons benching was responsible for the young guys better play, others claimed that it was Kobe playing less and Lou being hurt.
Tonight proved that the young guys improved play was a result of increased playing time (without Lou) and better ball movement (without Kobe).
Moreover, Byron clearly has preference for guys like Bass, Huertas, Lou, Kelly; and he will give them every chance to succeed, but the young guys will be punished and blamed for the slightest faltering. Tonight also showed that this was not just some style to toughen up the young guys at the beginning of the year but it is Byrons philosophy.
Tonight was disgraceful.
The play of DLO/JC/Randle "improved" today?
All three players clearly understood that they did not bring it today. Scoring 11 points in the first quarter with all three young players on the court was just the final example of their collective bad night
Bass always bring energy that serves as an example on how to play
Huertsas was strategic in helping the players move with purpose
it was an entertaining game and the entire crowd was into the game
Note: you might have mistaken the game with the Clippers as the Laker game - lmao!
Joined: 12 Mar 2006 Posts: 3732 Location: The other side
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2016 3:02 am Post subject:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Another invaluable lessons for the young players
Learning what? How to ride the bench?
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Probably Kelly's height was the deciding factor to have him over Swaggy P
Covering Afflalo? Why do you need height to cover Afflalo? Plus Swaggy probably has an inch or two over him also.
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Maybe Clarkson or DLO coming in cold could have been a better choice. Hard to disagree with Byron to let the subs finish the game since they were the ones playing with energy. With the winning basket coming on a broken play
Pretty much every coach these days knows the value of switching players from offense to defense. Except Byron. Let Huertas run the O, but sub DLO back for D. Not really a rocket science. This game, probably Clarkson should have been in as the safe choice.
Unless you are tanking, of course.
In general - I admire the way you defend Byron. I really do. _________________ .
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
Probably Kelly's height was the deciding factor to have him over Swaggy P
Maybe Clarkson or DLO coming in cold could have been a better choice. Hard to disagree with Byron to let the subs finish the game since they were the ones playing with energy. With the winning basket coming on a broken play
As if playing poorly has affected rotation minutes for Kobe/Lou. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
Thanks DB. Missed the game but it seems like the tank commander did his job once again. _________________ "I don’t give a [expletive] what you say. If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, 'Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.' Well, [expletive] you. Because I don’t play for your [expletive] approval."
Probably Kelly's height was the deciding factor to have him over Swaggy P
Maybe Clarkson or DLO coming in cold could have been a better choice. Hard to disagree with Byron to let the subs finish the game since they were the ones playing with energy. With the winning basket coming on a broken play
Very easy to disagree with the decision.
This may have been the worst coached game of the year and thats saying something.
However, Byron reverted back to relying on Veterans after the rookies had already proven their value.
1) Winning is probably a negative
2) The lineup limited development
3) The lineups had zero entertainment value
While some people were arguing that Byrons benching was responsible for the young guys better play, others claimed that it was Kobe playing less and Lou being hurt.
Tonight proved that the young guys improved play was a result of increased playing time (without Lou) and better ball movement (without Kobe).
Moreover, Byron clearly has preference for guys like Bass, Huertas, Lou, Kelly; and he will give them every chance to succeed, but the young guys will be punished and blamed for the slightest faltering. Tonight also showed that this was not just some style to toughen up the young guys at the beginning of the year but it is Byrons philosophy.
Tonight was disgraceful.
The play of DLO/JC/Randle "improved" today?
All three players clearly understood that they did not bring it today. Scoring 11 points in the first quarter with all three young players on the court was just the final example of their collective bad night
Bass always bring energy that serves as an example on how to play
Huertsas was strategic in helping the players move with purpose
it was an entertaining game and the entire crowd was into the game
Note: you might have mistaken the game with the Clippers as the Laker game - lmao!
I was speaking for myself.
Me and a group of my friends got together to watch the game Sunday.
EVERYONE there was bored out of their minds with that bench lineup.
