LAKERS -at- HORNETS – 12-20-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 9:01 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- HORNETS – 12-20-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Frustrating… The Lakers were up 19 points in this one and fell apart. Not only that, Larry Nance had to be helped off the floor.

It was a frustrating night in a game they should have won.

The Lakers put up a season-high 73 points in the first half, draining 13 threes on some excellent ball movement with 21 assists and just 4 turnovers. They struggled to defend, however and that caught up with them.

“We knew they weren’t going to quit,” Luke said of the Hornets. The Lakers would score just 40 points in the second half, playing only so much D as Julius Randle did. When he was engaged, they thrived. When his focus faded badly, they were killed.

Down the stretch, their ball movement disappeared, their lack of rebounding was exploited and they fell 117-113. No news on Larry Nance.

“At the end of the game, guys were trying to make the big plays themselves instead of do it with the team concept,” Luke said.


Russell -- -- Kind of an average game from Russell, hitting the 15-5-5 mark in 26 minutes, which is extremely strong for an average game. Very method and controlled with the pass. He worked the post quite a bit with mixed results. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-13 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 blocks and no fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He blew past his man and scored a layup for the Lakers first score. He grabbed a rebound and hit a pull-up at the FT line next time down. He posted up in early offense and missed the turnaround. He missed a three on a kickout. He found Deng on the skip pass for the three. He hit Nick for a three on a kickout. He missed a pull-up at the FT line trying to keep his man in jail. Second Half: He sank a pull-up jumper straight away with a soft touch. He froze a defender with a hesitation dribble and scored a layup next time down. He posted up off an inbounds and swished the turnaround. He got tapped on the post turnaround, then got scored on the other end. Poor decision on a post entry that was easily picked off. He backed his man down, swung his arms and drew the FTs, he made both. He sank a wing three off the feed from Lou. Sweet bullet feed cross court through defenders to Clarkson for the three. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He posted up and missed the elbow turnaround. He missed a three.

Randle -- -- Such an extreme game from Randle. Kills me. “There were times tonight Julius was brilliant and there were times that he wasn’t his normal self out there,” Luke said. “We hold him to high expectations, high standards. We expect him to be the Julius that had those stretches out there where he was dominating the game more often than the other one.” Yeah, there were definite two Julius Randles out there. Ultimately, it cost them in the end when Randle didn’t finish a defensive stand going after a rebound and letting a guard he switched on pull down an offensive board. That would lead to the game-winning score shortly later. In the first half, he was completely awful. Luke benched him and Russell for some poor effort and no communication. Randle also had a series of miscues later that Charlotte capitalized on for scores. He was also missing some very easy layups and jumphooks at point blank range. The dominating stretch that Luke talked about was just that. Randle was in a frenzy on D, blocking everything and getting that to turn into transition buckets (the 5 blocks were a career high). It was a great stretch at the C spot. After the game, there was a lot of focus on his Jekyll and Hyde. He mentioned they lost it on the offensive glass. “There was a play down the stretch where I feel like I could have got a rebound,” Randle said. Yep. Got to play the entire possession, especially at the end of the game. Tough lesson to learn. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4=12 shooting to go with 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 turnovers, 5 blocks and 5 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He swished a turnaround on the repost. Not close on a 17-footer off a pocket pass from Russell. He missed a jumphook across the lane. He crashed the glass and put back in the Nance miss. Nice re-screen to free up Clarkson for three. Lost on an inbounds and he gave up a layup. He then traveled on the other end. He was stripped in the paint on a pumpfake, turnover. Wild finish in the paint, not close (just go up strong), then he fouled. Second Half: Slow, telegraphed post entry pass, easily picked off for points the other way. He choked a layup at the front of the rim on the two-man game. He attacked and choked another layup with no one near him. He rejected a man to ignite a break. He grabbed a rebound, changed ends with speed and finished at the rim. He rejected a man from behind on one end, then overpowered his man on the other for a layup. Another rejection next time down to save a hoop, but this time he missed the short runner in transition. He drop-stepped and missed a layup at the buzzer (got to knock those down). He rejected a drive out of bounds. Weak charge call as he took a pass and contact, turnover. He iso’d and missed the short one. He ballwatched after challenging a Walker jumper, Walker crashed the glass, got the board and the Hornets ending up scoring the game-winning basket.

