SIXERS -at- LAKERS – 7-12-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:46 pm    Post subject: SIXERS -at- LAKERS – 7-12-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

The Los Angeles Lakers Select Lonzo Ball… What would that mean for the franchise? Maybe we’re starting to get an idea.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 15 against the Sixers – the team that traded up and drafted before them. Down big, L.A. started to buckle down on defense. Gone were the big crowds of the weekend. Gone was the buzz to carry them. The players said they felt it and had to bring more energy in the second half to turn the game around.

The fans that went to this one saw one of the best performances of the Summer League to date. Lonzo Ball dropped 36 points, 11 assists, 8 boards and 5 steals, including making a key go-ahead And-1 layup with 21 seconds left.

It was Zubac who would score the game winning points, however. With the Sixers scoring with a few seconds left, the Lakers called timeout. On the sideline out of bounds play, they found Zubac back cutting to the hoop for FTs. He’d make both with 4.6 seconds left, and the Lakers would get the final stop to win 103-102.

“It wasn’t about me. It was about the team,” Ball said afterward. “We got down big and it took all five of us to come back.”

Indeed, it did. But, damn, rookie…well done.

Welcome to the Lakers, baby.


Ball -- -- “He was special tonight,” Buechler said. The numbers: 36 points, 11 assists, 8 boards, 5 steals, 2 blocks. Ridiculous. It’s not just one or two categories, but all of those. He keeps you on the edge of your seat. That’s why I loved watching him in college this year. You just wanted to watch to see what he was going to do. That’s the “it” and he has it. He didn’t even score in the first quarter, but had 6 assists, several of the full-court variety. When you talk about passing a guy open, this was the case on several of these. The D was there, he simply put the ball just out of their reach, and they were right at the rim to finish. “He’s already one of the best passers I’ve seen at this level,” Buechler said. The turnovers he had early on were off pressure on the perimeter (a trap that forced him to lose the ball and a help reach that knocked another loose…he’ll be seeing a lot of that). In the second half he had a couple of turnovers on passes but throttled up the scoring with 13 in that third quarter. He attacked the rim on several occasions when the D tried to pressure him on the perimeter, this usually turned into some easy buckets. He got the rim a ton, but also sank a few threes, as well. He said his shot wasn’t falling so he wanted to take it to the rim a little more (that’s what we didn’t see in the first game with any regularity…nor manufacturing as many FTs as he did tonight). He said he talked to Luke who also wanted him to get to the basket more. The Lakers were behind until Zo attacked in transition with 21 seconds left, spinning on the D and powering in an And-1 to tie it up and take the lead with the FT. LeBron showed up to watch tonight. Sure, it’s summer league, but that kind of game leaves an impression. He’s got to be thinking that was the real deal. “I hope he saw a good game,” Lonzo said. Defensively, he got better as the game went along. He seemed to be a little too upright for me at times. If you are taking that half second of rest, they’ll see that at the next level and take advantage. That’s the on-ball D. The help D was great. He reads the floor extremely well. He had a big blindside late in the game that quickly turned into a layup for him the other way. The number of notes below are ridiculous. Just a lot of activity from him. The Stats: He scored 36 points on 12-22 shooting (3-10 from three, 9-12 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 11 assists, 6 turnovers, 5 steals, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He kicked out to Thomas for a three. He missed a three in early offense. Sweet outlet just over the reach of the D to Kuzma for a layup. He followed that up with another full-court feed off the rebound over the D right in stride to Kuzma again for a breakaway score (these are not easy passes, both special passes). He swatted a shot from behind. Another 70-foot chest pass to Zubac for the layup (this off a made basket). He hit Zubac with a post entry over the fronting D for a layup. He turned it over getting trapped on a screen. He missed a runner, not close. He worked the two-man game to Bryant who drew FTs on the dunk attempt. He attacked the pressure, spun and drew FTs on the lefty layup attempt, he made both. He blew past the pressure D and took it for a layup. He lost the ball on a half-court reach, turnover. He worked a two-man pass over a crowd from the corner to Zubac for a layup against the shotclock. He pushed it out wish speed, attacked around the D and scooped in the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He pulled up going to his right off a screen and drew FTs, he made both. He hit Zubac with a half-court feed for FTs. He iso’d at the end of the half and missed a deep three way short, airball. Second Half: He reached to knock a ball loose on help D. He attacked, missed a bank, got the board on the other side of the hoop and scored. He missed a pull-up three wide left behind a screen. He attacked the paint off the screen and was swatted out of bounds. Turnover trying to thread a pass in a crowd. He swished a three behind a screen, this time taking a little longer to set up. He swished a pull-up wing three after pushing the ball up. He stepped on the sideline on a push-off, turnover. He attacked the pressure D and drew FTs on a drive, he made one. Nice challenge on a jumper to force a miss. He missed a three, rushing it a little when he didn’t have to. He attacked the paint and kicked out to a shooter for three. He missed a wing three. He blocked a man from behind to ignite a break. He airballed a fade that Caruso slammed in while crashing the glass. He swiped a bounce pass and was fouled on the break, he made both FTs. His bounce pass on the break was picked off. He took an inbounds with 6.5 seconds left in the quarter and took it coast to coast for a layup with 1.6 seconds left. He swiped a pass in transition. He was stripped on a reach on a drive. He missed a corner three. He attacked from the corner and scored a layup. He blindsided a man to knock a ball loose, took the outlet and scored the layup. He swished a pull-up three in transition. He missed a three on a kickout. He attacked the paint with speed and dumped it to Zubac for the layup. He attacked the perimeter pressure, shielded with his body and scored the layup. He scored another one on an inbounds the cameras missed (no idea what happened). He attacked and kicked to Kuzma for a key three. He drew FTs on the perimeter with 43 seconds left, he made one. He attacked in transition, spun on the pressure and powered in an And-1 layup over the D to tie it up with 21 seconds left, he made the FT.

