LAKERS -at- HORNETS – 12-9-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:07 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- HORNETS – 12-9-17 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Squashing Bugs… The Lakers had a 1-point lead heading into the fourth as neither team could gain separation from the other.

Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle decided to do something about that. They worked a series of two-man sequences on the left wing that allowed JC to get middle of the paint for scores or passes. The quick screens and handoffs from Randle had JC getting speed into the paint to cause havoc. Great job going to counters in those sequences.

What the defense gave, they took. Again and again.

“Just trying to get in the paint and making the right decisions,” Clarkson said.

They took control of the game as they extended the lead to double digits and didn’t back off. Great, methodical close by Clarkson with 14 points in the fourth quarter off the 110-99 Laker win.

“That’s what you do if you mature in this league,” Luke said.


Ball -- -- We had to let JC finish this one out as the Hornets had no answer for him. Lonzo was playing well. He was setting up teammates, getting out in transition and playing that good, all-around game we need from him. Some foul troubles in this one, but that didn’t really come into play. Got to work on those FTs, though. He missed both tonight. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 9 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He overpowered his man on a drive and drew FTs, he missed both to start the game. He attacked in transition and scored the layup before the D could get set. He drained a three when the D went under the screen. Quick outlet to KCP for the midrange jumper. He missed an open wing three on a kickout. Quick pushout off a made basket and he hit Nance for a dunk. He rejected a man from behind on help D. He charged on a floater, attacking off the three line. He was blocked on a drive. He missed the two-for-one three as the D sagged off. Second Half: Long hit ahead to Lopez catching the D sleeping and it led to a dunk. He hit Julius on the short roll for the FT jumper.

Lopez -- Luke praised his second half D. He bottled up Howard and got him frustrated in the second half. Luke said he would have gone back to him in the fourth, but the bench was killing it. Slow start for Lopez again on both ends, but luckily we didn’t pay the price for it this time. I think when Lonzo’s more active that mitigates Lopez’s slow starts. Eventually Brook picked it up, hitting threes and getting stops. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a short one off the long outlet from Lonzo. He missed an open wing three with the D plugging the paint. He hit a jumphook from the midpost. He faced up, attacked and wasn’t close on the reverse. He sank the wing three off the kickout. Giving up low position too easily to Dwight. He swished the pick and pop three, left alone. Way short on a wing three. Second Half: He missed a floater on a drive to start the half. He muscled in a dunk off the long hit ahead from Lonzo. He swatted a dunk attempt and controlled it. Left open and he swished a three from the top of the arc. He drew a charge on Dwight’s iso drive. He swiped the ball from Howard trying to attack. He ball-faked and missed the long three.

Ingram -- -- Nice to see him end up with 18 points when you felt like he was leaving a lot of points at the rim he should have finished. He had maybe 4-5 misses on finishes. Could have had a bigger scoring night in front of his hometown friends and family, but a strong game regardless. “I’m more confident in myself. Even tonight I felt like I actually had a bad game,” he said talking about those miscues. Defensively, he got in some good challenges on the perimeter. He also pulled down a few board. I’d love to see more of that with his length, especially when we’ve got our small ball going. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-16 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He follow slammed down a Lopez miss in transition. He traveled after picking up his dribble. He attacked the paint trailing the break and scored a layup over the help D. He attacked to his right down the lane and hammered the dunk. Great D forcing a brick on the other end with a strong challenge in the paint. He attacked left, took contact on the drive with no call and couldn’t finish. He was blocked on a drive. He missed the long wing jumper on the kickout. Second Half: He attacked right and took it for the layup. Quick transition attack and he drew FTs, he made one. Great move on a drive off the three line but he choked the layup. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He couldn’t finish at the rim again on a drive. He attacked again and choked a layup he should have dunked. He sank the pull-up 17-footer losing his man on a screen. He scooped up the loose ball, pushed it up, stepped on the gas on the change of directions and scored the layup over the D on its heels. He picked up a couple fouls cutting off ball and drew FTs on the second one, he made both. He was called for a charge in transition, D was moving under him. He was picked on a drive right. He inbounded along the sideline, took the handoff going to his right, couldn’t finish the drive but did the follow tip. He attacked a seam and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a three on a kickout.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Some credit to the Lakers for only giving up 9 points at the FT line. KCP was one of three Lakers with big minutes not to commit a foul. Quietly, that was a key to this game. Offensively, he sank three threes. We ran KCP and JC to close the game…with Kuzma and KCP that helped space the floor for Randle/Clarkson. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-12 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He attacked off a flare screen and missed the runner. He sank a midrange jumper off the outlet. He kicked out to Lopez for the wing three. He missed a pull-up elbow jumper. He missed a three off a kickout. He sank the elbow pull-up out of the timeout. He hit Lopez for the three on the pick and pop. He drained the wing three in transition at the end of the half. Second Half: He settled for the pull-up after getting middle instead of hitting Nance rolling and he missed. Not close on a wide open wing three. He swiped a perimeter pass and took it for the dunk. He missed a pull-up three in transition next time down (just because you dunked doesn’t mean you’re hot). He flashed off the screen, took the pass at the top of the key and hit the three. He took a handoff and hit a big wing three. He swiped a kickout but traveled on the breakaway.