Deng -- -- Great first half, scoring all of his 11 points. He was scoreless in the second half, however. His shot generally looked good. He came up short on a couple, but they weren’t frozen ropes. He’s making much more of an impact with the little things that we wanted from him when we signed him. He had several blocks and hit the boards well. Everything was off early this season. Those plays weren’t happening as well as the misses. So it seems he’s worked his way into better game shape. Additionally, we had at least one play tonight that was called specifically for him. So getting more familiar in the offense is helping, too. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 blocks and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He missed a wing three, good arc. He swished a sideline three on the kickout from Russell. He turned the corner, straight line to the hoop and he scored at the rim. He set a screen for Russell on the loop, sealed his man in the paint, took the pass, up-faked and a layup. He hit Clarkson for the wing three. He filled the lane as Nance pushed it out and was rewarded with a layup. He up-faked and attacked from the corner for the layup. Way short on a 10-footer in the lane. He missed a corner three. He had 11 points on 5-8 shooting and 7 boards. Second Half: Short on a corner three. He attacked off the three line, charge. He missed a wing three.

Mozgov -- -- I think the notes probably say a lot about his impact in this one. Could we have used him to get boards? Sure, but he really had little to no defensive presence when he was out there. So there might not have been rebounds to get. He was active on the offensive glass, but that was about it. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 6 boards (4 offensive) to go with 1 assist and 3 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a couple tips at the rim. Second Half: He was fouled on an offensive board.

Young -- -- “They got the hustle plays in the end,” Nick said. This could have just as easily been a win had the Lakers won the 50-50 balls or done their job on the boards. Frustrating. Nick had a strong first half, making 4 of 5 threes, but he’d go just 1-5 in the second half and come up empty on the game’s biggest shots. “It just didn’t go down tonight.” The Stats: He scored 24 points on 9-18 shooting (5-10 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and no fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -22. The Action: He sank a short fade in the lane in early offense. He sank a sideline three off a handoff. He swished a deep wing three off the kickout from Russell. He was forced into a long heave from three trying to get it up before the shotclock expired. He missed a pull-up 18-footer. Great cut off Nance’s face-up and he took the pass for a layup. He sank a wing three in early offense. He drained a wing three off a swing pass. He had 16 points on 6-8 shooting (4-5 from three). Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. He missed a three. He missed a wing jumper. He sank a wing three off a swing pass. Way short on a three in transition. He attacked baseline, took contact and flipped in a spectacular And-1 over his head, he made the FT. Soft touch on a short pull-up in the lane. Way short on a three off a screen. He missed a baseline jumper on the inbounds. He then missed a big three with 9 seconds left.

Clarkson -- -- He came out on fire from three on his way to a career high night from beyond the arc with 7 threes. “I thought Jordan was awesome. He was competing his tail off,” Luke said. Clarkson said he’s been in the gym every night working on the shot. The key from what I’m seeing is the ball movement. He’s not creating off the dribble. These are catch-and-shoot situations. When he tried to do too much, which happened on two or three occasions tonight, nothing good happened. He kept that very limited. This is how both he and the team half to play offensively and we’ll see the JC we want to see. Decent effort on D as he seemed to take a little more pride on that end again. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 9-13 shooting (7-9 from three) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He sank a three working off the two-man game with Randle. He hit a three on a catch and shoot in the corner. Really bad read on an inbounds pass, he didn’t switch and gave up a layup under the hoop. He curled off a screen and hit a three straight away to start the quarter. Another three in the corner off the kickout from Lou next time down. He drilled another catch-and-shoot three off the down screen from Nance. He crossed over and missed a floater in the lane. Not on balance on his first real iso attempt from three and he missed. He split a double off a handoff, nearly lost it but scored the layup after the recovery. He rejected a layup out of bounds on the other end (very nice). He missed a wing three. He had 17 points on 6-9 shooting (5-7 from three). Second Half: He dribbled himself out of bounds trying to drive by a man. He couldn’t finish a layup on the break. He sank a three off some nice Laker ball movement. He iso’d on a mismatch against a big and scored a layup. He took the cross-court feed from Russell and drained the corner three.

