LAKERS -at- NUGGETS – 12-2-17 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:30 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- NUGGETS – 12-2-17 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

More Self-Inflicted Wounds… The Lakers beat themselves in this one.

Unforced turnovers, poor decisions and a complete collapse in crunch time by L.A. saw the under-manned Nuggets run away with this in the final minutes.

The Lakers had a 4-point lead with 5:36 left after Kuzma sank a three. They were tied up with 4 minutes left at 100-100.

The Nuggets would then go on a 15-0 run the rest of the way.

“I felt like we were in control for a lot of that game, but winning on the road is hard,” Luke said, mentioning the team’s 7 turnovers in the fourth killed them. He thought after the Warriors game, they were ready to take the next step and get a quality win on the road. Not so much.

“Embrace that pain and use it to motivate you,” Luke said.


Ball -- -- A lot of stretches where he didn’t seem in sync. To start the game and to finish the game, just no impact. He had some calf issues with both legs, one sore, one tightening up. Got to watch our rookie minutes. Lonzo picked up a tech with 2:24 left down 6 on a defensive challenge he was called for a foul on. Some frustration there. In the closing seconds as we were about to head to the locker room, Jamal Murray hotdogged a dribble around him. Several Lakers, including Randle, took exception to that and gave a hard foul. Lonzo had a good stretch in the first half with a three and some other scores in the paint. But he went scoreless in the second half. Some sloppy passing in that half, as well, with a hit ahead that was too long, and other pass that was swiped for a score the other way. No triple-double against Denver this time. “We keep beating ourselves,” Lonzo said. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-10 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 9 boards (4 offensive), 5 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He didn’t protect the ball and turned it over 40 feet from the hoop. They left him after he picked up his dribble and he missed a three. Bad angle on D and he gave up a straight line And-1 layup. He swished a step-through floater in the lane. He passed too early on a screen-roll, got it back and hit the three. He jumped a passing lane and took it for a layup the other way. He pushed up floor with speed and was blocked at the rim but Ingram cleaned it up. He missed a scoop on a drive but quickly follow tipped it in. He had 9 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half. Second Half: He tapped a defensive board to KCP to ignite a break. He hit Lopez under the hoop in transition for a dunk. He missed a tip. Too far ahead on a hit ahead, turnover. His pass was picked off trying to throw over a defender. He missed a wide open three. He airballed a three. He charged, no rhythm on offense right now.

Lopez -- -- The numbers look better than his overall impact. We got off to a slow start with him out there on both ends. Then he started to warm up. Feels like that’s been the case quite a bit lately, where the first several minutes are almost throwaway minutes and we fall back in a hole. Some of his best plays tonight came when he was mobile. He was attacking off the three line for scores…or even defensively when he’d challenge driving guards on switches. Warmed up, he performed better. Need to figure out how to get him going from the tipoff. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-14 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He blew an easy shot in the post to start the game. He blocked a jumper. He sank a short jumphook in early offense next time down. He found Ingram open under the hoop for a score when BI’s man came to double Lopez. Swing through to get past his man and he threw down a dunk over the help D. Late reaction to an elevator screen and we gave up a three. He couldn’t handle a pass from Lonzo off his hands, turnover. Took too long to score off a long outlet was blocked among three defenders. He cleaned up a KCP airball on a drive. Face up and he missed a bank in the post. Not close on a three trailing the break. He scooped up a loose ball and outlet to Ingram for the dunk. He up-faked and took a couple long steps to the rim for the score. His man went for a steal so he attacked and hit a short floater. Nice defensive challenge of a guard to force a miss. He missed a three. He had 10 points on 5-10 shooting. Second Half: He dunked quickly when Lonzo found him under the hoop in transition. He forced Faried into a post-up brick. He then swished a three on the other end on the pick and pop. He missed a step-back three. Moving screen, turnover. He missed an elbow jumper.