Nance -- -- Really don’t understand why Luke insists on running Nance at the C spot for stretches. It doesn’t play to his strengths and usually bad things happen for the Lakers. In the first half, the Lakers went from a 2-point lead to trail by 6 in the brief stint we ran Nance at center. That’s just not his strength, so stop already. Some foul trouble issues for Nance as well as jumpshooting issues. He had the team worst -10, but give Luke some of that. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He flashed to the ball and hit the one-hander in the middle of the paint. He regained possession battling on the offensive glass to draw a foul. He dunked off the drive and dish from Lonzo in transition. He fouled not sealing the post well on the post entry. He got tapped on the open 17-footer. He swiped the bad post entry pass. He missed a wing jumper. He hit the short push shot in the paint off the Lonzo feed. Second Half: He fumbled away a sure dunk. Nice close out challenge to force an airball. He then airballed himself off a 19-footer on the other end, uggh. He couldn’t finish the lob dunk out of a timeout, then picked up his fourth foul on the other end and had to sit.

Kuzma -- -- Back in at the PF spot and he turned in a double-double. Great job on the glass. He’s just very active, always chasing rebounds when he gets into that mode. Defensively, he had probably the play of the game with a great help D shotblock from behind to save a sure layup after a Randle suicide gamble in the post. His three shot was falling tonight but he did the garbage man work. At the end of the night, he led the team with the +21. “He’s a rookie and we’re throwing him between multiple positions,” Luke said, saying the SF/PF switching from game to game is going to make it tough. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-11 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 14 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 2 block and no fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +21. The Action: He attacked off the three line in transition and took it for the easy layup. He couldn’t hit he short one in the paint to start the second quarter. He missed the short runner off glass in transition. He tipped in the Randle missed jumphook. He got tapped on a three set up for him straight away. He threw down the lob from JC on the break. He dunked off the drive and dish from JC next time down. He missed a quick-fire wing three. He pushed out the break with a few seconds left and hit KCP for the open three at the end of the half. Second Half: He chased down a long rebound and quickly hit the baseline jumper. He missed a two-for-one three that was a little late in the clock to take. He pulled down an offensive board and hit Brewer for the dunk. He hit the floater off the interior feed from JC. Wow, sensational help D recovery after Randle couldn’t get the suicide steal deep in the paint and Kuz blocked the layup off the glass. He attacked and hit Julius for FT under the hoop.

Randle -- -- He’s going toe to toe with the league’s bigmen. What makes it work offensively is how Randle is getting into his screens fast and hard. That’s a small ball advantage when the other team has to sit in the paint and try to D up ball handlers driving at high speed. He knocked down a jumper on a short roll and also finished off the bounce pass on the roll. All he has to do is be a threat on those rolls and that makes it much more difficult on the D. The other advantage offensively is using his speed in transition for scores. He got a couple layups on the break doing that. Luke let him close the game again. The minutes were still lower than they should be, but at least we’ve got him in there in crunch time. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He lost the ball trying to work the post. He scored a layup in transition, getting fouled with no call. He missed a jumphook in the lane, but Kuzma tipped it in. Quick outlet to JC, which led to a Kuzma lob score. Second Half: He sank the short-roll jumper at the FT line. He lost the dribble in the paint, turnover. He was called for a moving screen. He pushed out the rebound and took it coast to coast for the score. He drew FTs on a reverse off the drive and dish from Kuzma, he made one. Sweet bounce pass on the catch on the give and go with JC and it led to the dunk. He scored the And-1 layup off the two-man game with JC, he made the FT. He got tapped on a wing three with the shotclock low. He was fouled on the offensive board and drew FTs, he made both.

