KINGS -at- LAKERS – 7-10-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:45 pm    Post subject: KINGS -at- LAKERS – 7-10-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

A Summer Win… If you were planning on catching the Ball vs. Fox matchup in Vegas, you were in for a disappointment. The Lakers sat Ball, Kuzma and Hart (along with Ingram) in this game, taking a bit of the excitement out of the matchup. As for De’Aaron Fox, he kind of got outplayed by a combination of the Lakers Alex Caruso and his own teammate, Frank Mason III, and didn’t clock many minutes as the game went along.

Despite the stars watching the game from the bench, the "veteran" guards put on a show.

The Lakers pushed it out to 28-point lead behind the three shooting and playmaking of Caruso. But the Kings would come back. It wasn’t Fox that dug the Kings out of that hole, but Frank Mason III, whom if you watched Kansas last year know he was the guy they leaned on for big shots and big plays.

The Kings tied it up with 5 minutes left. They would trade leads, but the Lakers would lean on their G-League invites in Caruso and Vander Blue, who had some big shots for the Lakers down the stretch. As one of the vets on this squad, Blue helped carry the team to the 95-92 win with big shots and plays in the final minutes on his way to a team-high 21 points.

Short write-up again tonight on just some of the notables. I skipped Blue’s breakdown since most everyone is familiar with him.


Caruso -- -- “That was next level stuff from him,” Buechler said, mentioning they hadn’t really seen that to date. Caruso certainly looked the part of a next level player getting the spotlight tonight and stepping up. He started the game hot, sinking a number of threes (he would stop shooting for some reason, and in the fourth, he airballed a three after not taking a shot for a while). Buechler said he thought Caruso got a bit tired as the game went along. Some excellent bounce passes to teammates, but some highlight reel feeds, as well. One was a nice over-the-head, no-looker out to a three shooter after drawing the D (the shooter would miss but Caruso would tip in the miss…he’s got some good size and hops). He also tapped a pass loose on D in the fourth, tracked it down and blindly lobbed to a trailer for the dunk. Some sensational, highlight plays. He split a double team and took it to the rim for a layup with over a minute left for one of the key makes of the game. Defensively, he hit the floor a few times to recover loose balls and was giving Fox some fits on the screen-roll D. Great shotblock in the fourth to recover on Hield and reject him from behind. Just some excellent, active D. “He was a dawg out there,” Bryant said. That’s the kind of two-way game that will get you an invite or maybe one of the two-way G-League contracts. Joey Buss called him an elite G-league point guard. “Our goal is to evaluate all the guys…and get the guys that are the best fit and the most talented players for that two-way,” Buss said of the prospect of using it on Caruso. Their draft picks won’t be chosen for those deals, but most likely guys like Blue, Caruso and maybe Dozier or even someone from another team right now. I’m guessing those deals won’t be inked until preseason and Caruso probably gets a camp invite from the Lakers this year. “I’m just happy I was given the opportunity and took advantage of it,” Caruso said. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-9 shooting (4-5 from three) to go with 4 boards, 9 assists, 2 turnovers, 4 steals, 1 block and 6 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +7.

Zubac -- -- He worked the post for some opportunities, one a score with his left around the defender after some nice footwork. He drew FTs on a few occasions and knocked those down and he nearly knocked down a three, as well. Some sloppiness with handling passes or setting screens. As a result, he led the team with 4 turnovers. He’s still not back to where he was at the end of last season before he hurt himself, but we also aren’t seeing the team use him in the same way with any regularity. He did have one of those floaters in the lane, so maybe that’s a sign of him getting into the flow a little more. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +8.

Nwaba -- -- “We switched him on to about everybody,” Buechler said of Nwaba’s D, mentioning that as a key. He blocked a couple perimeter jumpshots with his great hustle and recovery. Love that. Because he’s not shooting a perimeter shot, he’s always on the move, attacking or cutting without the ball. The cuts led to some easy buckets as teammates found him. The attacks led to buckets or some excellent passing sequences. Nwaba said the tone was set by Lonzo’s passing even though he wasn’t on the floor. Those extra passes he made tonight were pretty nice (he did miss Zu trailing for what would have been a big dunk, but he was making the extra pass and that caused a lot of issues for the D). Nwaba did take and miss a pretty good looking three on a kickout. Good to see him finally let one fly this summer. Hope to see more. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-5 from the line) to go with 9 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +9.

Bryant -- -- He may be more banged up than anyone other than Hart and now Dozier, but they threw him out there (he took another shot to the leg in the game, as well, tonight). A couple of good challenges at the rim. He had a key putback score to tie things up with 4 minutes left. Bad D down the stretch on Hield on the two-man game as he sagged back when Hield was clearly looking to gun from three. He made up for it with a big dunk shortly later and then a better challenge on Hield’s final attempt from three. Good job running the floor again. He hit the boards, as well, including three offensive boards. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (0-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 block and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +8.

Dozier -- -- He had a nice drive and dish to setup a dunk for Bryant, but then sprained the ankle to cut his night short…which is a bummer for both him and the Lakers, who wanted to evaluate him. I don’t know what the Lakers are going to value in the two-way contracts. Do they look for projects to develop or guys, who could possibly step in and play minutes like Blue or Caruso? We’ll see. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +4.
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Daphanabe
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:46 pm    Post subject:

First!!
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SweetP
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:49 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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Shaber
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:53 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

Really disappointed to not seeing how Dozier would do.
But then Caruso made it up for it.
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TheBlackMamba
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:54 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.

We coming for that Summer League title now...

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DrDent
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 10:27 pm    Post subject:

Great job again DB. AAA.
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OregonLakerGuy
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 10:47 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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RYZ
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:16 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.

Zubac doesn't even resemble his old self (not just the end of the season pre-ankle stretch, but even going back to his initial SL game a year ago). I'm not sure if his off season routine has consisted almost entirely of skill work to the exclusion of any fitness, but my goodness. After Friday, I chalked it up to rust, but after seeing him only marginally improve over three games now, he appears not only to be horribly out of shape, but also oddly regressed in his coordination, almost like an adolescent who just hit puberty.
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:35 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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Lakers#1Team
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:42 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Nice to see a win. Caruso played great and deserves a camp invite. Zubac seems to have regressed. No rebounds in 23 minutes. I'm hoping it is just some lingering ankle issues that prevented him from being in shape.
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 9:06 am    Post subject:

No Ingram, no Ball, no problem.

It ain't over 'til Caruso sings.
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yinoma2001
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:22 am    Post subject:

Time for Fox to bow out in a rematch against Caruso.
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:10 am    Post subject:

Thank you Sir Dance Master
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