LAKERS -at- CLIPPERS – 4-5-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Yuck… It only took 3 minutes for the Lakers to spot the Clippers a double-digit lead in this one.

They trailed 20-2 before finally showing signs of life. D’Angelo and Metta showed the only pulse and helped cut that lead to 8 at halftime.

Out of the gates to the second half, same thing – the Clippers outscored the Lakers 19-3. That broke the game open. Russell faded badly and only Metta was able to put together a complete game with a team-high 17 points.

“They made it tough on us because on our missed shots, they were pushing and getting layups,” Clarkson said.

If the late shotclock, iso-fest offense didn’t kill them, the slow-footed D made sure of it. The Lakers fell 103-81 to the Clippers.


Kobe -- -- He was just clanking away tonight…a 180 from the last game. It add gasoline to the poor starts of each half. As bad as Kobe has played at times this season, it’s been rare that Metta outplayed him. That was the case tonight at SF. They mummified Kobe for the fourth quarter and he was done for the night. They showed him in Russell’s ear teaching on deadballs. At least some impact on the floor. “I hate to see him go out this way,” Scott said with how badly they are getting their butts kicked. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a -24. The Action: He missed a tough off-balance corner jumper up against the shotclock on our first possession, just as we drew up. He posted up and missed the turnaround. He missed a wing three. Off the mark on a lob pass, layup the other way. He missed a baseline pull-up. He missed a runner on iso. He missed a wing turnaround. He drew FTs on the wing, he made both. He airballed a three on iso. He stripped Blake on one end and missed the jumper on the other. He finally knocked down a jumper getting into the middle of the lane. He grabbed a miss under the hoop and reversed. He had 6 points on 2-10 shooting. Second Half: He faked Hibbert into a bad pass out of the triangle to start the half. He missed a jumper on iso. He stripped Blake on the other end. He threw a pass into Randle’s shins, turnover. Jumper from the top of the key, clank. He hit Huertas diving for FTs.

Clarkson -- -- Kobe, Russell and Clarkson combined for 10-42 shooting. Just awful, like the ball movement. The Lakers barely got to double digit assists as a team. I can’t wait for this late shotclock iso-fest offense to be put out of its misery. Clarkson got stepped on in the fourth quarter that put him out of misery for the night. The Stats: He scor3ed 10 points on 4-13 shooting (2-6 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -26. The Action: He weaved through traffic and choked the layup. He missed a wing three. Poor D standing flatfooted and allowing Rivers to get by him 30 feet from the hoop for FTs. He lost Rivers on some contact, kept going and finished a layup around the help D. He missed a wide open sideline three. He missed a three late in the shotclock. He missed a layup probing the lane. He attacked, put on the brakes and hit the short jumper. He missed a quick-fire attempt at the buzzer on a full-court heave from Kobe. He had 4 points on 2-9 shooting. Second Half: He sank a three on a kickout from Randle. He swiped a bad outlet, then tried to score around Griffin vs. passing to a teammate filling the lane, turnover. He missed another three on a kickout. He missed a drive. He sank a deep two-for-one three.

Russell -- -- The only Laker to get anything consistently on offense to start the game with 9 points in the first quarter. Everyone else was stone cold. He played a bit more off ball offensively early on. He cooled down considerably and struggled badly as the game went on. A lot of shots coming up way short. Defensively, some pretty good moments on Redick. He stayed tight with him through screens. Trying to cover CP3 is a bit trickier with our bigs. He was getting into open space and scoring easily or setting up teammates. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-17 shooting (2-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -27. The Action: He attacked to the right and hit the fade for the Lakers only score 3 minutes in. He couldn’t finish a tough layup on an off-ball cut up against the shotclock. He attacked baseline and drew FTs for the Lakers next points nearly 3 minutes after his first hoop, he made both. He sank a corner three on a kickout. He missed a pull-up in the lane. Nice D on Redick to help get a shotclock violation. He missed a short one after scooping up a loose ball in the paint (should have banked). He lost a dribble on the sideline, turnover. He scored a layup on the sneaky slow cut where Huertas throws the pass over the top of the D. Poor D on the inbounds not sealing off the basket area. He missed a three straight away on the other end. He called for the ball in transition and swished the sideline three. He missed a corner three on a kickout. He wanted a foul on a floater that airballed right to Black for a slam. He missed a two-for-one wing jumper. He had 12 points on 4-11 shooting (2-4 from three). Second Half: He was stripped after picking up his dribble on a clunky two-man sequence. He missed a pull-up jumper. He blocked Jordan in transition. He missed an elbow jumper. He airballed a baseline runner. He fired a kickout into the crowd, yikes. He missed a short runner. He posted up and airballed the Dirk fade. Blocked on a floater.