Clarkson -- -- One of his best games of the year, if not the best. He and Randle pushed the Lakers out to a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter as they worked the two-man variations that allowed JC to get middle for scores or passes. When they went under the screen, he sank the three. They were methodical, and he just destroyed them. “As long as I’m playing unselfish and making the right plays with him going to the basket that keeps everything open for us,” Clarkson said. The Hornets just took it in the chin again and again. JC also said that the communication on the D allowed them to get stops and go on that run. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 7-12 shooting (1-4 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He swished a pull-up wing jumper off the pull-back dribble and two-man sequence. He missed a wing three on the catch and shoot. He took the Randle outlet and lobbed to Kuzma for the dunk. He drew the D and hit Kuzma for the dunk next time down. He probed the paint, froze the D and hit the layup, forcing a timeout next time down. He sank a pull-up wing jumper. We couldn’t finish a lob pass he made on the break, not the easiest pass when we had numbers. He made a tech FT. He pushed out with speed and hit Hart for the three. No passing, iso ball pounding in early offense, he fell and turned it over. He missed a three on a kickout. Second Half: He sank a tech FT. He missed a pull-up jumper. He missed a tough turnaround against the shotclock. Herky jerky probe off the screen and he drew FTs on the pull-up, he made one. He hit Kuzma for the short floater off the horns sequence. He got middle off the Randle screen and took it to the rim for FTs when the D didn’t help in time, he made both. He drew FTs on the probe with the Lakers in the bonus, he made both. Give and go with Julius and JC threw down off the bounce pass. He got middle off the Randle screen and scored a layup again. Great job again getting middle off the DHO from Randle and he hit Randle for the And-1. He hit the floater off the Randle screen with the shotclock low. He lost his man on the Randle screen and hit the pull-up three. He ran clock and missed the pull-up three.

Brewer -- -- We brought him in for his stint in the second half instead of the first to keep the streak alive. They had some good minutes while he was out there as the D started to get focused. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 1 board and 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He dunked off the offensive board and feed from Kuzma.

Ennis -- -- He came in for Lonzo, Lakers down 5 with 2 minutes left after Lonzo picked up his second foul. He did his job, but I want to know when are we bringing up Caruso? He’s been killing it. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 1 board and 2 fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed a wing three in early offense. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Hart -- -- A couple stints off the bench as usual. He was steady, hitting his only three and finish a drive in the paint after a defender bounced off him. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-2 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 2 boards and 1 turnover in 13 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: His transition pass was picked off for a score. He swished a wing three in transition on a kickout. Second Half: He shed the D after taking contact on a curl in the paint and hit the floater.

Walton -- -- This felt like one of the steadier performance of the team all season. We had one bad stretch where Luke put Nance at the C, but the rest of the game was well coached. Rare game where we lost the first quarter and came up with the win… Quick up and down pace to start the game and both teams were tied 15-15 when the timeout came… Nance sat for Kuzma with 4 minutes left after picking up a second foul. Randle in for Lopez, Lakers down 3… JC in a few seconds later for KCP… The Lakers trailed 29-28 after the first quarter. Never a good omen when they don’t win the first quarter… He picked up a tech on the no calls that we should have gotten FTs on (and the first quarter lead)… Randle, Kuzma, Hart, JC, Ennis to start the second quarter. No Brewer… Some good passing sequences and scoring by JC to take a 2-point lead and force a timeout… KCP in for Ennis… Lakers up 2 with 4:50 left and Luke sat the bench after a turnover. So Nance, Kuzma, Ingram, KCP and Lonzo in now up 2. JC back in for Kuzma. Why Nance at center?... The Lakers trailed by 5 when Luke called a timeout… Lopez back in and Kuzma for Nance with the starters, Lakers down 6… The Lakers led 56-52 at the half. The Lakers had an 18-6 advantage on the break… Kuzma in for Nance midway through the quarter. Lakers down 3 when Nance picked up his fourth foul… Lakers tied when JC and Randle entered for Lopez and KCP… Lonzo picked up his fourth foul late in the third… The Lakers led 76-75 heading into the fourth… He started the Randle, Kuzma, Brewer, Hart, JC lineup… Lakers get in the bonus early… He brought in KCP for Brewer, Lakers up 3. Ingram also in for Hart… The Lakers extended to a 10-point lead. With 7 on the shotclock and the possession stalling Luke called a timeout… Out of that we got an Ingram layup after he inbounded and took a handoff for a drive… Randle/Clarkson dominant down the stretch…


Last edited by DancingBarry on Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:13 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:09 pm    Post subject:

First!

