LAKERS -at- THUNDER – 1-17-18 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:46 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- THUNDER – 1-17-18 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Rebounding… The Laker bigs struggled to keep Stephen Adams and just about everyone else off the offensive glass tonight. It broke their backs in the third quarter as the Thunder pushed out to a 20+ point lead.

The Lakers had 24 defensive boards, the Thunder 21 offensive ones – the most offensive rebounds the Lakers have allowed this year.

This game lost its luster midway through the third quarter when those second chance points piled up and the lead ballooned. The Lakers would fall 114-90.

Multiple Lakers would fall, as well. While the Lakers got Brandon Ingram back, they had several players come up hobbling or in pain throughout the night. Both KCP and Kuzma went to the locker room with injuries, and BI tweaked his ankle again. It’s doubtful Lonzo will be ready for the next one. Without him, the Lakers have been awful on both ends.


Randle -- -- One of the few to kind of show up tonight. Luke said he did a good job with his physical presence offensively, but he didn’t push back on the other end with that. He only had 1 rebound (and the Lakers starters combined for just 8 rebounds as a group). He was bringing it in the first half offensively, scoring all his points. As the Thunder grew more aware of their inability to stop him, his gravity grew, pulling players toward him. On the good side of that, he made some excellent feeds to teammates for scores. On the bad side of that was an occasional turnover with 3. But some better reads, particularly cross court to open shooters. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 8-11 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -24. The Action: He missed a wing three on our first possession up against the shotclock. He fumbled a pass away, turnover. We went to him in the post out of a timeout, he spun baseline and dunked. He found Lopez open in the corner for three after drawing a double team in the post. He was hacked in the post for no call, hustled back in transition and swatted Westbrook. He attacked after not handing the ball off and dunked. He dunked when KCP hit him rolling to the hoop. He couldn’t finish on a roll to the hoop in time before the shotlcock expired. He sank a baseline jumper when the offense busted. He sank an elbow jumper when the D sagged. He scored a layup on a scramble in transition (was fouled with no call). He bullied Melo in transition for a layup at the front of the rim. Quick attack in transition for a layup. He missed a two-for-one three and we got it back. Second Half: He hit Hart for the wing three when his man sagged over to help on Julius. He tried to attack a crowd and was picked for a layup the other way. He missed a baseline jumper on a kickout. He found Ennis for a corner three when he drew the D in the post.

Ingram -- -- Back in the lineup after the minor ankle tweak and he looked like himself. He tweaked the ankle again in the second half and sat. Luke said if the game was close he would have been able to come back. He struggled a bit with his midrange shot in this one. All his scores came off layups. With our bigs struggling to get boards, we really need him to impose his length on the glass. That didn’t happen. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-7 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: Not close on a pull-up in transition. He found KCP in the corner for three. Nice touch on a short jumper in the paint. He missed a forced jumper standing on the three line. He was fouled on a layup attempt in transition. He had a pass go through his hands. Second Half: He scored a layup off the bounce pass from Lopez. He missed a baseline pull-up. He missed a pull-up from the top of the key. He found Kuzma for a layup. He attacked the paint and scored on the finger roll.

Lopez -- -- It’s not small ball when he’s in the game, but man does he play small on the glass. He got his first rebound in the second half. When we’re getting killed on offensive boards, this is just inexcusable. It’s a massive flaw in his game and was exposed tonight when we couldn’t control the glass. Adams had 7 offensive boards. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -17. The Action: He sank a corner three on the Randle kickout. His bounce pass was knocked away. He missed a wing three, a little forced. He hit a runner. Bad pass to Julius cutting, turnover. Bad box out and he gave up a putback score on a missed FT. Second Half: He threaded a pass to Ingram for a layup, then gave up a lob dunk on the other end. He missed a three on a kickout. He missed a bad drive from an odd angle.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He got an foot rolled on in a loose ball scramble and limped to the locker room with 3:40 left in the first half. An achilles strain, but the x-ray came back negative, so that’s good. One of those injuries you might see in football with players hitting the ground, pinning other’s legs in the process. That cut his minutes short, which is unfortunate because he’s been playing much better lately and we can ill afford any of our starters to miss time right now with Lonzo out. Efficient scoring again tonight, sinking a couple of threes. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 3-5 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 steals and no fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He broke up a transition layup with good hands. He sank an open corner three on the Ingram kickout. He attacked off the three line for FTs, he made both. He sank a three in transition. He missed a three in transition. He attacked a seam for a short floater. He missed a layup on the break, but Kuzma tipped it in. He drew the D on the perimeter and hit Randle rolling for a dunk. Quick swing pass on a kickout for a three by Hart. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Ennis -- -- Better game from him as he had a couple moments attacking and even pushing pace. Really missed Lonzo getting us into our offense quickly, though. That’s just not happening now that he’s out. We’re also missing Lonzo’s defensive rebounding. Ennis tried (even had a great box out on one) and he finished with 3 defensive boards…as many as Randle and Lopez combined. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: He missed a wing three on a kickout. He sank a step-back jumper on a switch. Quick score in transition a few seconds later. Second Half: He attacked a switch and missed the layup. He reversed in transition. He had a ball stripped off him on a probe. He swished a corner three on a kickout and was hit with no call.

