LAKERS -at- ROCKETS – 12-7-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings Reply to topic
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 9:35 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- ROCKETS – 12-7-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Yuck… Luke inserted Clarkson and Huertas into the starting lineup. Another unit that hasn’t played much together, but we have little choice right now.

After falling behind big with some poor D and consistent turnovers leading to transition points, they fought back, chipping away at a 19-point lead and cutting it to 7.

Late in the first half through most of the third quarter, they got stomped, trailing nearly 30 points by the end of the third. The Rockets scored 42 points off a season-high 28 Laker turnovers in this one. That’s an NBA season high. Yuck.

“You don’t need to have chemistry to get back on defense. You just have to run back,” Luke said. “Turnovers, yeah, that could be affected by chemistry, but there are some things just as a team no matter who is on floor we should do, we should do it well and take pride in doing it, and that wasn’t the case tonight.”

The Lakers fell 134-95 to the Rockets.

“You’re not going to win a road game in the NBA when you give up those kind of numbers like we did tonight,” Luke said.


Randle -- -- “I don’t know what we’re doing but we’re not being ourselves,” Randle said afterward. He tried to be more aggressive, sometimes to a fault. He had a flurry of turnovers to start the game, getting the Lakers on their heels early, but he cleaned that up. (Although, he may have just traded turnovers for wild shots at times). He stayed aggressive and finished with 15 points on 6-13 and 7 boards at the half. A lot of contact against Randle that wasn’t called tonight that should have led to FTs in that half. But the turnovers were his own fault. None of the Lakers seemed to like the communication on D. “Sometimes we get tired and guys forget to talk on the defensive end,” he said. I don’t think Walton was real happy with some of Randle’s work on that end. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-19 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 10 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -18 The Action: He muscled his way across the lane to earn FTs, he made one. He missed a three from the top of the arc, then gave up a dunk on the other end with poor transition D. He was called for an off-ball foul on the offensive end. He attacked, missed on contact, missed the putback but got the third attempt to go. His kickout was picked off for a dunk the other way. He coughed it up next time down for another turnover. He missed a pass, not patient enough, then iso’d and missed the jumphook. He tipped in a missed floater. He attacked and somehow threw in an off-balance prayer off glass. Lou saved him on a dive cut as Randle attacked and found him for the layup. He attacked the paint next time down and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked down the middle of the paint with speed and scored the layup (should have been an And-1). He missed a short one in the paint over Harden (should have gotten a little closer). He faced up on Nene, attacked right, went up and under and muscled in the layup. He iso’d, attacked to his right and missed the tough pull-up. He rolled to the hoop and scored the layup on the feed. He missed a drive in transition (I think he wanted the foul on that). He missed a wild drive. Second Half: He attacked, threw up a prayer and somehow managed to tip it in behind a man. He missed a drive in transition and wanted the foul. He couldn’t finish a layup to his left but helped us recover it. He cleaned up a missed Zubac shot with a putback, but gave it right back on the other end not boxing out. He attacked across the lane and muscled in a layup.

Clarkson -- -- The team defense by Clarkson was awful. Whether it was giving up middle on the two-man situations, not tagging guys, not getting back in transition or not communicating, I think we saw all of that from Clarkson tonight. Just not a good effort. Maybe with all the extra responsibility he and Lou feels, the effort on D is slipping. “We’re playing a lot of different lineups trying to figure it out,” Clarkson said. He’s been struggling with figuring things out offensively quite a bit, usually with the passing, but tonight that part of his game was good. He only got credit with 2 assists, but the ball moved better from him. He wasn’t any better with the shot, however. “He didn’t get a lot of shots in rhythm like he normally gets,” Luke said. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-13 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -26. The Action: He attacked the paint and was easily rejected, not sure what he was thinking on that finish. Nice bounce pass to Randle who missed the layup, but eventually scored. He missed a runner. He expected a switch that didn’t come and his man hit a three. He didn’t ice the two-man game, gave up middle and a dunk (Nance had some words with him after that one). He missed a drive. He missed a 60-footer at the buzzer. He kicked out to Ingram for the open three. He hit the midrange wing jumper off the pull-back dribble. He got picked by a man for a layup the other way. He drilled a pull-up wing three in transition. Nice job pulling down a defensive board in a crowd. He hit Randle rolling to the hoop for a score. He missed a sideline three. Second Half: He didn’t get back in transition and gave up a score. Not close on a pull-up three in transition. He couldn’t finish a layup in transition but Mozgov cleaned it up. He missed a three straight away. He scooped up a loose ball, attacked the paint and hit the floater. Not close on a drive across the middle. He missed an elbow jumper.

