LAKERS -at- KNICKS – 2-6-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Focused… The Lakers took control of this one early … and never let up for a change.

Luke sat Mozgov and moved Deng to the bench. Whether it was a coincidence or not, the team responded with one of their best 48-minute efforts of the season. They dominated the Knicks.

The boo’s for the Knicks came early when Lou Williams setup Tarik Black for an uncontested layup to give the Lakers a 53-28 lead midway through the second quarter. The Lakers had just 1 turnover in the half. However, the 27-point lead the Lakers would develop in that half would be trimmed to 16 points just before the half.

They stayed focused, never stopped hustling and blew the Knicks out 121-107.

A lot of dribble penetration by the Lakers that led to putback scores in this game. (The best was a third-quarter throwdown by Nance that had the Garden buzzing.) As a result, the Lakers had a season-high 27 points in second chance scoring.

“The challenge tonight was to outrebound them as a group,” Luke said. By the end of the game, they had a 55-40 advantage on the glass, killing the Knicks with 20 offensive boards.


Russell -- -- Some superb passing by Russell tonight, showing off that court vision and threading the needle at times right past defenders. He’s really been reading the D so much better lately. He showed some of this passing in college, but last year he got into trouble while attempting some of those. No turnovers tonight and he’s been great at setting teammates up lately. “He had a couple of brilliant passes tonight,” Luke said. One of them was through a couple defenders to Nick who blew the layup but scored on the second effort. Another was a no-looker to Ingram cutting backdoor. Russell’s minutes were way too low, not quite sure why. “I still want him to push the ball faster,” Luke said as his one criticism. Russell has a tendency to try to call plays and set up the offense vs. stepping on the gas to put the pressure on. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 6 assists and 1 foul in 19:31. He was a +6. The Action: He sank a pull-up 15-footer working off the high screen. He missed a three, wide left. He missed a floater after putting his man in jail (might have had some contact from behind). He worked off the double drag screen and hit Zubac with the pocket pass for the dunk. He missed a floater in the lane. Second Half: He hit Nick for the three. He hit Black on the pocket pass for FTs. He attacked off the high screen and no looked to Ingram cutting backdoor for the dunk. He forced a turnover pressuring the passing lane. He snaked his way through the D on the high screen and drew FTs on the layup attempt, he made both. Nick scored a layup after blowing the first attempt to cost Russell the assist on a Magic-like thread of the needle to him.

Randle -- -- “That was probably the best I felt today for a long, long time,” Randle said. Randle’s minutes were cut short with some foul trouble as he fouled out in just 17 minutes. Good effort in his minutes. He seemed more engaged, maybe because he had some minutes against both Melo and Porzingis so he had to be locked in a bit more. Maybe the short stints kept him from being fatigued. Most of his scoring was around the rim, but he also hit a tough turnaround and a jumphook. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 7-14 shooting to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 block and 6 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He missed an 18-footer. He missed over Porzingis, got it back and powered in the layup. He hit a jumphook across the lane next time down. He scored a layup filling the lane with Ingram. He blocked Porzingis’s jumper. Kickback to Lou for the corner three. He sank a tough turnaround to just beat the shotclock. He was blocked on a layup in transition. He crossed over a guard and scored a layup easily. He took contact and couldn’t power in the layup. He missed a windmill layup attempt in transition (just wanted to see him go strong on that one). He drew a double in the post and hit Ingram cutting for a layup. Dumb foul 40 feet from the hoop trying to pressure Melo to give up FTs. He had 10 points on 5-10 shooting. Second Half: He missed a pull-up jumper in the lane. He put back in the Ingram missed dribble penetration. He missed a drive but Black cleaned it up. He scored a layup off a scramble and nice passing sequence.

Ingram -- -- He got the start as we moved Deng to the bench. Strong game from the rookie. Afterward he talked about staying in the moment and executing, sounding like Kobe in the postgame interview. He airballed a freethrow attempt early on, but played and looked confident the rest of the way. Loved some of his pushouts after rebounding and he handles the ball so confidently. His three shooting looked confident, as well. “We were just locked in on everything we did on every possession,” Ingram said. Luke praised him for hitting the boards as it helped get the one-and-out possessions, but also ignited the break. “He got up there above the rim on a couple of those,” Luke said. Defensively, a spirited effort against Melo. That’s a tough cover for him, but allowing the Knicks to get sucked in to trying to exploit that probably helped bog down their offense. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-11 shooting (2-5 from three, 2-5 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal and 1 foul in 32:32. He was a +1. The Action: He turned the corner on a drive and drew FTs, he missed both (nearly airballing the second one). Nice job on getting set for a corner three and draining it. He pushed it out, stopped at the FT line and found Randle trailing for the layup (textbook). Great sequence pushing out the board at high speed, kicking out to Nick, then we got the miss back to him and he knocked down the three. He missed a wing three on iso. He took contact and missed a layup falling down. He scored the layup cutting off of Julius in the post. He scored 8 points on 3-5 shooting in the half. Second Half: Quick attack on the give and go, he couldn’t finish the layup but Randle scored off the dribble penetration miss. He fired a pass out of bounds. He missed a three, but regained possession off Nick’s miss a few seconds later on the offensive glass. Quick cut off the post entry, Nance hit him for the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He bodied up Melo and forced a travel. Great job cutting behind Melo as Russell drove and Russell whipped the no-looker to him for the dunk. Great post entry to Black who sealed his man tight for a dunk. He crashed the glass to pull down an offensive board and reset the offense. Off the mark on a lob pass to Clarkson that blew a well-executed play. He deflected a pass on help D under the hoop. Intentionally fouled with 2:33 left after going 0-3 from the line, so he made both FTs. He missed an open corner three.