Williams -- -- He led the team in assists (8) and +/- (+18). Those things probably go hand in hand, but the second unit didn’t have as many breakdowns defensively as the starters. Another good job of setting the example of moving the ball. Late in the game, however, he had what looked like a tired possession, not moving the ball and missing a deep three off the screen. The team suffered from that as we went down the stretch, something Luke made a point of when it was over. Defensively, Lou had a pretty impressive rejection, popping up like a big under the hoop and rejecting a layup on help D. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 5-12 shooting (1-4 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 8 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He took contact and hit the And-1 baseline jumper, he missed the FT. He drained a sideline three working off the Randle screen. He attacked baseline and fed Nance for the layup. He found Clarkson in the corner for three. He probed in early offense and drew FTs in the paint, he made both. He attacked and kicked to Larry for a three at the buzzer. He attacked, drew the D and found Clarkson in the corner for a three. He missed a 17-footer. Nice challenge on a three to force a miss. He probed in early offense and hit the runner. Second Half: He airballed a baseline jumper trying to draw FTs. Nice rejection bouncing off his man under the hoop on a drive to swat the layup and Randle then scored changing ends quickly with it. He threw a pass out of bounds off a busted weave sequence. He attacked off the three line and hit the floater. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He missed a three in transition. Sweet backdoor cut off the weave and Ingram hit him with the bounce pass for a dunk. He drew the reach foul on a three, he made all three FTs. He missed a long three on a weak possession.

Ingram -- -- “We had little things on missed rebounds that can’t happen and we gave one away tonight,” Ingram said. The rookie was spot on. He had around 700 people from his hometown coming out to support him. “It’s something that we play the game for,” Ingram said. Quiet game overall, but with some flashes throughout. Late in the first half, there was a spin move from Ingram that we saw a ton of in college where he scored a layup. Not only does this move help change directions, but he plays long off it because of how the footwork naturally works. He goes off one foot, is moving his hips and finishing with speed. That’s something he’s slowly learned to do this season on regular finishes. Hopefully, we see more of it because he’s hard to guard. Additionally, he had a couple of great passes in this one: a backdoor bounce pass to Lou for a dunk and another quick interior feed off an offensive board to Nance for a dunk. We ran him a bit at PF tonight as we went small. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He gave up and And-1 layup, not in good position after recovering. Great offensive board and quick interior feed to Nance for the dunk. He couldn’t finish the layup after a good seal under the hoop. He attacked to his left, spun to the middle and scored the layup with ease. He hit Nick for a three. Second Half: He sank a long sideline jumper off the swing pass. Not close on a three trailing the break. Sweet bounce pass off the weave to Lou who backdoored his man and it led to a dunk.

Nance -- -- The x-rays were negative. “That’s going to be a tough loss,” Luke said, not knowing when he’d be back or how long he’d be out. His play was kind of like the game in a nutshell. He jumped a passing lane for steal, took a dribbler or two on his way down court on a breakaway, then had it poked loose. He gave chase, fouled a man and grabbed his knee. What looked like it was going so well, suddenly turned sadly disappointing. We can only hope it’s minor, but when you don’t see any obvious contact happen and someone grabs their knee, it’s usually not good. He was carried off court and on crutches afterward. He’s the glue on what little D we have at times. Other guys are going to have to step up. Fingers crossed it’s nothing major. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 steals and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a floater in the paint. Bad foul in the post against Hibbert who was about to throw up a long hook (just let him, please). He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Lou. He drained a three from the top of the arc at the end of the quarter. He passed up the jumper, but quickly ran to set the screen on the DHO, which opened up a two-man sequence that got him the ball at the rim for FTs, he made one. He dunked off the interior feed from Ingram. Excellent screen to free up Clarkson for the catch-and-shoot three. Excellent pushout off a rebound and it led to a Deng layup. He sank an 18-footer off the cross-court feed. He found Young cutting for a layup. He tapped out an offensive board and it led to a three. Second Half: He threw a pass away, right into a defenders legs. He jumped a passing lane, had the dribble poked away and was called for a loose ball foul for FTs, 4-point switch and he asked to be taken out after that, being helped off the court without any weight on his left leg.