Kuzma -- -- He went to the locker room after hurting his finger in the fourth quarter, hyperextending his pinky. He sank one of his five three attempts. Some good passing sequences in the first half. He didn’t get a defensive board, which we can’t have, but he’s not the reason we were getting killed on the glass. Randle and Lopez combined for just 3 boards themselves. “They just big boy’d us,” Kuzma said. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He sank a wing three on the two-man sequence. He missed a wing jumper. He spun baseline, drew the D and hit Hart for three. He missed a sideline three on a kickout. Off the mark trying to thread the needle on a pass, turnover. He pushed out the break, gave it up and tipped in the layup miss. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. Hockey assist on a drive and kick that led to a three. Behind his back into the backcourt on a pass for a turnover. Second Half: He scored a layup off the bounce pass from Ingram. He took his eyes off a pass, turnover on a sure layup. He missed a three in transition. He was fouled on a floater, but not given FTs. He missed a layup on a drive. He missed a tricky wing three.

Clarkson -- -- JC trying to make sure he’s not traded to OKC apparently. Awful game. His decision making on passes was horrible. He couldn’t hit anything. He had a wide open three that he airballed wide right by a couple feet. Just ugly. Really needed him to step up with Lonzo gone, but that’s not happening. The Stats: He scored He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steals, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He sank a pull-back 15-footer. He missed a pull-up straight away. He got it back and was blocked on a step-through scoop. Awful read and his kickout was swiped. He airballed an open wing three. He missed a bad turnaround jumper after flashing to the ball. He hit Nance on an interior feed for the dunk. Nice read on D to recover to his man after Westbrook picked up his dribble and he swiped the pass (Randle score in transition). Second Half: He missed a short floater in the middle of the lane. He sank a wing three out of a timeout.

Nance -- -- We had a little garbage time run for him at the PF spot. Rare that we’ve seen him there lately. Not much to this game from him. He finished at the rim for all his points and missed his jumpers. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He had to attempt a behind-the-backboard jumper up against the shotclock to start the quarter. He dunked off the interior feed from JC. Second Half: He slammed back a miss by JC. He knocked a ball loose to ignite a break. Way short on a wing jumper. At the PF, he got into the passing lane, swiped the ball and took it for a dunk. His perimeter pass was picked off. He threw a pass out of bounds when the guard faked him out on a cut.

Hart -- -- With KCP getting injured, we had to lean on Josh a little more. With Hart, he’s a steady player, who will give you steady performance and not have too many poor moments. If the Lakers have a portfolio of assets, he’s kind of like an S&P 500 fund. Not sexy, but he will give you steady, strong performance time and time again. Great to have. He hit three threes tonight for all his points. The Thunder challenged him well on his drives. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-8 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: He swished the wide open corner three on the kickout. He missed a wing three. Great D on PG13 on iso, blocking his shot, getting the board and igniting the break. He sank a wing three on a swing pass. He missed a wing three at the end of the half. Second Half: He swished a three to start the half. He hit Brewer streaking for a layup. He couldn’t finish a lefty layup on a drive. His layup was blocked by the help D in transition. He swiped a pass back on the other end and was fouled. He missed a wing three.