Black -- -- We slid him over to the C spot and sat Mozgov for the game. “I thought defensively he really set the tone,” Luke said. His +/- in this game was a superb +34 in 20 minutes. The second best was +11 (Lou) and those were the only two in double digits in positive in that territory. That stat just really stood out. “I try to find my rhythm defensively first,” Tarik said. I don’t know if it set the tone, but the team was very, very active and hustling all game. Tarik left a couple of buckets on the table on a missed dunk and a missed layup he should have had. That would have got him a double-double. Great job by all the bigs on the offensive glass, but Tarik led the way with 6 offensive boards, cleaning up some of that dribble penetration. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-8 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards (6 offensive), 1 steal and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +34. The Action: He over-passed on a kickout instead of powering up and trying to score. Nice dig on help D to strip Melo. He faced up and scored the layup under the arm of the defender. He altered a shot and controlled the brick. He scored a layup off the two-man game with Lou. He choked a dunk (4-point switch on a layup the other way). He then choked a layup that Clarkson tipped in on the next possession. Second Half: He slammed Randle’s missed drive down. He was fouled trying to finish off the two-man game with Russell, he made one FT. He sealed his man well in early offense and Ingram found him for the dunk.

Young – -- The lone vet in the starting lineup and designated shooter. Not a great shooting game, but effective enough to cause the Knicks a lot of problems. Defensively, he also had some good moments with pressure D and generally mixing it up. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-14 shooting (3-10 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 21:36. He was a +5. The Action: He up-faked, then hit the sideline three. He missed a sideline three on a kickout on the break. He swished a pull-up wing three. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a wide open wing three. Second Half: He missed a chuck from three just beating the shotclock. He sank a three off the swing pass from Russell. He missed a three. He missed another one in transition. He missed a layup off the brilliant Russell feed, got it back and scored the second attempt. He knocked a ball off a man as he pressured the passing lane. He missed a wing jumper. We got it back to him, he attacked and was fouled on the pull-up in the lane, he made both FTs. He jumped a passing lane on the other end, swiped the ball, pushed it out and hit the toe-on-the-three-line jumper. He missed a sideline three. Fouled on the perimeter pass, he made both FTs. He missed a wing three.

Clarkson -- -- He liked the unselfish play offensively by the team. Luke praised him for his hustle, including tracking down a loose ball in the backcourt that would lead to a Laker score shortly later. “I don’t think nobody can beat me in a foot race,” Clarkson said. Good effort and energy from Clarkson. The team was not getting beat to loose balls or boards tonight. Very active. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-9 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 29:24. He was a +6. The Action: He crossed over a big and scored a scooping layup. He missed a three at the buzzer. He missed a layup off the drive. He missed a layup on the break. He got hit on an elbow pull-up jumper, he made the FTs. He found space in the lane and hit the 13-footer. He missed a wing three off the screen. He deflected a pass in transition off a Knick to get a stop. He tipped in a missed Black layup. Second Half: He missed a drive, but Nance cleaned up the dribble penetration. He hit Nance off the two-man game for a score. He scored off a hesitation dribble and got his contact knocked out and tried to put it back in as Melo isolated on the other side of the court. He couldn’t finish the poor lob from Ingram. Early offense floater off a high screen. He pounded the dribble and missed the awkward elbow turnaround. He attacked, stopped on a dime, spun and hit Zubac for the dunk. He missed a drive. He tracked down a ball in the backcourt, attacked back down court to develop a man advantage and it led to a Randle score. He was picked at midcourt and then he fouled.