Zubac -- -- He came in for Randle with 2:31 left in the first to match up with Hibbert. Short run, little time to do much. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting and had 1 board in 2:31. He was a +0. The Action: He bricked a runner in the lane. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Walton -- -- Some good shooting by the Lakers working off Russell’s passes and they led 19-12 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Lakers up 6 when Nance came in with 5 minutes left for Mozgov… Same lead when Ingram and Clarkson came in for Young and Deng… Lou in for Russell a few seconds later… He brought in Zubac for Randle, up 6. Rare appearance… Lakers draining a lot of threes, but are too soft on D… They led 41-35 after the first quarter, giving up too many points… Nance, Deng, Ingram, Clarkson, Lou to start the second… A couple more Clarkson threes to start the quarter and the Lakers were up 12… They extended that to 18 behind more threes… Young in for Ingram, Lakers up 15… Lakers up 61-41 with 6:11 still left when the timeout came… Randle and Russell in for Clarkson and Nance… Randle looking awful and the lead was cut to 12 off his turnovers and poor D. His head was not in the game right here… Ingram, Nance and Clarkson back in for Randle, Russell and Lou… The Lakers led 73-59 at the half. The Lakers were 12-18 from three off some excellent ball movement (21 assists, 4 turnovers). Need to play stronger D, though… A couple scores for Russell and the Hornets quickly called a timeout… The lead was quickly cut down to 8 points on a 9-0 run and Luke called a timeout… Lakers up 2 and Luke called another timeout. Really needs to sit Randle… He sat Mozgov, Randle and Russell early off that 15-0 run… The Hornets took the lead on a 22-3 run… Ingram in for Deng down 1… Nance had to go to the locker room with a knee injury, Lakers down 4. Randle back in… Russell in for Young with 3:28 left, Lakers down 3… Julius finally showing up on D with a series of shot blocks and the Lakers had a 4-point lead again… The Lakers led 96-94 heading into the fourth… He started a small Randle, Ingram, Clarkson, Russell, Williams lineup… Some defensive rebounding issues with this lineup… They brought back in Deng for Clarkson to get him a breather with 7 minutes left up a basket… Randle, Deng, Young, Clarkson, Ingram up 3… Tied up with 1:04 left, Luke called a timeout. Lou in for Ingram. Clarkson nearly dribbling it out of bounds on a busted play, but we got it back. Nick missed on an inbounds… Lakers give up another offensive board and a score, down 2 with 13 seconds left… Ingram in for Lou. Nick missed a three… The Lakers had 8 assists in the second half after the 21 first half assists… They gave up 16 offensive boards…
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akgolf
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 9:08 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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Ujah's Goat
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 9:11 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 9:13 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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fiendishoc
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 10:56 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Those were my thoughts on Randle exactly. While it was good that he stepped it up eventually, if he gotten focused a little earlier then the game was in the bag.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:06 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 2:27 am    Post subject:

Team is now playing to the many expectations given before the season started

Many Laker fans wanted the team to allow the young players to make the mistakes to learn - mission accomplish

Randle's (along with JC and DLO) play proves that they have raw athletic gifts but presently greatly lack the NBA skills/mental focus/discipline to be considered elite NBA players

Abundantly clear and confirmed that they still have many bad habits and not "All In" on Luke's "System" and don't have the raw talent to take over games

Could the demands of consistently playing at a high level expected from Luke has far exceeded what many of the young players anticipated hence resulting in injuries to Swaggy, DLO, Randle, Nance and Calderon
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smoothazsilk
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 4:50 am    Post subject:

A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Team is now playing to the many expectations given before the season started

Many Laker fans wanted the team to allow the young players to make the mistakes to learn - mission accomplish

Randle's (along with JC and DLO) play proves that they have raw athletic gifts but presently greatly lack the NBA skills/mental focus/discipline to be considered elite NBA players

Abundantly clear and confirmed that they still have many bad habits and not "All In" on Luke's "System" and don't have the raw talent to take over games

Could the demands of consistently playing at a high level expected from Luke has far exceeded what many of the young players anticipated hence resulting in injuries to Swaggy, DLO, Randle, Nance and Calderon


Great post! my thoughts exactly. do they have the make up to be consistent good NBA players. time will tell..
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:17 am    Post subject:

smoothazsilk wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Team is now playing to the many expectations given before the season started

Many Laker fans wanted the team to allow the young players to make the mistakes to learn - mission accomplish

Randle's (along with JC and DLO) play proves that they have raw athletic gifts but presently greatly lack the NBA skills/mental focus/discipline to be considered elite NBA players

Abundantly clear and confirmed that they still have many bad habits and not "All In" on Luke's "System" and don't have the raw talent to take over games

Could the demands of consistently playing at a high level expected from Luke has far exceeded what many of the young players anticipated hence resulting in injuries to Swaggy, DLO, Randle, Nance and Calderon
Great post! my thoughts exactly. do they have the make up to be consistent good NBA players. time will tell..
Only time will tell

As Luke has often stated, winning (consistently) in the NBA is HARD WORK. They need to go beyond being satisfied with just giving a "good effort" to doing what it takes to win like an elite team.