Mozgov -- -- It seemed like he was off balance quite a bit with the jumper, which hurt the pick and pop. We’ve lost a lot of that good screen-roll action with him. Huertas didn’t have that chemistry. You need a guy who can be equally a threat with the pass or shot to make that work. Guys could play Huertas to pass defensively and that would negate Mozgov’s effectiveness with the screens…and then things would get choppy. He had a couple of nice moments on the move, one a drive from about 35 feet out for an And-1 layup, the other some nice hustle to putback in a missed layup in transition. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-9 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: He had Deng open cutting to the hoop and threw it behind him. He missed a short one across the lane, but quickly bounced up and had his putback goaltended. He sank a 19-footer on the pick and pop. He dunked off the bounce pass from Huertas after a loose ball scramble. Second Half: He missed a turnaround in the paint. He turned it over and took the quick foul. Not close on a baseline jumper that hit the side of the glass. He hit the floor for a loose ball. He was called for an offensive foul trying to fight for position in the post. He attacked off the dribble from about 35 feet out to his right and scored the And-1 layup with his left, he made the FT. Off on an 18-footer (just not squaring up well tonight). Way short on a wing jumper. He followed Clarkson the breakaway and dunked in his miss.

Deng -- -- Can’t wait until Deng is finally cleared to play and we see him on the court. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper on the Lakers first attempt. He lost a man with an up fake, attacked and somehow was stripped before he could finish the easy one. He fumbled a dribble away, got it back and missed the perimeter chuck, short. He missed a pull FT jumper, short. Second Half: He stripped a man under a hoop to save a bucket. He jumped a passing lane, slowed it up, passed too early and we couldn’t score (but we got the ball back). Nice baseline cut on Huertas’s drive and he reversed off the pass for his only score. He missed a wing three.

Huertas -- -- Hard to put blame on your third string PG for the Lakers bad play tonight. But the fact is, if he’s getting major minutes, let alone starting, we’re likely in trouble. I might give a couple of his turnovers to Zubac in this one or at least shared, but Zubac didn’t quite seem ready for them. Definitely, some bad moments from Huertas getting caught in the air like he does. He’s still showing that sneaky streak defensively with 5 steals, getting one again on an inbounds pass in the backcourt and scoring a layup off it like in the last game. He didn’t like the communication defensively, and I’m not sure he liked the ball movement either. “It showed if we don’t play the right way against teams, we don’t stand a chance,” Huertas said. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-7 shooting (0-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 7 assists, 6 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -20. The Action: He got caught in the air and threw it out of bounds. He stole the inbounds, however, and scored the layup to make up for it. He was stripped, recovered it and found Mozgov open off the scramble for a dunk. He didn’t hit rim on a sideline three up against the shotclock. He threw the pass over the D on the sneaky backdoor play they run to Lou for the layup. He drew a moving screen call on D on the other end. Second Half: He no-looked to Deng cutting baseline for the reverse. He swiped a pass in transition. He got caught in the air and threw it away. He got a switch, attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He picked up his dribble and it was swiped for a score the other way. He scored a layup on the breakaway off the Robinson steal. He missed a three straight away. He missed a jumper. He scored an uncontested breakaway layup. He missed a three. He drew FTs on a drive, he made both.