Regarding Randle, if he's going to play Center I'm not sure he's going to be able to give you more than 28 mpg with the type of aggressiveness you need from him. He's wrestling with the alligators down there. A lot of people have been critical of how Luke has been bringing Randle along. He isn't spending any time coasting anymore. Luke's approach is working.

Re: Ennis, you cold man But I agree
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:14 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Nice game!
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:27 pm    Post subject:

Thanks. Really like potential of team and feel relectant totrade Clarkson & Randall. Defense is so important and Lopez doesn’t cut it. Let us try Bryant or even Zu. Why not?
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:27 pm    Post subject:

I’ve been getting on Kuzma lately for being a black hole but tonight he passed the ball well and set his teammates up.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:28 pm    Post subject:

Nice !
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:29 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:30 pm    Post subject:

Laker's Fan wrote:
First!

Regarding Randle, if he's going to play Center I'm not sure he's going to be able to give you more than 28 mpg with the type of aggressiveness you need from him. He's wrestling with the alligators down there. A lot of people have been critical of how Luke has been bringing Randle along. He isn't spending any time coasting anymore. Luke's approach is working.

Re: Ennis, you cold man But I agree


Regarding Randle's minutes...first, you have to play him those bigger minutes to see if he can or can't handle it. Secondly, if he's starting, that's almost easier in some ways with some of these extra long stints he plays when Luke has him close out games. No rest, just going, going, going until the final whistle isn't easy.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:50 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Randle - he's setting picks and he's playing far more effective within the offense. He's also playing hard, solid defense. He's using his off hand now and then. He's extending his range a bit too. He is a far a better player than he was last year imo. Every criticism I had he's fixing. Even when banging against Dwight Howard he's effective now.

Clarkson - drawing defenders and feeding the open man. Saw a little bit of that tonight. JC's so much more dangerous when he keeps the defense guessing like that. Great game from JC tonight, one of the best I remember.

Ingram - nice game. Still has stuff to work on but he's showing flashes of Grootness too. Can't see his ceiling yet, not even close. 18 points in a bad game with missed ft's and easy score opportunities. He could be really really good when it does all come together.

Lopez - good to see him start hitting that outside shot again. Decent job on defense too.

Thanks again DB for a great write up, and great to see the Lakers take 2 in a row on the road!
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:54 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:07 pm    Post subject:

venturalakersfan wrote:
I’ve been getting on Kuzma lately for being a black hole but tonight he passed the ball well and set his teammates up.


Kuz is an excellent passer and I know they want that part of his game to show more. They may be a little harder on him because he's a rookie and they want to develop good habits...hard to day.

It's not as bad with him as it is with JC or Ingram because they are so ball dominant. When they don't pass, the D loads up on them. With Kuzma, he's usually making very quick decisions against the defense.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:11 pm    Post subject:

TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Thanks DB!

Randle - he's setting picks and he's playing far more effective within the offense. He's also playing hard, solid defense. He's using his off hand now and then. He's extending his range a bit too. He is a far a better player than he was last year imo. Every criticism I had he's fixing. Even when banging against Dwight Howard he's effective now.



Makes you think that the one last part of his game -- the perimeter shooting -- may come online sometime, too. He puts in the work and has made huge strides.

That third year is always a key to me to know what you have in a player. This is really Randle's third year because of the injured season. Got to figure out a way to keep him.
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:30 pm    Post subject:

Didn't get to see much of this one but glad luke stopped doing auto sub and went with the hot hands / better matchup.

BI...what can I say. Dude just keeps doing it
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:26 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Thanks DB!

Randle - he's setting picks and he's playing far more effective within the offense. He's also playing hard, solid defense. He's using his off hand now and then. He's extending his range a bit too. He is a far a better player than he was last year imo. Every criticism I had he's fixing. Even when banging against Dwight Howard he's effective now.