The problem with young players (as often stated by many) is that young players are always trying to "prove" their worth before winning - especially when the pressure is the greatest. This works if one is supremely talented and confident (hello, Mr. Black Mamba), but JC/DLO/Randle have proven numerous times that they are not that type of player. Hey, even Stephen Curry is not that player and Westbrook is proven that it takes a lot more than the talents God have supremely given him to lead an elite team

Appears that the major bumps will help Mitch decide which players are "keepers" and which ones to trade before their value trends downward.

Could Ingram be playing the same position as Ben Simmons in the near future - PF/PG - with similar success?
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LakerDYnasty72
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:30 am    Post subject:

smoothazsilk wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Team is now playing to the many expectations given before the season started

Many Laker fans wanted the team to allow the young players to make the mistakes to learn - mission accomplish

Randle's (along with JC and DLO) play proves that they have raw athletic gifts but presently greatly lack the NBA skills/mental focus/discipline to be considered elite NBA players

Abundantly clear and confirmed that they still have many bad habits and not "All In" on Luke's "System" and don't have the raw talent to take over games

Could the demands of consistently playing at a high level expected from Luke has far exceeded what many of the young players anticipated hence resulting in injuries to Swaggy, DLO, Randle, Nance and Calderon


Great post! my thoughts exactly. do they have the make up to be consistent good NBA players. time will tell..


They're not elite players, at least not yet, and anyone who expected them to be elite this early in their development was deluded. But here's a telling sign from early in the season of their potential before injuries derailed our momentum: we won 3 consecutive games on the road, and we were going for more.

For me, if we have Nance Jr in last night's game, and the Dallas game earlier this year, and not missing our starting back court recently, then our record is significantly better, which would affect your perception of their play. But "elite" won't be a word to use for anyone on this team until next year at the earliest. Even then, that's early.

If "the demands of consistently playing at a high level" resulted in our players' injuries, then either they are learning a vital lesson, or Luke needs to be fired. We know the answer to that.

Thanks for the recap DB.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 9:59 am    Post subject:

^ For sure the record would be pretty decent without the injuries. They're chemistry is still pretty fragile. Because they are young, roster changes throw them off a bit.

We see flashes that need to be sustained and only time/minutes/experience will make these guys consistent. So this is going to make for some frustrating games.

What's interesting about Randle's game last night is that stretch where he just imposed himself on the game defensively. There are not a lot of moments so far in his career where he's shown that potential. He was actually like a Draymond for the first time ever for about 5 minutes or so. Will we see that 5 minutes again in another game? Will it ever become a consistent thing where it's 10-15 minutes every game. Or will we be struggling with the long stretches like what we saw for the rest of the game. He's tough to figure out where that ceiling may be and just how coachable he is. (Now I'm reminding myself to go listen to GT's podcast today on Randle.)
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:33 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
.

What's interesting about Randle's game last night is that stretch where he just imposed himself on the game defensively. There are not a lot of moments so far in his career where he's shown that potential. He was actually like a Draymond for the first time ever for about 5 minutes or so. Will we see that 5 minutes again in another game? Will it ever become a consistent thing where it's 10-15 minutes every game. Or will we be struggling with the long stretches like what we saw for the rest of the game. He's tough to figure out where that ceiling may be and just how coachable he is. (Now I'm reminding myself to go listen to GT's podcast today on Randle.)


The last minutes of Kobe's farewell game. No finess, but a gritty D was played. And Randle was in the mix.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:44 am    Post subject:

Second half hero ball doomed us. 21 assists in the first half and 8 in the second.

When the team sticks to the offense they do well. Learning experience hopefully.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:55 am    Post subject:

Dr. Funkbot wrote:
Second half hero ball doomed us. 21 assists in the first half and 8 in the second.

When the team sticks to the offense they do well. Learning experience hopefully.


For sure. And I think this was definitely a lesson learned game offensively.

What irked me about that great half was that we never looked locked in defensively. You saw Luke sitting 3 of his starters because of that. So we've got a way to go with our intensity on that end...and building that part of our culture.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 11:09 am    Post subject:

The refs definitely missed some calls last night. Not the worst I've seen, but they hurt us on some plays. If you look at Cahooka's highlights, they missed a bunch of obvious "and ones" for us. Also, that weak charge call on Randle was brutal, and at a critical time of the game.