Kuzma -- -- How about that inbounds pass to Zubac who cut backdoor? That was deep into the reads on the sideline out of bounds play and Kuzma made the right play the moment he saw it to set up those game winning FTs. Wasn’t a clean game from Kuzma, more of a garbage man game. Run the floor and Lonzo will find you. Kuzma is definitely learning that. He was barely open on a couple of long distance passes from Lonzo, but the ball landed perfectly in his hands for easy scores. Got to love that. Kuzma was quick to shoot when he got open, but he was also moving the ball very well…which works exceptionally well when Ball is out there because the ball is moving with some speed. Willing passers will make the system fly. Lonzo found him for a key three late in the game, his only make in five attempts, but a clutch one. “Me and him got some pretty good chemistry,” he said of Lonzo. Double-double with 4 assists tonight. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-14 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 12 boards (4 offensive), 4 assists, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He missed a wing three in transition. He traveled on a kickout in transition. Ball hit him leaking out on two possessions in a row (Kuzma was hardly open, but the passes were perfect). Not close on a wing three on a kickout. He zipped a pass across court to Zubac for the jumper. He tipped in a missed jumper behind a man. He backed a man down and hit a half jumphook on the baseline. He posted up and kicked to Wear for the jumper. He dunked off the drive and dish from Ball. He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He lost the ball on a reverse attempt. Second Half: He was stripped on the dribble. He missed a corner three on a kickout. Nice interior feed to Zubac for FTs. He fumbled a pass away, turnover. He couldn’t finish a tough outlet from Ball on the break. He sank a corner three on a kickout from Ball. He missed a rushed three. Great inbounds to Zubac who backdoored his man and was fouled with 4.6 seconds left down 1, he made both clutch ones.