Ingram -- -- In the first half, he picked up where he left off offensively with 14 points on 4-9 shooting. Not a very good second half, however. Some really poor decisions on iso’s. Kind of back to his myopic score-only mode we saw very early in the season in that half. Even the jumper he made was poor shot selection. He’d end up with 5 turnovers in this game and a team-high -26. His turnover on a spin move with 2 minutes left in the game was kind of the dagger. That was one too many for the team and back broke. Got to recognize when the spacing isn’t there. Good job hitting his FTs in this game. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-14 shooting (0-2 from three, 8-8 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 steal, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -26. The Action: He attacked on a kickout and drew FTs, he made both. Late rotation and he gave up a three. He reversed when his man left him to double and Lopez found him. He couldn’t finish a layup through lots of contact. He was tied up trying to work the post, bad tap out of bounds on that. Hesitation then he attacked left and drew FTs, he made both. He dunked on the break off a Euro step around the D. He stole the ball on backcourt pressure and was blocked out of bounds trying to score off it. Nice pull-up off the high screen to knock down the 19-footer. He missed a three on a kickout. He cleaned up a missed Lonzo drive in transition. He was stripped for a dunk the other way. He missed a layup on a drive right. He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs, he made both. He picked up his third foul with under a minute left. Second Half: He was fouled trying to attack in transition, he made both FTs. He missed an elbow pull-up. He traveled on a drive out of a timeout. He sank a forced, pumping wing jumper, not a good shot but it went. He tried to cross over in a crowd and was picked for an And-1 the other way, not good recognition of the floor spacing. He missed a turnaround in the paint. He attacked a seam and scored a layup. Turnover on a spin move with 2 minutes left, killer. He missed a three with a kickout.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He was outplayed by his backups tonight -- both Hart and JC. He couldn’t connect from the perimeter, missing all four of his threes. His best play was a drive and bounce pass to Nance for a dunk. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-7 shooting (0-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He missed a three going to his left. He attacked and drew FTs on the drive, he made one. He missed a corner three. Drive into traffic and he missed a runner, but Lopez cleaned it up. He scored a layup on the break with Hart. He was stripped on a drive down the middle of the paint for a dunk the other way. He attacked off the three line and bounced to Larry for a dunk. Second Half: He missed a three in transition. He hit Lopez on the pick and pop for a three. He took a dribble, measured and missed a three. Great job fighting around an elevator screen to erase a Nugget set play. Not close on an 18-footer that hit glass first. XXX

Nance -- -- Kind of a nothing game from Nance. He didn’t impose his athleticism out there and had virtually no presence offensively. One of those games he’s been good at avoiding this season. With him having no presence, it becomes a problem for the starters when we get that sometimes from Lonzo and sometimes worse from Lopez. We went with Nance at the C spot for a couple of poor minutes in crunch time. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting to go with 6 boards (4 offensive), 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He picked up two fouls in the first few minutes. He tipped in a missed three. He fumbled away a sure score after Lonzo set him up under the hoop. He dunked off the drive and dish from KCP. Second Half: He missed a tip. Illegal handoff screen, turnover.

Kuzma -- -- He said the back was a little tight, but that didn’t seem to slow him. He had the double-double. Some of his finishes around the rim tonight really reminded me of Cedric Ceballos. Just very quick to finish the layups right under the rim. Again, he got called for a couple of travels in this one (careless footwork on the perimeter with no one around him on one). We kept the minutes lower, which we should probably do a little more of considering the back issue. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-13 shooting (1-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He traveled on the perimeter after faking a handoff, unforced turnover. He couldn’t finish a drive to his right. He swished a long corner jumper on a kickout. He got his man to carry after switching on D to stop a second iso attack on one possession. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He attacked down the paint, choked the layup, got it back and quickly scored. He got tapped on a putback attempt. He drew FTs in the post and made both. Swing pass to Hart for the three. He curled into the paint to his left and scored a layup. He faked a handoff, attacked the paint, spun and hit the jumphook. Travel call on a little stutter step as he changed directions to get to the rim. He missed a quick-fire three. He swished a step-back corner three on the two-man sequence with Randle. He missed a deep three. The defense left him and he missed an 18-footer. He was blocked on a late drive. XXX