To be honest, I could care less about beating the Knicks in a meaningless regular season game when we are already eliminated from the playoffs. So you can save your analysis of who gave us the best chance to win that game. Its irrelevant.
I watch the game to see development and a glimpse of our future.
Secondarily, I watch to see Kobe show flashes.
For me, watching Huertas, Lou, Kelly, Bass, MWP is just a waste of time.
If you believe those guys are the future, then we seriously disagree.
To me, the future is DLO andd the kids.
As for improved play by the kids, I think the stats from after the ASG bear that out.
I could also care less about the Clippers game, so I dont understand why you would refer to it. _________________ Llluuukkkeee
Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Posts: 8518 Location: Left coast
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 10:38 am Post subject:
Maybe i'm in the wrong thread, but I didn't notice anyone mention why Kobe went to shoot his shot with around 15 seconds left on the clock when he could have let it run down a lot further. He shot it around 10 seconds iirc. Apparently, the focus was on him having 1 more chance to be a hero in a game, rather than "let's win this game." The strategy was horrible from a team standpoint. That's why this season can't end soon enough. I'm a Lakers fan, not a Kobe fan. If he does well, that's great, but nobody is above the team.
The good part of that game was that the Lakers didn't gain any ground on the Suns. I wasn't upset about that and I don't think anyone else was either, thus, no mention of the play.
Last edited by lakersboy on Tue Mar 15, 2016 7:19 pm; edited 1 time in total
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-- Another last stop in all things Kobe. This would be his final game against the Knicks and Melo. The ball stopped a bit in his hands in this one and, early on, he wasn’t connecting like the last game. He led the team with a -13 in the first half. In the second half things picked up. By the time he returned in the fourth, the Lakers had some momentum. Kobe stepped right in and hit a couple of big shots. Maybe that fired up Melo, because he came back with a series of makes himself against Nance (before we moved Kobe back on him). So we had a brief moment of the two superstars dueling. With 9 seconds left it was Kobe’s turn. He rose up on a great look on the baseline and the shot rattled out. Kobe denied Melo the ball on the other end, but it was Calderon stealing the show with the game-winning three. It was reported to be the 500 career loss of Kobe's career and 500 career win for Melo. 
-- Slow start, but he picked it up in the second quarter. “We were just playing into their hands a little, playing slow,” Clarkson said. Not an efficient game from him. None of our big trio of youngsters was doing much in this game. He has not looked good on his three ball lately. He was shooting blanks tonight. “We were playing dog crap,” Clarkson said of the starters. Defensively, he had some moments with 3 steals. That’s where he really needs to make his mark because he has the speed and athleticism. That can help make up for the other deficiencies on that end of the court. Just being disruptive at anything on that end is what we want to see consistently. 
-- “We had a lackadaisical effort in the first half,” Russell said. Some early foul trouble limited his time in the first half to just 13 minutes. The ball movement was awful despite Russell moving the ball like he usually does, guys just were not hitting off his passes. He’d play just one shortened third quarter stint and watch with the rest of the starters. Even if Scott had brought him back midway through the fourth, his minutes would still be about 8 or so fewer than normal. “You expect him to have some bad games sooner or later,” Scott said of Russell. Poor shooting night, but I think Russell probably wanted a couple foul calls he didn’t get. Scott on not needing to play the young guys: “They’ve had enough experience doing that so far,” Scott said of letting them close. Yeah, okay. 
-- Even though he wasn’t having a great game, he was probably on his way to another double-double. Wish Porzingis was out there tonight to see those two go at it. He had a great coast-to-coast score in the first half, just blowing past everyone. One of the few highlights in the first half. Love it when opponents can’t stay with him on those sequences. The team picked it up in the second half. “Effort was better, especially from the second unit,” Randle said of the second half. 
-- His counterpart, Lopez, led the Knicks in scoring in the first half with some iso’s in the post or getting fed when defender’s had to help. Lopez also had 2 blocks and a number of alterations. Just a much bigger difference in terms of impact by Lopez on both ends of the floor vs. Hibbert. 