Zubac -- -- That’s more like it and he got the game-winning points for the effort. Clutch FTs by Zubac to win the game with 4.6 seconds left. Zubac backdoored his man who overplayed the passing lane, took the pass and scored. That made up for a missed defensive challenge on the other end of the floor and also bad pass in transition (one time the contagious passing may have worked against us…Zu’s passing was very poor this game). You could almost picture the Lopez/Ball combo working out there with Zubac in the first quarter. He was getting open for some midrange and the ball found him. Zubac ran the floor well in this game, seemingly getting his wind finally and he was rewarded for his efforts with several setups from teammates for scores. Even he’s learning that running the floor will pay off. “I always got to watch out for the ball. He can pass from any position,” Zubac said of Ball. Zubac said he was mad at himself for the previous games. “That’s obviously not the level of play I play,” he said. Finally good to see him bring it. “I just tried to be more aggressive. I just played really soft the last three games,” he said. He mentioned that Kuzma gave him a tip but he kept it to himself. What Kuzma told him was say a keyword in his head when he got the ball, something Kuzma said he does. Funny, I used to do the same thing when shooting. For me it was to focus on the mechanics of the shot and not the situation, helped block everything out and bring it back to the fundamentals of the jumpshot regardless of what was going on. For Zubac, I’m guessing it was something related to being aggressive and attacking strong, but who knows. He certainly didn’t overthink those clutch FTs he knocked down to win the game. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-11 shooting (0-1 from three, 7-10 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 turnovers, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He lost the ball in a double team on the first possession. He missed a layup trailing the break. He scored a layup off a full-court pass from Ball. His man fronted him and Lonzo found him for the layup before the help could arrive. He sank a wing jumper off the Kuzma zip pass. He missed a baseline jumper. He threw a pass into Kuzma’s shins, turnover. He scored a layup off the two-man game from Lonzo (great pass over the D). He was stripped on the screen-roll and wanted the foul. He missed a three trailing the break. He drew FTs when Ball found him with a half-court feed, he made one. Second Half: Good job running the floor and Thomas found him for a layup. He dunked off the high-low feed. He drew FTs on the no-look interior feed from Caruso, he made both. He drew a hard foul on the interior feed from Kuzma for more FTs, he made one. He rolled to the hoop and took contact for FTs, he made one. He threw a pass away on the lob instead of riding it in for a layup. He was blocked after a drop-step move.

Thomas -- -- We released Nwaba to get more free agency money. We certainly missed some of his D early on. Thomas stepped into the starting stop tonighit. Efficient shooting game from him, only missing one shot. He had a few miscues for sure (stripped a couple of times and falling asleep on D another), but good job knocking down the threes and contributing. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He sank an easy floater off a handoff. He swished a corner three. He curled into the lane and hit the pull-up. He drained a three on a kickout. Second Half: He hit Zubac in transition for the layup. He missed a wing three. He fell asleep on D and gave up an And-1 reverse. He was stripped on a trap. He was stripped in the paint for a score the other way.

Blue -- Really quiet game from him after the big one last time. He wasn’t connecting on his shot. That didn’t stop him from taking some of those G-League high speed pull-up transition threes. They just weren’t dropping. Hopefully, he steps it up in the next one. They can’t rely on Zo to drop another 36 points. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-8 shooting (0-4 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 2 steals and 1 foul in 29 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He missed a sideline three. He was stripped on a drive. He drew FTs on a drive in transition, he made one. He missed a wing three. He attacked and hit Kuzma for the dunk. He jumped a passing lane and drew FTs on the breakaway steal, he made one. He missed a running three at the buzzer. Second Half: He was swatted on a drive. He took an outlet, tons of contact with no call and scored the layup. He missed a three in transition. Not close on another pull-up three in transition (that was a South Bay Lakers type of shot late in the game).

