LAKERS -at- SUNS – 3-23-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Tank You Very Much?… This looked like a case of who didn’t want it more early on. As two of the worst teams in the league once again squared off, both the Suns and the Lakers didn’t fail to deliver some ugly basketball early on.

For the Lakers part, they were mired in iso sets with little ball movement. Just 4 assists in the first half as they seemingly lost all ball movement and went back to preseason form. Their default is always iso ball. It’s a bad habit they’ve learned.

“If we revert back to what we were doing a month ago, we’re going to have these same kind of results,” Scott said.

The Suns began raining threes on the Lakers in the second half and pulled out to a double-digit lead. The Lakers reeled them to within one possession in the fourth quarter, then it slipped away from them when the rest of the starters returned. The Lakers gave up 72 points in the second half on their way to the 119-107 loss.

“It’s about team defense. That’s what it comes down to,” Clarkson said.

It was said the arena was about 85% Laker fans tonight in Phoenix. Laker fans always represent, but this was the last chance to catch Kobe competing on the Suns home floor so Laker fans came out. A standing O for Kobe when he checked out tonight.


Kobe -- -- Better start to this one, scoring 7 of the Lakers first 13 points before sitting. He has seemed much looser on the second night of back-to-backs all season. The offense was very iso prone tonight and Kobe certainly fed into that with the post-ups and ball stopping. But this team has been kind of trained to go into that mode all season. It’s their default. A good showing for Kobe as he sank a few from deep, worked the post and gave the crowd a few last glimpses of No. 24 before riding off into the sunset. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-13 shooting (3-8 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a -23. The Action: He swished a corner pull-up jumper for the Lakers first score. He was fouled on a turnaround jumper, he made both FTs. He missed a pull-up 18-footer. Way short on a turnaround. He posted up and sank the 15-foot turnaround. Not close on a wing three. He was trapped and threw it away, layup the other way. He got tapped on a long wing jumper. He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting. Second Half: He was blocked on a turnaround. He pumped a couple of times and drew a foul on the corner chuck, he made both FTs. He drained a sideline three. Next time down he missed the three from the wing. Bad corner chuck described by Billy Mac as a “crazy shot” and he wasn’t close. He sank a sideline three. He swished a deep three next time down. He missed a long chuck from three, not getting a shot off for a few possessions when he had it going briefly.

Clarkson -- -- If he wants to be a closer for the team, he really is going to have to work on the defensive end. Once the Lakers build up their talent, that will get put on the bench. He has closer scoring abilities, but if we are Charmin soft on the D end, he’ll be watching. Definitely some poor moments on that end of the floor tonight. Lakers as a whole were pretty sad. Offensively, a quiet game from him. He scratched a couple of late garbage-time hoops that probably make the stat line look a little better than it was. Good to see him and Russell have at least one moment of chemistry every game where they cut off the ball and find each other. That’s becoming a good habit. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-14 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He cut and put on the brakes, but Randle threw it to where he was going, turnover. He pounded the dribble all possession and eventually banked in the jumphook. He found Bass under the hoop for a score. He double dribbled after losing the handle on the break. He hit the floater working off the high screen. He iso’d and missed a layup. He dunked when the Suns got out on a 5-man break, scored and looked down court to see two Lakers cherry picking, the ball went to JC. Second Half: He missed a layup after Russell found him cutting. He missed a turnaround. Early offense drive to his right and he drew FTs, he made both. He missed a baseline jumper creating against the shotclock. He was blocked on a jumper in transition. He missed a runner across the lane. He jab-stepped and missed a three. Then got lost on D on the other end and gave up a three. He missed a wing three. He stepped back and clanked another on the same possession. He cut off ball and reversed when Russell found him. He sank a three.

Russell -- -- He pushed through the shin injury and looked pretty awful out of the gates. His shots weren’t close early on. “It wasn’t falling for me tonight,” he said. As a result, I think he started going to up-fakes and hesitation moves in the second half. He lost defenders pretty badly on those, which bodes well to seeing a lot more of that in his future. That didn’t mean he was scoring any easier, he was still missing point-blank layups. After going 1-7 shooting in the first half, he finished 5-11 in the second half. He picked it up in the fourth quarter and was key in helping the Lakers nearly have a comeback before the rest of the starters returned and that was that. “We had too many defensive miscommunication errors,” Russell said of the failed comeback. He took some blame for not getting the offense better organized, but when pressed said he didn’t know how to change it. “He’s getting attacked over and over with the same questions that are sometimes for the coaches,” Worthy said of Russell’s frustration. Surprised he was able to get to 14 points as off as he was looking tonight. He should have had 20 easy, but missed those layups and some open 15-footer that he’s usually money on. Prior to the game, he has shot 25-30 from the line since changing his stance (83%). The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-18 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He missed a wing three. He missed another three, cut off Roy’s rebound, took the handoff and missed the layup badly. He deflected a pass off a Sun to force a turnover. He airballed a good look at a pull-up from the elbow. He swiped a pass in the backcourt. He grabbed a board that was tapped out, attacked and hit the runner. He backed Booker down and drew FTs on the arm swing, he made one. He missed a tip in. Not close on another pull-up jumper straight away. Second Half: He choked a point-blank layup, no idea how, after a great hesitation move to lose his man. He missed a short pull-up jumper, tried to get his board and put it back in, but lost it somehow. He attacked off the three line from the corner and swished the floater. He backed it out with a couple seconds left and fired to just beat the shotclock on the corner jumper and it went. He swished the 17-footer off the two-man game. He sank a sideline three off some good ball movement. He got tapped on a wing three. Sweet bounce pass from half court through the D to Nance for the slam (that really was a sensational pass when looking at it behind the play from his angle). He attacked out of the timeout, got some contact with a big to get separation in the paint and banked over him. He missed the FT line pull-up again. He hit Kobe for the three. He missed a sideline three. He found Clarkson cutting baseline for the reverse. He iso’d then threw a pass out of bounds.