-- He was a huge reason for the Laker fourth-quarter comeback. Outside of a bad miss with 2 minutes left on an iso sequence, he sank a number of shots within the flow and also found teammates for scores. He led all Lakers with 15 points (and didn’t draw a single FT) and led in assists with 5. It’s tough for Lou I think with Laker fans because Scott is going to be taking minutes away from their youngsters to play Lou, which is painful. And, when Lou is doing well in a game like this, there’s a contingent that are annoyed because Scott is playing vets when we’re in the middle of the tank. But Lou did what he’s supposed to do and played a strong game. If we were fighting for a playoff spot, the feelings on this game/effort would be a 180 difference. “We fought, scratched and clawed,” Lou said. Good job 
-- At the very least, I’m glad to see Larry got a chance to close a close game. The starters came out sluggish. “We’ve just got to figure out a way to fix that,” Nance said of the Lakers slow starts to games. He helped with that mobile defensive front court with Bass. He had to defend Melo, however, in the fourth and gave up some threes. “Our guys were just a little too soft on him,” Scott said. You definitely need to make Melo a passer in those situations and blanket him. Important learning moments for him. Larry was close to getting to that Kobe miss with 9 seconds left. That was a fingertip from a big play. 
-- Scott went with the same bench unit for most of the quarter. When you need one stop, however, do we really want Huertas out there? Calderon appreciated it and drained the game-winning three after getting some good space against Marcelo on a busted play. He was able to square up, measure and sink that one. This is kind of the issue for him if we want to bring him back. We really could use a defensive guard with Clarkson, Lou and Russell out there. That’s just not Huertas’ strength. His strength was getting the Lakers offense organized, finding teammates and picking his spots. He was a key part of the fourth quarter comeback and ultimately, the loss. 
-- Not much offensively, but he was putting in a decent physical game on D. The lineups with him out there, though, just struggled badly to score. 
-- Odd sub pattern to bring Kelly in after staying on the bench all game. I guess he was stealing some minutes for Kobe. However, Kelly had to cover Afflalo. So why not Nick instead? Afflalo was able to produce some with that matchup. Kelly, for his part, missed a wide open three. 
-- Huertas in for Clarkson midway through the quarter, Lakers down 4… He sat Russell a few seconds later when he picked up a second foul, Lou Williams in… Nance and Bass in for Hibbert and Randle… The Lakers trailed 15-9 with 2 minutes left. Metta in for Kobe…The Lakers trailed 18-11 after the first quarter… He started a Bass, Nance, Metta, Lou, Huertas lineup… Clarkson in for Huertas shortly later… He brought in Kobe, Hibbert and Russell for Lou, Metta and Bass, Lakers down 5… Randle back in for Nance with 6 minutes left, Lakers down 6… The Lakers trailed 46-35 at the half. Lakers shot 31.8% and just 2-11 from three. Just 4 assists… Coaches wanted better ball movement… Sluggish start to the half, getting outscored 7-2 so Scott called a timeout… Clarkson out, Huertas in midway through the quarter, Lakers down 11… Kobe out for Metta, Hibbert out for Bass, Lakers down 10… Nance in for Randle… Lou in for Russell with 3 minutes left. Uggh, pulling minutes from Russell looks like the sub pattern with Lou back in the mix… The Lakers trailed 65-60 heading into the fourth… He started the Bass, Nance, Peace, Williams, Huertas lineup… The offense flatlined, but the Knicks were stone cold, as well… Tank special sub, bringing in Kelly for Metta with 8:37 left, Lakers down 6… They trimmed it to 1 when the timeout came midway through the quarter. He stayed with that lineup… Kobe in for Kelly, Lakers up 4… Melo with several threes to bring the Knicks back… A lot of vets out there for the Lakers. At least Nance was getting some quality run… Need one stop, Scott’s lineup: Bass, Nance, Kobe, Lou, Huertas. And they gave up a great look at a three by Calderon over Huertas…