Bryant -- -- A couple of dunks from him tonight, one off an inbounds lob, the other cleaning up some garbage. Otherwise, fairly quiet night. Our bigs needed a little more presence defensively. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-2 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He dunked off the inbounds lob from Caruso. He dunked a missed drive by Wear. He drew FTs on the screen-roll dunk attempt, he made one. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Caruso -- -- Carusanity only lasted a game. Pretty quiet night but he did get in a couple of highlight plays. One was a great oop dunk off a Lonzo airball that I think they gave Zo the assist on. Great crash of the glass and read on that. He also had a nice inbounds lob to Bryant for a dunk (as well as an awful pass in his shins later). The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a wing three. He threw an outlet out of bounds. He kicked out to Weir for the three. He missed a corner three. Second Half: He missed a layup on a scramble. He sank an elbow pull-up. He crashed the glass and grabbed the Zo airball and dunked it. He threw a pass in Bryant’s shins for a dunk. He no-looked to Zubac under the hoop for FTs. He gave up a straight-line layup out of a timeout. He hit Zu rolling for FTs.

Wear -- -- He sank a three, a wing jumper and had a putback for his scores. On D he fouled a three shooter to give up FTs. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 3 boards and 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a finish at the rim. He drained a wing three on a kickout. He missed a wide open sideline three. He sank an open wing jumper. Second Half: He had a garbage-play putback for a score. He missed a three straight away. He fouled a three shooter on a closeout late in the shotclock.

York -- -- He’s a good shooter and sank a three again in this one. You can see his limited game and floor speed on display, also, however. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting from three to go with 2 steals and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He swiped a pass and was fouled on a slow developing push-out. Second Half: He sank an open wing three on the kickout from Lonzo. He missed a wing three.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:50 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:51 pm    Post subject:

DB!!!!!!!!!

LONZO!!!!!!!!!!
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:56 pm    Post subject:

The most surprising thing to me has been Lonzo's rebounding. I wasn't expecting him to be such a good rebounder, but he anticipates misses and makes sure he's in the right position to grab boards.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 10:00 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!!
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 10:00 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Great to see Ball rise to the occasion and put on a show in his first summer league season. Great result, great game from Lonzo! Kudos to Kuzma too.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 10:01 pm    Post subject:


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 10:14 pm    Post subject:

DB: AAAAA!

Also: do you feel Lonzo tonight debunked the criticism from Brandon Hayward that he couldn't turn the corner or get past his man?
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 11:01 pm    Post subject:

That was fun. Thanks DB.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 11:37 pm    Post subject:

What are your thoughts on that final defensive possession where the sixers scored?

First three players got stuck on one screen, after which Caruso loses his man so Ball switches over but too late, and then the Sixer goes to the rim and Zubac is not there because he did not commit to the help in time

The team defense was pretty bad on that possession. Hope it gets better. I know it's summer league but this is the type of thing they need to look at and work in training camp imo
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 1:33 am    Post subject:

AAAAA!!!
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 1:47 am    Post subject:

🐐
Great writeup, DB!
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 1:54 am    Post subject:

Ball Control! Wooooo

Thanks.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 2:41 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:33 am    Post subject:

Good stuff.

I noticed that his body language says that he's winded, but I think he played the whole second half and after the game he looked like he was barely sweating or breathing hard. The fact that he hasn't played much in the last few months and will most likely only get into better shape is very promising. Great game by the kid tonight!
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 4:13 am    Post subject:

Ball's wall of text compared to his teammate's dearth is representative of his impact in this game. Some people pooh-pooh his performance as "summer league" but I for one am excited to see what he can do playing next to real NBA players. Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 7:36 am    Post subject:

DLO who?
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 10:37 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!!!!

Quote:
He seemed to be a little too upright for me at times.


This is also contributes to his P&R learning curve as his ability to rub his man off screens is diminished. There's almost always space between him and the screener when they run it. He's just so used to being a downhill player that this is going to take some time. But damn, did we get a one.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:01 am    Post subject:

Gimme_the_rock wrote:
Thanks DB!!!!

Quote:
He seemed to be a little too upright for me at times.


This is also contributes to his P&R learning curve as his ability to rub his man off screens is diminished. There's almost always space between him and the screener when they run it. He's just so used to being a downhill player that this is going to take some time. But damn, did we get a one.

UCLA also had the screener slip almost every time, so Ball had little experience brushing off the screener last year.
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