Randle -- -- This was one of those games where you wish Randle started. Lopez did his usual slow start. Late in the game, the team ran out of steam as the second unit ran long. Luke subbed out Randle, then brought him back with a couple minutes, but the momentum has shifted and the Lakers couldn’t pull out of the nose dive. “Most of that game we outplayed them,” Randle said. Defensively, again it’s fun watching guys try to take him on iso when he switches. The ball stops, he’s on them like a jersey and we get the miss. Behind him, the team has to really focus on team rebounding to make sure we get one and out possessions. Offensively, he had multiple score in the paint on the move. We tried to isolate him on the wing (or work with Kuzma on that strongside wing down the stretch). We got a Kuzma three of that, but then things went dry. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting (1-2 from three, 4-9 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He attacked right and finished left at the rim. Quick attack against a shorty in the post and he scored the And-1 jumphook across the middle of the paint, he missed the FT. He pushed out a rebound, spun in the paint and scored to his left. He attacked down the middle of the paint and hit the running hook with 1 second left in the quarter. He took a pass on the roll and was fouled, he made one FT. He pushed out the rebound, attacked the paint and was fouled on the runner, he missed both FTs. Second Half: He sank a three straight away. No communication and he gave up a dunk on a switch. He missed an open three to start the fourth. He was fouled on the screen-roll, he made one FT. DHO to Clarkson for the three. He drew FTs at the front of the rim on a drive, he made both. He setup Kuzma for a three. He iso’d, stumbled and lost the handle, turnover. Sloppy pass on the break.

Clarkson -- -- Kind of an average scoring game from JC – 12 points on 12 shots. Not great, not horrible. Half of those shots were three pointers, where he made two. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing him used a shooter more like that. Team needs it. One of those threes came off a little DHO with Randle. We don’t see Randle setting up teammates with handoffs or kickbacks to the extent he did last season, but I’d like to see it more, especially with JC. Clarkson’s best play was a hustle play on offense where he jumped out of bounds to save a Lonzo airball and it led to Laker points. JC was the only other Lakers to have a positive in the +/- with the +3. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting (2-6 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Sloppy turnover, traveling after taking a handoff. He kicked out to Kuzma for a jumper. He set up Randle for FTs off the two-man game. He missed a wing three. He lost the D on a hesitation dribble and took it for the uncontested throwdown. He sank a wing three out of a timeout. He missed a pull-up wing jumper next time down. Second Half: He iso’d and missed a three as the offense stalled. He missed a corner three. He blew past the D and scored a layup to his left. He took on a crowd of defenders in transition and scored the runner. He hit Randle for FTs on the screen-roll. He sank a three off the Randle DHO. He dribbled into a double team on the sideline and had it stolen for a score the other way. He somehow saved a Lonzo airball inbounds to Ingram and it led to a score. He missed a three in early offense.

Hart -- His best game of the season. Ideal sort of three and D performance and he earned some extra run as a result. You do have to remember we are playing three rookies out there quite a bit at times and that will usually negatively impact things. Tonight, he looked like a seasoned vet, however. Excellent challenges on drives, great job holding ground against bigger players trying to take advantage of him on switches and his usual strong challenges on the perimeter. Asked if he wanted to take Harden on, he said, “I want to be a great defensive player. To do that you’ve got to guard the best.” Wouldn’t mind seeing it for a few minutes. I’m sure Harden’s eyes would get wide, too, but it would be good experience for Josh. Offensively, all of his points game off threes. More of that, please. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting from three to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He swiped a pass in the paint and pushed out the break to KCP for a score. Pass went right through his hands under the hoop, turnover. Nice iso D in the post against Lyles to get a stop. Bad foul on a three shooter. He swished a corner three on a kickout. Superb hustle to get in between two rebounders, keep it alive and save it back to a Laker to regain a possession. He ate up Mudiay’s drive on one end with a great challenge, but then bricked the wing three badly on the other. He broke up a lob on a switch, great recognition. Second Half: He sank a wing three. He swished a three straight away on the swing pass. Great help D challenge to get a stop at the rim.

Brewer -- -- Nothing game from Corey. He missed a couple of layups he probably should have had. Defensively, was hit and miss. He got a charge call, but also gave up an And-1 to 80-year-old Richard Jefferson. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: He gave up an And-1 biting on a pumpfake. He missed a slashing layup from the wing. Second Half: He choked a layup on a drive. He drew a charge on a drive to get a stop. Near steal in the back court, but he got a tie up, but not the jumpball.