Williams -- -- Let’s get to the good first. He had 17 points on 5-7 shooting in the first half. Super-efficient and it was topped off with a 60-footer that went in at the halftime buzzer (I think he used all his muscles on that one). He struggled in this one with the turnovers. He had some miscues trying to split double teams and couple others getting into trouble with no one to pass to. He and Ingram combined for 11 turnovers and 1 assist. Too many instances where he didn’t seem to have a real purpose to what he was doing in that regard, unlike the last game where the D was in trouble and when he drew doubles, he always had teammates to pass to. Tonight, we were just completely out of sync when we’re normally locked in with that bench. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 7-12 shooting (2-4 from three, 8-8 from the line) to go with 1 board, 6 turnovers, 3 steals, 1 block and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -26. The Action: Late whistle on the reach-chuck from three, but he got the call and made all three FTs. He charged trying to split defenders. Early offense attack and he scored an And-1 layup off the change of pace drive, he made the FT. He got caught in air trying to create on iso and threw it away. Great cut on Randle’s baseline drive and he scored a layup off the pass. He iso’d and drew FTs with 6 seconds left in the quarter, he made both. He attacked and missed a layup but Nance cleaned it up. Good hustle to close out, then recover again to challenge and force a brick from three. He scored a layup on the lull-the-defender-to-sleep backdoor cut with Huertas. He got caught in the air and threw it away. He missed an open corner three. He scored a layup off a missed Randle attempt. Wow, he measured and chucked a 60-footer in at the buzzer at the halftime buzzer. Second Half: He tried to split a double team, turnover, dunk the other way. Wild attempt to his right, not close. He drew FTs on a perimeter reach, he made both. He threw a pass away, we stole it back, got it to Lou and he hit a three. He hit a floater in transition. He missed a long three in early offense. He missed a floater in the lane. He swatted a shot on the other end.

Ingram -- He said he’s getting more comfortable finishing as we’ve definitely seen over the last several games. Much better using the correct hand and with his footwork on those finishes. There was a dunk in the fourth quarter that I want to see a whole lot more of from him. He got a switch on the right sideline, blew past the defender to his left with speed and dunked with both hands. The key was he took only one dribble from the three line before dunking, just covering a lot of floor using his length on a couple long strides and on the finish. Defensively, he was really getting outmuscled on the defensive boards tonight. A lot more than we usually see and the Rockets got points off that on multiple occasions. He was another guy mentioning the lack of communication on D. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-13 shooting (2-4 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 5 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -31. The Action: He pounded the dribble, spun and got tapped on a turnaround in the paint. He attacked and missed an off-balance shot, got it back and was blocked (close to a goaltend). He took the low kickout and swished the wing three. He attacked the perimeter pressure from Beverley, then finished the layup with his left around the help D. He swished a corner three on the kickout from Nance. He missed a three in transition (had time to gather himself just a beat more). He missed a quick-fire three in transition again. He iso’d and lost the dribble, turnover. He had 8 points on 3-8 shooting. Second Half: He probed and sank the easy elbow jumper, able to take his time on that one. He was called for a bogus offensive foul against Harden on a drive (just because your head whips back doesn’t mean it’s an automatic foul). He missed a wing jumper. He attacked in transition, missed, got it back and drew FTs, he made neither. He changed pace on a dribble from the sideline, attacked around his man with speed and hammered with both hands. He missed a quick-fire three off the hop to beat the shotclock. Back-to-back turnovers, one off the dribble, then next one off a pass on two possessions.