Makes you think that the one last part of his game -- the perimeter shooting -- may come online sometime, too. He puts in the work and has made huge strides.

That third year is always a key to me to know what you have in a player. This is really Randle's third year because of the injured season. Got to figure out a way to keep him.


Pay this man!!

(Both Randle and DB )
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 10:26 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Laker's Fan wrote:
First!

Regarding Randle, if he's going to play Center I'm not sure he's going to be able to give you more than 28 mpg with the type of aggressiveness you need from him. He's wrestling with the alligators down there. A lot of people have been critical of how Luke has been bringing Randle along. He isn't spending any time coasting anymore. Luke's approach is working.

Re: Ennis, you cold man But I agree


Regarding Randle's minutes...first, you have to play him those bigger minutes to see if he can or can't handle it. Secondly, if he's starting, that's almost easier in some ways with some of these extra long stints he plays when Luke has him close out games. No rest, just going, going, going until the final whistle isn't easy.


Randle averaged 29 mpg last year, 30 per game post all-star. The issue has always been his mental focus, not physical prowess. Getting in better shape helps, but as we saw in the first several games of the season he wasn't ready.

I hope he is our center of the future but I also think hes's shown he does better when he has to work for it. He showed that when Scott benched him too (coming on strong). A lot of people are unhappy about how his minutes are being handled. I see a player on the rise.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:19 am    Post subject:

I can't justify using the first games of the preseason as a barometer for whether someone is in shape enough to handle minutes. I assume everyone is not in game shape yet.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:48 am    Post subject:

Totally fair. And I know you have expertise and examine the games as well as anyone out there.

I guess I'm trying to look at it as Randle is forcing his way into a larger role (specifically over the last ten games) and that is a good thing. I expect he will end up where people expect him, 28-30 mpg at some point this season.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 1:01 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Good progress closing out on the road.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:41 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 5:34 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB! Couldn't watch the game yesterday as it was my birthday.
Lakers won one for me!
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 6:57 am    Post subject:

I have two thoughts:

1) I would have liked to see how Bogut could have done against Howard in the first half... sine he is supposedly better at defense than Lopez...

2) Speaking of Lopez: Is anyone bothered by the fact that FIVE Lakers got more rebounds than him? I mean he is 7'2"... Yes he is 10x better than MozGoof, but come on...
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 12:08 am    Post subject:

Laker's Fan wrote:
DancingBarry wrote:
Laker's Fan wrote:
First!

Regarding Randle, if he's going to play Center I'm not sure he's going to be able to give you more than 28 mpg with the type of aggressiveness you need from him. He's wrestling with the alligators down there. A lot of people have been critical of how Luke has been bringing Randle along. He isn't spending any time coasting anymore. Luke's approach is working.
Regarding Randle's minutes...first, you have to play him those bigger minutes to see if he can or can't handle it. Secondly, if he's starting, that's almost easier in some ways with some of these extra long stints he plays when Luke has him close out games. No rest, just going, going, going until the final whistle isn't easy.
Randle averaged 29 mpg last year, 30 per game post all-star. The issue has always been his mental focus, not physical prowess. Getting in better shape helps, but as we saw in the first several games of the season he wasn't ready.

I hope he is our center of the future but I also think hes's shown he does better when he has to work for it. He showed that when Scott benched him too (coming on strong). A lot of people are unhappy about how his minutes are being handled. I see a player on the rise.
Randle is a physically gifted undersized starting center with not much such of past success - given that Draymond Green is not starting for the Warriors. When he is motivated (the biggest question), he has had far more success than Lopez

If Lopez is coming off the bench, does that make the team more successful?

Randle has regularly played at the end of games, which is more important than starting

Is a Randle, Nance and Ingram a better staring frontcourt lineup?

Is a Kuzma, JC, Lopex, Hart and Brewer an effective bench
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AFireInside619
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:19 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:09 am    Post subject:

danzag wrote:
Thanks, DB! Couldn't watch the game yesterday as it was my birthday.
Lakers won one for me!


Happy Birthday, danzag!
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danzag
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:01 pm    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
danzag wrote:
Thanks, DB! Couldn't watch the game yesterday as it was my birthday.
Lakers won one for me!


Happy Birthday, danzag!


Thank you, DB!!
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