Randle -- -- He was able to get his usual double digit rebounds. Offensively, with no outside shot and no room to create off the dribble, he couldn’t score. He did move the ball, which the starters badly needed, but it would usual result in a long shot, so not a huge impact in anything really on that end. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 0-6 shooting (4-4 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 4 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -29. The Action: He barely hit rim on a turnaround in the post. He missed a wing jumper out of a timeout. Illegal D on the other end. He was stripped on what looked like a sure dunk coming. He pushed it out and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. He missed a point-blank putback layup. He had 2 points and 7 boards. Second Half: He threw a perimeter pass away. He passed up the open elbow jumper and hit Clarkson for the three. He spun and lost the ball. He missed a chuck from 20 feet. He iso’d and spun into the D, turnover. Not close on a three on a kickout. Some garbage time FTs.

Hibbert -- -- If it wasn’t for his fouls in the first half, you wouldn’t have known he was out there. He was a -16 in 8 minutes with 3 fouls and 1 board. No impact. His feet were stuck in cement. To start the second half, same thing. His rebounds in the second half were off one sequence where he missed at the rim a number of times. Can we rest him the remainder of the season? He had his good game for 2016. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -30. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He missed a hook in the lane. He battled for an offensive board and choked the putback layup, the crowd couldn’t believe it.

Huertas -- – Not a great game, but he was really the only one with moving the ball with any consistency. He and Randle had 8 of the Lakers 11 assists. Only 3 assists from the other 8 players out there tonight. Sheesh. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (0-3 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed an open wing bank. He hit Russell on the slow baseline cut, right over the top of the D. He worked off the screen and hit Metta for the three. His lob pass was picked off. Second Half: He drew FTs on an off-ball dive, he made both. He missed a wing three. He reversed on the break after the Metta steal. He attacked and kicked to Kelly for the jumper. He drew the D and kicked to Kelly for a longer jumper. He missed a hanging bank. He swished an And-1 floater into the lane getting pushed in the back, he made the FT. He knocked down a baseline jumper off the two-man game. Horrible pass right to the Clippers in the middle of the lane. He missed a baseline jumper.

Black -- -- So Roy Hibbert was a -30 in just 16 minutes. Tarik Black was a +9 in his 24. And people wonder why we are in such holes to start games with consistency. I’d much rather Scott sit Hibbert and go with the Black/Bass combo, but no such luck. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 2 steals and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: Green blew past him and dunked. He was blocked on a dunk attempt on the screen-roll. Putback slam on Metta’s missed jumper. He stripped Redick on a double team. He slammed down a Russell airball drive that worked like a pass. Second Half: He drew FTs nearly getting stripped on a drive. He couldn’t finish a layup off the two-man game.

Kelly -- -- Season-high scoring night for Kelly as his shot was actually dropping in this one. Note, he was playing PF vs. SF. With Nance out on the back-to-back that allowed one of them to play their natural position for the game. He still couldn’t hit a three, now going 1 of his last 22. Wow. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He sank a runner, attacking off the pass around Wes. He drew FTs on a leaner in the lane after taking a handoff, he made both. He missed a wide open sideline three. He attacked, put on the brakes and worked a series of pivots before sinking the leaning baseline jumper. He was stripped in transition. Second Half: He hit a baseline jumper on a kickout. He missed a leaner trying to post up on a mismatch. He sank a long wing jumper on a kickout. He flagged down a pass for a steal, then couldn’t handle it in transition. He up-faked and sank a wing face-up jumper. He missed another three (1 of 22 now). He missed a wing jumper.