Typical, that it was that scumbag Ken Mauer who was the lead ref.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:36 pm    Post subject:

Not to be argumentative DB, I thought Russell played a very poor game, and continues to little or no improvement in his decision making. I realize he thinks he's some kind of star, but he's not. He forces passes, he turns the ball over too much, and his shooting is spotty at best. The Lakers need a PG who can create...Russell doesn't. Rumor has it, Okafar is odd man out in Philly, why not make a trade to right that decision to pick Russell over Okafar.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:41 pm    Post subject:

Rigged4fun wrote:
Not to be argumentative DB, I thought Russell played a very poor game, and continues to little or no improvement in his decision making. I realize he thinks he's some kind of star, but he's not. He forces passes, he turns the ball over too much, and his shooting is spotty at best. The Lakers need a PG who can create...Russell doesn't. Rumor has it, Okafar is odd man out in Philly, why not make a trade to right that decision to pick Russell over Okafar.


Not sure if this is a serious post.

He puts up 15/5/5 in 25 minutes last night and he played a "very poor game?"
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 12:43 pm    Post subject:

DLO was a -7 last night (on par with most of the starters).

Young, despite his scoring, was a -22. Think about that for a second.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 1:23 pm    Post subject:

LakerDYnasty72 wrote:
smoothazsilk wrote:
A Mad Chinaman wrote:
Team is now playing to the many expectations given before the season started

Many Laker fans wanted the team to allow the young players to make the mistakes to learn - mission accomplish

Randle's (along with JC and DLO) play proves that they have raw athletic gifts but presently greatly lack the NBA skills/mental focus/discipline to be considered elite NBA players

Abundantly clear and confirmed that they still have many bad habits and not "All In" on Luke's "System" and don't have the raw talent to take over games

Could the demands of consistently playing at a high level expected from Luke has far exceeded what many of the young players anticipated hence resulting in injuries to Swaggy, DLO, Randle, Nance and Calderon


Great post! my thoughts exactly. do they have the make up to be consistent good NBA players. time will tell..
They're not elite players, at least not yet, and anyone who expected them to be elite this early in their development was deluded. But here's a telling sign from early in the season of their potential before injuries derailed our momentum: we won 3 consecutive games on the road, and we were going for more.

For me, if we have Nance Jr in last night's game, and the Dallas game earlier this year, and not missing our starting back court recently, then our record is significantly better, which would affect your perception of their play. But "elite" won't be a word to use for anyone on this team until next year at the earliest. Even then, that's early.

If "the demands of consistently playing at a high level" resulted in our players' injuries, then either they are learning a vital lesson, or Luke needs to be fired. We know the answer to that.

Thanks for the recap DB.
To more clearly define and update my views that applies to our oft-exciting young players, "unrefined/inexperienced/diamond-in-the-rough" elite players.

Our injuries have created circumstances where one or another of our young players had to be the focus of the team and put on display the level of their athletic ability and their will to impose on games. One could see that KAT, Irving, Lillard, Westbrook and a select few others were "diamond-in-the-rough" elite players

In retrospect, hopefully the lessons taught will motivate them to be "All In" in trusting Luke's system. Randle, JC, Nance and DLO are providing evidence that within the proper system - they can thrive

As DB mentioned, the injuries did disrupt their learning curve while providing opportunities to see if others can step up their game

It will be exciting to witness which players will continue their learning and learn how to adjust/supplement/augment their games after teams have had the chance to play and scout/exploit their weaknesses

Welcome to the NBA!
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 3:09 pm    Post subject:

Not sure if this is a serious post.

He puts up 15/5/5 in 25 minutes last night and he played a "very poor game?"[/quote]

Did Russell finish out the game? No. Statistics aren't everything. How was his defense? Was he on the floor when Charlotte made up the 19 point lead? Go beyond the stupid stats and watch the game analytically. The Lakers during the lead loss stood around watching Russell show his dribbling exhibition. He's supposed to be the leader and the initiator of the offense. All I saw was him holding the ball, or trying to force a pass, or just shooting a long shot. He's not a penetrator, he's not a facilitator. To me for such a high draft pick he shows very little maturity, and a lack of basketball sense, and if he develops into a decent player I hope it's very soon. Right now I think he's marginal, no matter how many points he scores.

Yes this is a serious post for your information.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 3:15 pm    Post subject:

Rigged4fun wrote:
Not sure if this is a serious post.