Randle -- -- Again, this is one of those games that if he was a rookie, he’d be getting a lot more hype. But he played part of one game last year and somehow doesn’t get the spotlight. A 19-15 double-double game from Jules. His motor was going all night. He was always in the right place at the right time for the rebounds. He just needs to get into the right place at the right time on his help D. Still, the kid gets some grown man numbers on the glass. Good job converting some of that glass work into points tonight. He may eventually realize he can get 6-8 points a game doing just that. Good job making all five of his attempts from the line tonight. He’s shooting over 80% from the line in March. He did that in January, as well. He said the guys need to learn how to sacrifice their game and not try to do things on their own. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-14 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 15 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -22. The Action: He iso’d and lost the handle, ball stopping in his hands. He attacked across the lane and banked with his left from straight away. He choked a layup off a great behind-the-back pass from Kobe. Kobe no-looked to him a few seconds later and Randle didn’t miss that one at the rim. Next time down the court, he fumbled away Kobe’s pass for a turnover. He clanked a long wing jumper. He missed a reverse. He scooped up a loose ball in the paint and scored the garbage. He swiped a kickout, took it the distance and finished past the smaller man. He had 8 points, 6 boards and 4 turnovers. Second Half: He battled for an offensive board and scored the And-1 putback, he made the FT. He couldn’t handle a pass under the hoop and wanted the foul. He grabbed the airball and put it in. He was blocked from behind by Knight and got in his face. He was blocked again, not going up quick in the paint. He followed the break and follow tipped in the miss by Metta. He drew FTs under the hoop and made both. He pushed out the board, gave it up, got it back and drew FTs, he made both again. He missed a layup with his right. Bad help D on the other end and we got dunked on. He hit Bass for a dunk under the hoop. He hit the top of the board on a three at the end of the game.

Hibbert -- -- A lot more post action for Roy in this one, yet nothing from it. Ugly. When there is no player movement and no purpose in the offense, it will resort to picking up the dribble and throwing it to a post player. Six shots from Roy, just 3 points. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Nice challenge at the rim to prevent a score on our first stand. On the other end he airballed a hook shot. He grabbed an offensive board and handed it off to a cutting Russell who bricked the layup. He drew more FTs on the offensive glass to regain a possession, he made one. He missed a hook across the middle of the lane. He hit the lefty jumphook in the post. He missed a 16-footer. Second Half: Another post up, another miss. He bricked a short one off a setup under the hoop.

Williams -- -- Some good passing in the game from Lou when seemingly no one else was. He led the team with 5 assists. People like to blame him for the bad play of others, but he was the only one consistently setting up teammates tonight. Looked like a painful night for him when he went down off some contact trying to get through a screen in the second quarter. He shook it off. He got a chunk of his points on 4-point play in the first half. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-7 shooting (2-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He sank a deep three working off the high screen at the top of the arc. He attacked in early offense and fed Bass for the dunk. He missed a wing three, the rebound was tipped back out to him and he drew a whistle while swishing the And-1 three, he made the FT for the 4-point play. He threw a pass away getting caught in the air. Second Half: He threw a perimeter pass away. Quick attack on the catch and he scored a layup. He missed a corner three. He came up empty going for a steal and his man hit the three. He broke down the D on an inside-out dribble and dumped it to Bass for the dunk. He swiped the ball and outlet to Nance for the slam. Early offense attack to draw FTs, he made one. He missed a wing three. He made a tech FT.

Nance -- -- They’re limiting his minutes and exposure in back-to-back games. So, we didn’t see him last night, but did tonight. It took him a little while to get going but was more involved in the second half. He and Russell teamed up for one of the rare highlights of the night – Nance running the floor and Russell threading a bounce pass to him from half court for a slam. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 5 boards, 1 block and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He couldn’t finish a shot over a challenge at the rim. Nice challenge and he controlled the board. Second Half: He missed a 16-footer. He busted out on the Lou steal and slammed. Good job running the floor and Russell found him for the dunk with a long bounce pass.