Brewer -- -- Limited minutes late in the game when injuries piled up. He scored some layups and also had some wild finishes, as well. He was active on D. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and no fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He scored a layup on the outlet. He missed a layup, getting hit with no call. He got a little too straight on Westbrook on D and gave up a layup. He knocked a ball loose for a turnover. He pushed out a loose ball, weaved through the D and scored a layup. He split the D, but couldn’t finish a layup (probably should have passed after drawing the D). He scored a layup cutting baseline to take a pass. He missed a wild layup attempt in transition. Overpass this time when it looked like he was around the D and it was tipped away. He airballed an open wing three.

Caruso -- -- Not much to this one. He hit a three, but really had little impact. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He swished a wing three. He bricked an elbow pull-up. He scored a layup in the paint. He probed and hit Payton cutting for a layup.

Payton -- -- In for some garbage time and he showed off his lack of perimeter shot. At least he got a couple boards. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He cut off Caruso’s drive, took the pass and scored the layup. He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He missed a wing three.

Zubac -- -- He got in earlier in this one when Kuzma had to go to the locker room in the fourth. Otherwise, maybe we’re looking at a few scrap minutes later in the game (despite the Lakers getting worked on the glass). Of course, he had no presence on the defensive glass like most of the team. Not much to this one. The Thunder challenged him well around the rim. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting and had 1 board in 10 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was blocked on a layup attempt. He scored a layup off an entry pass from the corner. He missed a layup attempt, trying to finesse it in.

Walton -- -- Quick timeout down 4-0 after we gave up a transition dunk… Another timeout down 16-8 when we didn’t match up well in transition. Luke got mad at the team for not staying on Melo at the three line… Kuzma in for Randle down 8… Nance in for Lopez down 6… JC in for Ingram down 3… The Lakers trailed 33-25… He started Nance, Kuzma, Hart, JC and Caruso… Ingram in for Caruso down 4. JC at PG now… KCP and Randle back in for JC and Nance, Lakers tied up. Ingram at PG… The Lakers trailed 45-44 when the timeout came… Down 3 when KCP went to the locker room for JC… Lopez in for Kuzma down 2… The Lakers trailed 60-54 at the half… No KCP for the second half, so Hart got the start… Lakers struggling with Adams on the offensive glass… Second chance points hurting them badly, especially in this stretch… Kuzma in for Lopez, Lakers down by double digits… Ennis and Ingram out for Brewer and JC… Nance in for Randle down 16… The lead extended to 21 and Luke called a timeout after the 9-0 run… Caruso in for Hart… The Lakers trailed 93-72 heading into the fourth… He started the Nance, Kuzma, Brewer, JC, Caruso lineup… Zubac in for Kuzma, who left with the injury… Payton in for Clarkson, down 20 with 6:27 left for G-League garbage time with Payton, Caruso and Zubac… Tough with the injuries and guys just not rebounding…
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:47 pm    Post subject:

First.

DB, you're a saint for watching some of these games. Half of our roster isn't NBA caliber and of the guys who are, three are rookies, two the FO would 'love' to move, two are just passing through, one is a 20-year old blueprint and one is and undersized center who can't shoot....and those are the good parts of the roster.

Man this is ugly.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:04 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Missed this game. Looks like I didn't miss a thing.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:07 pm    Post subject:

Agreed with the "first post." You do a great job breaking this stuff down even when it's hard to watch (a lot of games lately). Thanks.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:23 pm    Post subject:

I think you sold Corey Brewer's game a little short -- the guy was really trying hard, even as the game was getting away from them.

Brook, though - yeesh. I like him as an offensive player, and even as a defensive presence sometimes, but there's no excuse for such poor rebounding acumen. Randle had a poor rebounding game, but at least with him it's an aberration. With Lopez, it's just par for the course.
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J.C. Smith
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:47 pm    Post subject:

Adams just crushed the Lakers on the glass tonight. They couldn't keep him off of it.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:59 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Thanks for sticking with it, with the best recaps to be found anywhere. This team is moderately competitive with Lonzo, worst in the league without him. I wish we had someone who could step up in Lonzo's absence and carry this team, but this just doesn't seem to be the case. Not this year. Here's hoping that changes soon.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:51 pm    Post subject:

You are the best DB! Keep up the good work.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:07 pm    Post subject:

Doesn’t seem like Luke had much to say about the game today...
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tox
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:59 pm    Post subject:

pio2u wrote:
You are the best DB! Keep up the good work.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 11:00 pm    Post subject:

TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Thanks DB. Thanks for sticking with it, with the best recaps to be found anywhere. This team is moderately competitive with Lonzo, worst in the league without him. I wish we had someone who could step up in Lonzo's absence and carry this team, but this just doesn't seem to be the case. Not this year. Here's hoping that changes soon.