Williams -- -- Efficient night for Lou, scoring his 22 on 11 shots and managing a 4-point play in the process. He had some offensive stretches that throttled the Knicks. When we get some team D behind that, the second unit can be deadly. Nice to see the Lakers handle the changes in the lineup. There’s some truth to Ingram getting lost in the shuffle with Lou and JC in the second unit. Swapping him with Deng can help get him more minutes with the starters. Plus, we can run Deng at PF more with the second unit and that will only help Lou and JC to get some floor spacing. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 6-11 shooting (3-5 from three, 7-7 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 steal and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He was a blur around his man on a change of pace in transition for a layup. He swished a two-for-one three, going to his left. He attacked right, took contact and hit the hanging And-1 three, he made the FT for the 4-point play. He sank the drifting corner three off the kickback from Julius. He set up a man for a layup off the two-man game. He had 12 points on 4-6 shooting and 3 assists. Second Half: He was hammered on a pass off for FTs, he made both. He got caught in the air and threw it away. He set up Nance for FTs off a slip screen. He blew past the D and swished the floater in the middle of the lane. His pass was picked off out of a timeout. He stole the ball, then double dribbled in transition to give it back. He hit a floater off a loose ball scramble at midcourt. He couldn’t finish a forced attempt trying to split defenders on the drive. He attacked off the handoff and drew FTs, he made both. He hit Zubac off the two-man game for the floater. He missed a wing three. He missed a baseline floater. He up-faked and drew FTs, he made both.

Nance -- -- “It was about 48 minutes of focus,” Nance said. He also mentioned the floor spacing in this game, and I thought that looked much better than we’ve see for a while. Usually that’s a sign of bad D when we’ve seen it in the past. There was some of that, but the Lakers bigs were key in helping this, too. They drew defender when they rolled or they freed up the bigs on solid screens. Nance had a couple of highlight plays – one he got to a tough lob from Lou in transition that took some serious athleticism, the other was a putback jam to clean up some dribble penetration. Another double-double for him. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-9 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover, 3 steals and 5 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a jumphook in the post. He choked a layup off a drive and dish to set him up. He tipped in a layup on the break. He somehow got to a tough lob pass on the break from Lou and scored. Second Half: He hit Ingram cutting for the And-1 layup. He hammered down the putback jam off a Clarkson missed drive. He hit the floater off the two-man game. He slipped a screen and was fouled on the layup, he made both FTs. He couldn’t finish a throwdown attempt. He missed a FT jumper. He swiped a pass on the two-man D.

Zubac -- -- Strong night for our two teenagers. Zubac had 4 blocks in his first stint of this game to give him a career high. Those often lead to transition opportunities and make for some fun-to-watch ball. We ran a combo of Black, Zubac and Nance at the C spot tonight, sitting Mozgov for the game. I’d definitely like to see that for most of the remainder of the season, maybe bringing Moz in for the occasional post scorer. But we’re at the point where the young guys should get minutes. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-9 shooting to go with 7 boards, 1 steal, 4 blocks and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He rejected a big on the two-man came. He missed a floater on the other end. He couldn’t finish over Porzingis on the two-man game. Nice challenge on Rose’s jumper. He missed a jumphook off low position. He couldn’t finish on the drive and dish from JC, got it back and eventually scored. Back-to-back defensive stands with blocks to ignite the break. Another great challenge in transition to alter a shot. He hammered down a dunk off the pocket pass from Russell. Second Half: He dunked off the drive and dish from Clarkson. With Porzingis all over him, he yanked down and offensive board and powered back in the layup. Great job holding the screen, that freed Lou up and then some space for Zubac to take the quick pass and hit the floater.

Deng -- --“I thought we played good basketball for longer than we normally do,” Deng said. Luke talked to the vets before the game, telling them they would be putting the young guys in. Asked how he felt about coming off the bench, he said, “Does it matter?” He said it shouldn’t. “Whatever they think is best for the team, that’s what we’re doing,” he said. Not a great shooting game from him, but he had some good effort on D, battled hard. He missed all his threes and had some flat shots, but he was able to get to the line and scratch out some points. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 1-6 shooting (0-4 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Way off on a three behind a screen. He missed a baseline jumper on iso. Straight-line attack off the three line, he took contact and threw it up and in for the And-1, he made the FT. He missed a corner three. Second Half: Excellent challenge on Melo on iso, then he tapped the miss to a teammate. He missed an open wing three. Extra pass to Randle for the layup. He was fouled on a jumphook in the lane, he made both FTs. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He was fouled off an interior feed and made both FTs.

World Peace – -- The crowd called for him with the game well in hand and many of the Knicks faithful vacating the Garden to the large Laker contingent, so with 2 minutes left Luke brought him in. He iso’d on Melo and immediately drilled the wing jumper to a roar. Good moment for MWP (the rest of the game, not pretty). “I love to play basketball,” he said. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-2 from the line) in 2 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He hit the wing jumper on iso. Intentionally fouled for the Knicks to make a sub, he missed both FTs, got it back and bricked a three. He bricked a fade against a smaller man.