Bass -- -- Another steady game from him. He sets the best picks and works well off him. That will get him points as guards like working with that. It’s tricky with the starters working with Randle (who’s not great at setting picks) and Hibbert who is stuck in mud after he sets one. Again, Bass closes the game because of all that. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 block and no fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He gathered the pass from Lou under the hoop and dunked. He missed a 13-footer. He powered through contact under the hoop and scored the layup. He drew FTs off the setup from Huertas, he made both. Second Half: He dunked when Lou attacked and put it in his lap. He dunked when Randle found him under the hoop.

Huertas -- -- “We had our chances in the early fourth to take back control of the game and have a close game all the way to the end, but couldn’t manage to do that,” Huertas said. No assists in this game, but he did score. He seemed to think they were taking the passes away from him after scouting him. “Our offense was really static for such a long period of the game,” he said. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-4 shooting to go with 2 boards and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a half-court heave at the end of the quarter. He swished a leaner from the right side. Next time down he drained another one from the elbow. He set up Bass for FTs in the paint working off the screen. Second Half: He drew a charge on Booker in the post, his only chance to defend that. He iso’d against a big and hit the running hook over him at the buzzer. He hit a leaner in the paint working off the two-man game.

World Peace -- -- It wasn’t always pretty and I can’t help but describe his drives as rumbling down the lane, but Metta was able to scratch out some points. Being even a semi threat to score really helps the offense. The Lakers were able to make a little run with him out there tonight as a result. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-7 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He airballed a wide open corner three, yikes. He rumbled down the lane and scored a layup in slow motion. He drew FTs in the post and made both. He rumbled to his right and missed the layup. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He couldn’t finish a layup on the break. He somehow manufactured FTs on iso after another busted set, he made one. He missed a long sideline jumper trying to create against a double team with the shotclock low. He attacked to his left off the three line and scored the And-1 layup, then flexed, he made the FT.

Scott -- -- The Lakers led 8-5 midway through an awful first quarter before the timeout mercifully put fans out of their misery for a couple minutes… Out of that timeout, he brought in Williams for Clarkson… Kobe sat, Lakers up 13-7 with Kobe scoring 7 of the Lakers points. Nance, Bass and Huertas in. Russell and Hibbert also out… Metta in for Randle shortly later… The Lakers led 22-16 after the first quarter… Same unit to start the second quarter… He sat Lou for Clarkson. Lou was in some pain a little earlier after running into a screen… Russell in for Huertas, Lakers up 8… Starters with Nance instead of Randle… Randle replaced him eventually… Just ugly looking basketball. The ball was stopping with iso sets one after another… An 8-0 run by the Suns tied things up… The score was tied 47-47 at the half. Just 4 assists for the Lakers. Who doesn’t want it more?… Coaches wanted better ball movement… The Lakers missed a lot of chippies to start the half. The Suns pulled out to a 6-point lead and Scott called a timeout… Lou in for Russell… Suns raining threes and pulled out to a 10-point lead… Bass, MWP, Huertas in for Hibbert, Kobe and Clarkson… The Suns lead extended to 14 points when the timeout came… Assists: Suns (23), Lakers (6)… Nance in for Randle with 2 minutes left… The Lakers trailed 83-72 heading into the fourth… Same unit to start. The Lakers went to a zone to start the quarter and gave up a three… He brought in Russell for Huertas… They extended their defense… The Lakers cut it to 3 off Russell’s play… The Lakers trailed by 6 with 5:51 when the timeout came. He brought in Clarkson, Kobe, Randle for Metta, Nance and Williams… The lead quickly ballooned to 12 points. Timeout, Lakers… Lakers go 0-2 against the Suns. Checkmate…

[TDRock]

Thanks DB!

[PartyMan]

Thank you DB!! Good stuff as always

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB!

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[pio2u]

[AFireInside619]

"Tanks" a lot!

[AFireInside619]

"Tanks" a lot!

[Shaber]

Thanks, DB!

Seems like a good game to miss (again).
_________________
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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

[A Mad Chinaman]

Feels like the young players are playing like they are in school or preseason where they feel giving a good effort will get them a good grade

Who will make everybody accountable to do what it takes to WIN games with these young players?

When the answer to what is the problem is "I don't know" - there is a bigger problem (as Coach Dave shared). One can blame Byron for many things, but cannot when describing the effort on the court and their answers.

They have proven that when a high caliber player is on the court that can make shots - they can be a good team.

Hopefully, the "In Your Face" Black Mamba will make a final appearance in the last game to give the young players a small dose of somebody who demand an effort to WIN games - not just look good

Hey, Lakers have a group of young and talented players. Next stage is to get a leader who will demand that the very best is there - at least in the effort.

[nshid]

[fiendishoc]

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[yinoma2001]

[nshid]

[Shaber]

[nshid]