World Peace -- -- Metta is talking about playing in the NBA for a few more years. He talks a lot, but tonight he certainly backed that up on both ends of the floor. He had 10 points in his first stint before Scott sat him and scratched some more points as the game went along. A rare impact game from him. Too bad he was the only one able to make something happen on D…and O. He led the Lakers in scoring, hustle and general impact. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-10 shooting (2-3 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He attacked and bricked a layup under the rim. He curled into the lane and threw a lefty layup in high off the glass. He stripped Crawford and was fouled for FTs, he made both. He sank a corner three at the end of the quarter. He missed a baseline jumper. More FTs and he made one. He picked Blake with the reach on the perimeter and left him looking foolish and Metta took it the distance for a dunk. Second Half: He iso’d and was blocked on a reverse. He stripped another player and it led to a breakaway score for Huertas. He filled the lane on the break and scored. He attacked baseline too early in the clock and missed, it led to FTs in the final seconds the other way. He bricked a long three. He coughed it up on iso. Back in and he earned some garbage time FTs, he made both. He sank a three in the final minute.

Sacre -- -- Some late garbage time run for Sacre. The game was over and into the deep bench. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-1 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards and 2 fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He blocked a drive. Some FTs midway through the quarter on a garbage play. He iso’d and hit the fade in the lane. He earned some more garbage time FTs.

Scott -- -- The Lakers quickly fell 13-2 after 3 minutes. Well done. Offense looks like disorganized crap… It continued out of the timeout as the Lakers fell behind by 20-2… Huertas and Black in for Hibbert and Clarkson… It took nearly 8 minutes before someone other than Russell scored… Metta in for Kobe down 11… Kelly in for Randle. No Nance tonight… The Lakers trailed 33-22 after the first quarter… He started the Black, Kelly, Peace, Clarkson, Huertas lineup… Metta getting the Lakers back into the game… Randle in for Metta to cool that down, Lakers down 8… Down 41-33 when Kobe returned for Kelly, Russell for Huertas and Hibbert for Black… Black back in for Hibbert shortly later… Lakers playing with much better effort on both ends after that horrible start… The Lakers trailed 52-44 at the half… Slow start to the half and they trailed by 18 quickly once again… Down 21, he sat Russell for Huertas midway through the quarter… A 19-3 start for the Clippers to the second half when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Kelly, Black, Metta in to go with Clarkson and Huertas… Sacre in for Black midway through the fourth… Randle in for Metta, Lakers down 22… Awful…

[Laker's Fan]

First (sadly the game was less exciting).
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Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[pio2u]

11 ASSISTS

[SweetP]

Thanks DB. I turned it off in the third. Guess I didn't miss much after all.
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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

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Shaber]

Thanks, DB!

I'm not even watching the games anymore. They seem mood-spoiling.
I'm reading your T&R every time, though.
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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]

Wondering how long LG posters are willing to wait until DLO, JC and Randle learn/apply the necessary energy, edge and intensity to be successful in the NBA - never mind being stars

These uber talented (phsically) are seemingly used to be able to turn it own when they feel like because (in the past) they were far more talented than their opponents. In the NBA, these talented players don't have a talent or basketball IQ advantage over anybody and need to work on their games throughout the upcoming summer.

CP3, Westbrook and Kobe had it while they were in high school

[ribeye]

To think you must suffer through all these god-awful games and then re-live the horror in your own words, is the ultimate Lakers-fan sacrifice.

I just don't know how you do it game in and game out.
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"A metronome keeps time by using a Ringo"

[dubaholic1]

It will be weird reading these recaps next year with no Kobe line.

[DancingBarry]

[Cutheon]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!