He puts up 15/5/5 in 25 minutes last night and he played a "very poor game?"


Did Russell finish out the game? No. Statistics aren't everything. How was his defense? Was he on the floor when Charlotte made up the 19 point lead? Go beyond the stupid stats and watch the game analytically. The Lakers during the lead loss stood around watching Russell show his dribbling exhibition. He's supposed to be the leader and the initiator of the offense. All I saw was him holding the ball, or trying to force a pass, or just shooting a long shot. He's not a penetrator, he's not a facilitator. To me for such a high draft pick he shows very little maturity, and a lack of basketball sense, and if he develops into a decent player I hope it's very soon. Right now I think he's marginal, no matter how many points he scores.

Yes this is a serious post for your information.[/quote]

Good lord. Just see how this team played when he was out for 2 weeks. Chuck fear with no one setting up the offense. Yes he's no Westbrook but neither are lots of PGs. To single him out is laughable.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 3:29 pm    Post subject:

Rigged4fun wrote:
Not to be argumentative DB, I thought Russell played a very poor game, and continues to little or no improvement in his decision making. I realize he thinks he's some kind of star, but he's not. He forces passes, he turns the ball over too much, and his shooting is spotty at best. The Lakers need a PG who can create...Russell doesn't. Rumor has it, Okafar is odd man out in Philly, why not make a trade to right that decision to pick Russell over Okafar.


That's fine. I just completely disagree with most of the above. 15-5-5 in that amount of game time at his age is very strong. Those types of numbers you don't see very often from people his age. His decision making last night with the passes was great as well. Yes, he's had some poor decision making and will have in the future, but that's part of growing from a 20-year-old.

Trade Russell for Okafor? To right that decision? Now you're killing me. Let go of Okafor. You think our D is bad now...I can't imagine. Just a very bad fit in multiple ways. Give Russell the chance to grow and develop. It doesn't happen over night, but the numbers he's putting up per 36 at his age are very, very good.
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 9:44 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Rigged4fun wrote:
Not to be argumentative DB, I thought Russell played a very poor game, and continues to little or no improvement in his decision making. I realize he thinks he's some kind of star, but he's not. He forces passes, he turns the ball over too much, and his shooting is spotty at best. The Lakers need a PG who can create...Russell doesn't. Rumor has it, Okafar is odd man out in Philly, why not make a trade to right that decision to pick Russell over Okafar.
That's fine. I just completely disagree with most of the above. 15-5-5 in that amount of game time at his age is very strong. Those types of numbers you don't see very often from people his age. His decision making last night with the passes was great as well. Yes, he's had some poor decision making and will have in the future, but that's part of growing from a 20-year-old.

Trade Russell for Okafor? To right that decision? Now you're killing me. Let go of Okafor. You think our D is bad now...I can't imagine. Just a very bad fit in multiple ways. Give Russell the chance to grow and develop. It doesn't happen over night, but the numbers he's putting up per 36 at his age are very, very good.
As the PG, DLO will always get the blame and the kudos - its part of the position of today's NBA

As everyone knows, filling up a stat sheet on a bad team is easy to do

In DLO's (and any other PG) case, his "success" will be judged on how he helps the team win and the other players on the court's production while he is on the court.

With Nance out indefinitely, it will be interesting to see who steps up - Robinson, Zubic, Black, Mozgov, etc.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 12:58 pm    Post subject:

Rigged4fun wrote:
Not to be argumentative DB, I thought Russell played a very poor game, and continues to little or no improvement in his decision making. I realize he thinks he's some kind of star, but he's not. He forces passes, he turns the ball over too much, and his shooting is spotty at best. The Lakers need a PG who can create...Russell doesn't. Rumor has it, Okafar is odd man out in Philly, why not make a trade to right that decision to pick Russell over Okafar.




Are you secretly a Sixers fan?
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 1:11 pm    Post subject:

tox wrote:
Rigged4fun wrote:
Not to be argumentative DB, I thought Russell played a very poor game, and continues to little or no improvement in his decision making. I realize he thinks he's some kind of star, but he's not. He forces passes, he turns the ball over too much, and his shooting is spotty at best. The Lakers need a PG who can create...Russell doesn't. Rumor has it, Okafar is odd man out in Philly, why not make a trade to right that decision to pick Russell over Okafar.




Are you secretly a Sixers fan?


This is why I asked the poster if this was a serious post.
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