Walton -- -- Very iso oriented offense to start the game. Just dumping it to Ingram or Lopez mostly. They trailed 15-6 and Luke called a timeout… Lopez again hurting the team to start the game… Kuzma and Hart in for Ingram and Nance, Lakers down 10 midway through the quarter… Randle and JC in for Lonzo and Lopez, Lakers down 10 with 3 minutes left… Randle sparking the Lakers… The Lakers trailed 34-29 after the first… Randle, Kuzma, Brewer, Hart, JC to start the second quarter… Down 8, he brought back in Lopez, Ingram and Ball to go with JC and Kuzma… They cut it to 1 forcing a timeout… An 11-0 run to take a 3-point lead… Up 6, they forced a timeout. Lakers getting stops and out in transition… Ingram sat with 46 seconds left picking up his third foul. Hart in. Lakers up 2… The Lakers led 59-55 at the half. The Lakers shot 50% for the half but were 3-12 from three… Lakers up 8 and Denver took a timeout. They countered with a 6-0 run and Luke called a timeout up just 2… Randle in with JC… Lakers down 4… Down 1, Kuzma in for Nance… The Lakers led 80-78 heading into the fourth… He went with a Randle, Kuzma, Brewer, Hart, JC lineup… Lakers up 5 with 7 minutes left. Ingram in for Brewer… Tied up with 5 minutes left, he called a timeout… Nance, Kuzma, Ingram, Clarkson, Ball lineup… They fell back by 6 before Randle could get back in with 2:24 left… A 19-2 Nuggets run to close out the Lakers…
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VicXLakers
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:31 pm    Post subject:

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J.C. Smith
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 9:45 pm    Post subject:

Now you mention it, definitely could see some Ceballos in those Kuzma put backs.
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:06 pm    Post subject:

This loss was upsetting

Since there's no embiid tomorrow and frankly the team is In a slow nose dive i would like to see the lakers starting lineup be randle, kuz,BI, KCP and Ball

Kind of tired of the bro / nance combo past 3 games and matchup wise tomorrow may help.

Randle I think has earned it with his play and kuz I think just gives more than Larry right now
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:07 pm    Post subject:

awesome post!
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:15 pm    Post subject:

Turnovers and Luke Walton... what's new?
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:19 pm    Post subject:

DrDent wrote:
This loss was upsetting

Since there's no embiid tomorrow and frankly the team is In a slow nose dive i would like to see the lakers starting lineup be randle, kuz,BI, KCP and Ball

Kind of tired of the bro / nance combo past 3 games and matchup wise tomorrow may help.

Randle I think has earned it with his play and kuz I think just gives more than Larry right now
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 10:29 pm    Post subject:

DrDent wrote:
This loss was upsetting

Since there's no embiid tomorrow and frankly the team is In a slow nose dive i would like to see the lakers starting lineup be randle, kuz,BI, KCP and Ball

Kind of tired of the bro / nance combo past 3 games and matchup wise tomorrow may help.

Randle I think has earned it with his play and kuz I think just gives more than Larry right now


I agree. I like Larry a lot but offensively he just can't score unless he's right at the rim.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2017 11:55 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:50 am    Post subject:

“It is what it is”
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:29 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

A small mistake:
Quote:
JC was the only other Lakers to have a positive in the +/- with the +3

Not sure what you mean by "other" but Hart was +6. Hart needs to keep playing like this. He's had slow but steady progress.


The Lakers are collectively making rookie mistakes and behave as expected from a young team. What is strange though, is that MCP and Lopez lead the way.... Go figure.

It's time to dust off Zubac. I can't imagine him being much worse than Lopez at this point.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 5:18 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 8:01 am    Post subject:

Turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover after turnover
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:38 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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HAL 9000
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:45 am    Post subject:

Great summation DB and very accurate. Ball, Ingram, Lopez and Randle were aggressive and difference makers in the first half and no shows in the second half, while Clarkson, Kuzma and Hart were the opposite and great in the second half. KCP and Brewer were no shows. And no one showed up in the last four minutes. My son summed it up perfectly as we were driving home from the game; "The Lakers were hot garbage." I can't argue. The last four minutes were disturbing. I am just not seeing improvement. Luke?

Ball's calf issue may have answered my concern and critique of him, in another thread, as a no show during the shoot arounds. I will give him the benefit of the doubt.


Last edited by HAL 9000 on Sun Dec 03, 2017 12:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:52 am    Post subject:

I think that 3 of the last 4 games were absolutely winnable and that a mix of individual poor play, inexperience and, ultimately, poor coaching, lead us to consecutive L's.

The worst part is that good efforts keep without reward as the last minutes are constantly tragic. We are just too young and stupid both on and out the court.

Now we will probably get more consecutive L's as we mostly face much superior teams up until January.

Really, this will be one more year of being a bottom feeder squad as our apparent talent is just out of sync, learning how to play and learning about themselves.

Honestly, i am ready to bet that this core might become something if kept together for 2 more years and adding 1 Max free agent All Star player.

If Ball doesn't become a decent player for our aspirations, 2 would be needed.
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