We handed 18 million to KCP, but, couldn't be bothered to address the backup PG spot other than to bring back Ennis. All of this has been ugly. But, none of it is surprising. I still have no idea what the FO was thinking there.. I hope they didn't expect Clarkson to fill that void.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 11:21 pm    Post subject:

Rek wrote:
TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Thanks DB. Thanks for sticking with it, with the best recaps to be found anywhere. This team is moderately competitive with Lonzo, worst in the league without him. I wish we had someone who could step up in Lonzo's absence and carry this team, but this just doesn't seem to be the case. Not this year. Here's hoping that changes soon.

We handed 18 million to KCP, but, couldn't be bothered to address the backup PG spot other than to bring back Ennis. All of this has been ugly. But, none of it is surprising. I still have no idea what the FO was thinking there.. I hope they didn't expect Clarkson to fill that void.


Ennis had me believing he could fill in as backup PG going into this season. Wow was I wrong. And yeah, not Clarkson. It's sad that Mitten looks like a good choice compared with our alternatives. Heal up Lonzo.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 11:43 pm    Post subject:

LuciusAllen wrote:
I think you sold Corey Brewer's game a little short -- the guy was really trying hard, even as the game was getting away from them.

Brook, though - yeesh. I like him as an offensive player, and even as a defensive presence sometimes, but there's no excuse for such poor rebounding acumen. Randle had a poor rebounding game, but at least with him it's an aberration. With Lopez, it's just par for the course.

yeah i totally agree with you.
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tox
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 12:05 am    Post subject:

TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Rek wrote:
TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Thanks DB. Thanks for sticking with it, with the best recaps to be found anywhere. This team is moderately competitive with Lonzo, worst in the league without him. I wish we had someone who could step up in Lonzo's absence and carry this team, but this just doesn't seem to be the case. Not this year. Here's hoping that changes soon.

We handed 18 million to KCP, but, couldn't be bothered to address the backup PG spot other than to bring back Ennis. All of this has been ugly. But, none of it is surprising. I still have no idea what the FO was thinking there.. I hope they didn't expect Clarkson to fill that void.


Ennis had me believing he could fill in as backup PG going into this season. Wow was I wrong. And yeah, not Clarkson. It's sad that Mitten looks like a good choice compared with our alternatives. Heal up Lonzo.

Yeah, that's the problem. Ennis closed the season on fire from 3 and playing with confidence, because it was garbage time in the season with zero stakes. Caruso looked really good in summer league.

We should have kept one of them (Caruso, probably) but gotten a more established veteran point guard in lieu of the other. That was just very bad team building from Magic, and I suspect he bought into the hype of Ennis's end to the season/ Caruso's summer league. Very fan-like and amateurish.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:12 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB! You sure deserve a prize for keeping up with this (bleep) we've been seeing the last 4 years or so
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:15 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB..
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:42 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Gosh where was the rebounding? Seemed like they had 3 or 4 guys hitting the glass and we were lucky if we had 1 guy there.

Kuzma seems to have hit a wall we need to recharge his batteries.

Randle spun right for a dunk can't remember him doing that before.

Boy do we need Lonzo? Ennis would be good as a G league backup.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:24 am    Post subject:

Hmm - another opportunity for Randle and JC to highlight what kind of basketball players these physically gifted players are

As Sir Charles has often stated, when a PF has the number of rebounds that Randle got, what do you call him? How many rebounds and points did his counterpart on the court got?

These two are talented, but how do they ft in

DB - Great Job!!
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:47 am    Post subject:

this is what happens when you lose your best rebounder.
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:10 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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