Walton -- -- Nance in for Randle with under 5 minutes. Randle playing well and Lakers were up 11-6… They forced a timeout up 17-8… Lakers up 9 when Deng came in for Ingram midway through the quarter… Zubac in for Black, Clarkson in for Young, Lakers up 9… Lou in… The Lakers led 29-19 after the first quarter… Lakers up 11 when the timeout came after 3 minutes. Black in for Zubac (who had 4 blocks)… Up 47-26 off some Lou Williams scoring, they forced another timeout… Ingram in… A 57-30 lead forced another timeout. Zubac in for Black… Luke called a timeout with the lead to 22 and went with the Zubac, Randle, Ingram, Young, Russell lineup… The Lakers led 61-45 at the half… Nance in for Randle after 3 minutes. , Lakers up 16… Some active, pressuring D and the Lakers pulled out to a 23-point lead midway through the quarter… Deng in, Lakers up 25… Clarkson in for Russell up 21… Lou in for Nick… The Lakers led 97-73 heading into the fourth… Nance, Deng, Ingram, Clarkson, Lou lineup… Luke called a timeout 30 seconds in after a couple of Nick scores… Zubac in for Ingram… Randle in for Nance up 18 with 7:32 left… Randle another foul and he sat 2 minutes later… Lakers cruised to the win… Some good timeouts by Luke anytime the Knicks had a moment to get something going…

[eddiejonze]

First?
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Creatures crawl in search of blood, To terrorize y'alls neighborhood.

[akgolf]

Thanks DB!

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB.

[lakerlynx]

Shoot that beech Metta! https://www.instagram.com/p/BQMfFI-jCaQ/
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Chick Hearn and Vin Scully. How lucky are we?

[E=MC²]

Luke finally starting to actually coach

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! Missed the first half but definitely enjoyed the game! Nice to see a win in MSG!!

[tox]

Missed the game today. Thanks for the recap, DB!

[Eindhoven]

[Chronicle]

Nice to see these lineups do well
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Kobe

[ChickenStu]

Saw the first half live, and just watched a re-broadcast of the game to make sure I caught the second half (though I knew the result of the game when it happened). I'll give Luke the benefit of the doubt that they just wanted to get Dlo a break in a game we were controlling; I certainly hope that was the case. I thought Dlo played well tonight and really under control, with some awesome pinpoint passes and setting guys up for easy buckets and/or looks.

The Lakers got murdered in the media for picking Nance in the draft where they did, and the dude has been a real find. He just needs to stay healthy, because he offers elite athleticism on finishes, wonderful energy, and he can do a bit of everything at least decently. I always feel good when he's in there.

It seems like Julius can get to within a few feet of the hoop whenever he wants to. If he could just finish a bit better, man, he would be awesome. Even without much of a midrange or 3-point game. Still definitely room for him to grow; the kid just recently turned 22.

Still love what I'm seeing from Zubac. He missed 3 chippies tonight and still ended up 5-9 from the floor. I'm so excited to see what happens when he's 25 or so and really fills into his body and gets a little stronger.

And I still hope to turn Lou into something really valuable. At least a first round pick. He's just so efficient on offense. I've pointed this out on other threads, but the dude is top-20 in PER, top-20 in true shooting %, and top-15 in FT attempts...in the entire league. And virtually everyone ahead of him in those categories are perennial All-Stars. His value is never going to be higher because a team that acquires him would get two shots at the playoffs with him; if we wait until the offseason, they only get one shot at the playoffs with him. And, of course, there's the risk that Lou simply doesn't play as well at the start of next season. I think the smart thing is to move him. Don't pull a Pau and get nothing for a player with actual value.

EDIT: he's actually not quite top-20 in TS %, but he is top-15 in OBPM. For the sake of accuracy!

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[eddiejonze]

thanks!
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Creatures crawl in search of blood, To terrorize y'alls neighborhood.

[A Mad Chinaman]

DB - Glad that you had the chance to write about a win!

With the trade deadline three weeks from now, what will happen to Mosgov - buyout, trade or bench?

Another glimpse of the youngsters' talent with their consistency being the critical factor of they are rotation players, starters, an important part of a title contending team or a star/superstar

How will the 30 years old players (Swaggy & LouWill) fit in the team's future plans consisting of 20 years old players

How will Deng and Mosgov fit into the team's future considering their meager production?

[Ujah's Goat]

[Ujah's Goat]

Thanks DB!

[danzag]

I LOVE BASKETBALL!

[Laker7]

Really liked the Black / Zubac / Nance rotation at center. Much more active on the defensive end and better passing out of the post.

Like mentioned Zubac missed some chip shots but still wound up 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 block in just 17 minutes. I will take that off the bench all year long.
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Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB! Totally missed this one but am definitely going to watch the replay on League Pass.

[razor]

Masterful job by Luke, to take advantage of a NY offense and defense that has no big anywhere near the basket!