Nance -- -- His touch was off tonight like several Lakers. I liked the effort regardless and Nance said he felt good. Hopefully, he’s dialed in a little better offensively in the next game and we see the bench flexing its muscle again. “Next game is going to be different and this second unit is going to be back to where it’s supposed to be,” Nance said. I liked his attitude after the game. Great guy to have in the locker room after a beatdown like this and the strong of losses we had. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -25. The Action: He grabbed a missed drive and flipped it in over his head. He missed a jumper on iso. Nice kickout to Ingram for a three. Wow, he tipped a ball away from Harden, Harden forearmed him to get the loose ball and Nance got called for the foul. Great hustle after an offensive board, which he didn’t get as he tapped it inbounds, he then hustled some more and swiped the ball in the backcourt from Harden. Second Half: He was tapped on a short one in the paint, got to finish those. He missed a short jumphook, battled through defenders for the offensive board and saved it to a teammate. He missed a three.

Zubac -- -- He should have been in a few minutes earlier. We were down 40 with a lot of garbage time. He was out of sync with Huertas on a few passes, which was par for the course tonight. Just barely enough time to get into the flow tonight for him. But any minutes, I’ll take. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-2 shooting (2-2 from the line) in 5 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He fumbled a pass away in the lane, dunk the other way. Not close on a lefty jumphook. Not ready for a pass from Huertas, turnover. He blocked a shot in transition to get a stop. He missed a jumphook, getting pushed some on the shot. He drew FTs on the screen-roll, he made both.

Robinson -- -- Too little impact for the minutes he got. We usually see a lot more positive plays from him. The usual energy and impact wasn’t there. He did have a nice swipe of a perimeter pass and one offensive board to reset the offense, but little else. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-1 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He attacked middle, drop stepped and missed the bank. Second Half: He reset the offense on an offensive board. He attacked and drew FTs, he missed both. He was called for a charge in transition. He swiped a post entry pass on the perimeter and quickly fed Huertas for the breakaway score. He drew FTs on a reverse, he made both.

World Peace -- -- I wanted him in a little earlier for Nance, who was coming off the injury. But Metta came in later in the fourth during garbage time. He had a nice hustle block in transition, showing the guys they need to always hustle. We got down 40 by not hustling on D. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-1 shooting from three (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 block in 7 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a corner three. Nice hustle in transition down 40 to challenge a breakaway layup and get a miss. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs, he made both.

Walton -- -- Sad day for the Laker coaching staff and organization losing one of their own from the D-League and camp to a motorcycle accident. Luke addressed that before they started this one… With the injuries he hunted again for something new to work, going with Clarkson and Huertas in the starting lineup… He sat Huertas for Lou and Clarkson for Ingram, Lakers down 7… They trailed by 10 shortly later. Turnover-prone ball (especially Randle with 3 of the Lakers 7 early ones)… Down 8 when Nance came in for Mozgov… Lakers were getting lit up with poor D and turnovers… The Lakers trailed 43-27 after the first quarter. Painful start… Robinson, Nance, Ingram, Clarkson, Williams… Deng back in for Robinson with 9:24 left, Lakers down 15… Huertas back for Lou with 8:04 left, Lakers down 11… Lou back in for Ingram… Randle in for Nance, down 12… They cut it to 7 and forced a timeout… Down 10, Ingram in for Huertas… The Lakers trailed 67-55 at the half. The 14 Lakers turnovers were turned into 23 points. Pretty much the difference right there… After giving up another transition score, Luke called a timeout down 17 with 7:13 left… Nance, Ingram and Lou in for Randle, Huertas and Deng out of that timeout… The Lakers fell back big and this one was over early. Down 27 with a few minutes left in the third. Should be garbage time shortly… The Lakers trailed 106-77 heading into the fourth… He started Robinson, Nance, Ingram, Lou and Huertas. Should really sit Lou… He did 2 minutes into the quarter… Should sit Nance, too… Randle in for Nance eventually. Metta now in for Ingram… Then Ingram back in for Clarkson. So Robinson, Randle, Metta, Ingram, Huertas. Where’s Zubac?... He came in shortly later with 5 minutes left for Robinson…
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Inspector Gadget
Retired Number
Retired Number


Joined: 18 Apr 2016
Posts: 46492

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 9:37 pm    Post subject:

First.

Thanks!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
TooMuchMajicBuss
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 17 Sep 2008
Posts: 21064
Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 9:37 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
dcarter4kobe
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 30 Jul 2005
Posts: 17656

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 9:55 pm    Post subject:

lol at the Deng comment.
_________________
"He's a Zen master, so he can speak to you, and he doesn't need a microphone; you can hear him in your head, 'Ron, don't shoot, don't shoot.' Whatever, pow, three. I love the Zen, though."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
TDRock
Retired Number
Retired Number


Joined: 27 May 2010
Posts: 48600
Location: LA to the Bay

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 10:18 pm    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- ROCKETS – 12-7-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

thanks as always. I missed most of this one. Glad to hear Nance was back.

DancingBarry wrote:
Deng -- -- Can’t wait until Deng is finally cleared to play and we see him on the court.


Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
mhan00
Retired Number
Retired Number


Joined: 13 Apr 2001
Posts: 32025

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 10:36 pm    Post subject:

Thank god it sounds like it's only a couple more games until Dlo and Young are ready to play again. We need them.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message ICQ Number Reply with quote
Shaber
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 12 Mar 2006
Posts: 3731
Location: The other side

PostPosted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 10:44 pm    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- ROCKETS – 12-7-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

DancingBarry wrote:
Can’t wait until Deng is finally cleared to play and we see him on the court.


Ouch.


Thanks, DB!
_________________
.

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
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Chronicle
Retired Number
Retired Number


Joined: 21 Jul 2012
Posts: 31930
Location: Manhattan

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 12:37 am    Post subject:

Only watched the first quarter

disgusting game
_________________
Kobe
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
tox
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 16 Nov 2015
Posts: 17835

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 2:08 am    Post subject:

I was actually pretty disgusted watching the team and turned it off in the 3rd. This was the kind of garbage product we saw under Byron. No accountability, no effort. Just couldn't stand it. Credit to all that you do, DB!

Of particular note, I really, really was unhappy with Randle and Clarkson's defensive effort today. I don't know how many times I saw them miss their assignments. I'm just going to avoid their threads for the time being.

Also this:

Quote:
Can’t wait until Deng is finally cleared to play and we see him on the court


Spot on.

Today was an improvement from Ingram, though, and Nance is back. So at least there's that!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
OregonLakerGuy
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 13207
Location: Oregon

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 3:09 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Analyzing games like this is an ugly job. Appreciate the fact that you do it even when it hurts
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
A Mad Chinaman
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 6121

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 4:05 am    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- ROCKETS – 12-7-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

TDRock wrote:
thanks as always. I missed most of this one. Glad to hear Nance was back.
DancingBarry wrote:
Deng -- -- Can’t wait until Deng is finally cleared to play and we see him on the court.
fMIA Deng!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
TooMuchMajicBuss
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 17 Sep 2008
Posts: 21064
Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 7:20 am    Post subject: Re: LAKERS -at- ROCKETS – 12-7-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

TDRock wrote:
thanks as always. I missed most of this one. Glad to hear Nance was back.

DancingBarry wrote:
Deng -- -- Can’t wait until Deng is finally cleared to play and we see him on the court.



Sums it up perfectly DB -
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
bertrome
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 12 Apr 2001
Posts: 2204

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 9:27 am    Post subject:

They'd have been much better off staying put in LA and forfeited the game.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
70sdude
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 05 Feb 2009
Posts: 4567

PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 9:48 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Missed seeing the game and your summary is always helpful.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1
Jump to:  

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum






Graphics by uberzev
© 1995-2018 LakersGround.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Terms of Use.
LakersGround is an unofficial news source serving the fan community since 1995.
We are in no way associated with the Los Angeles Lakers or the National Basketball Association.


Powered by phpBB