LAKERS -at- GRIZZLIES – 3-24-18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings Reply to topic
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
DancingBarry
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief


Joined: 07 Sep 2001
Posts: 40188
Location: O.C.

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:48 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- GRIZZLIES – 3-24-18 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Quarter by Quarter… Just one win for the Grizzlies in the past 7 weeks. They lost by 61 points in their last game. You simply can’t lose to this team.

The Lakers added IT to the IR and rolled out the remainder of their bench. (Sorry, Deng. I think we’d sooner sign Stu Lantz to a 10-day then give you any run.)

This was seemingly a different game ever quarter.

Q1: The Lakers lack of defense had them walking the ball up court – no D, no pace. They fell back 17 to Memphis in the first quarter.

Q2: The offense picked up, scoring 35 points (they got 11 off the bench from Travis Wear), and they cut the lead down to 5 by halftime.

Q3: The defense showed up. The Lakers held Memphis to 14 points and they evened up the game. That’s more like it.

Q4: Rookie Kyle Kuzma showed off his offensive diversity as he dropped 15 of his game-high 25 points, including an And-1 drive, a running hook and a big three on iso straight away.

The Lakers only took control for good in this game in the final minute and won 100-93. Take the road W any way you can when you are short handed.


Randle -- -- He struggled in the first quarter, but started to put it together in the second, scoring 9 points to go with 5 boards in the first half. His typical pace these days. He just grinded away tonight for another 20-11 game. Nothing came easy. All his points were at the rim or from the line. Love that he can have an average game, maybe even below average, and still put up these numbers by just working. Good job knocking down the FTs with 20 seconds left. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-15 shooting (6-8 from the line) to go with 11 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 38 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He attacked off the three line and was blocked. He posted up Green and drew FTs, he made one. Bad idea on a cross-court pass in transition, turnover. He kicked out to Lopez for a three. Quick attack right and he choked the layup. He attacked against the shotclock and lost the ball. He missed an attempt in the paint trying to work through a triple team. He faced up at the elbow, attacked left and scored the layup. He crashed the offensive glass and cleaned up a KCP miss. He attacked Gasol right, spun left and hit the jumphook over him. He attacked Gasol with speed and scored a layup to his left. He missed a layup wanting the push foul. Second Half: He was fouled at the front of the rim off the rare drive and dish from Lopez, he made one FT. He grabbed a board in a crowd and somehow muscled it up between defenders. He fumbled away a pass. He was picked on the perimeter. He attacked off the two-man game with Wear and drew FTs, he made both. He got a low seal on his man, took the pass and scored the layup. He took a feed from Lonzo and scored a layup. He attacked, spun and missed with 1:15 left. He was fouled with 20 seconds left and made both FTs.

Ball -- -- He went 1-4 from three in the first half, but had 6 assists with only 1 turnover. “When the shot’s not falling, you got to get into the paint,” he said. He was a bit more aggressive trying to get to the rim. Nearly a triple-double tonight, just a couple boards shy. He had the 10 assists with 2 turnovers. I haven’t been thrilled with some of the passing decisions off the screen-roll. Seems like he’s giving it up too early sometimes or missing the right read, but he was finding teammates and mostly making the simple pass. Minor thing, but I’m glad he didn’t get into foul trouble tonight. We couldn’t have afforded it as you can see by the bug minutes from all the starters. Lastly, those freethrows. Why are we even inbounding the ball to him in an intentional foul situation? Sheesh. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-13 shooting (1-6 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 10 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a wing three up against the shotclock to start the game. They went under the screen in early offense so he clanked another three. He lobbed to Kuzma for a dunk. He sank a step-back wing three. He missed a wing three in early offense. He sank a rare pull-up from 17 feet out. Second Half: He curled into the paint and scored a layup. He jumped a passing lane a few seconds later, swiped the ball and dunked. He hit KCP in transition for a jumper. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He kept an offensive board alive. He attacked baseline and was blocked on a reverse. Weakside cut and Kuzma found him for the dunk. He missed a putback. He attacked, got caught in the air and threw it away. He missed a deep step-back three trying to beat the shotclock. He found Kuzma cross court for a three. He attacked the paint and was hit on a runner for FTs, he made one. He attacked, Gasol flopped and he hit Julius for the layup. We inbounded the ball to him with 36 seconds left and he was intentionally fouled, he bricked both FTs badly.

Lopez -- -- A bit harder for him tonight with Gasol out there able to defend the post. Half of Lopez’s shots tonight were from behind the three line. He was fading a bit on his threes and they generally didn’t look good. Only starter tonight not to crack double digits. Defensively, he didn’t let Gasol go crazy, but Marc did hit his FTs. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three, 3-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He blocked a drive staying with the smaller man. He attacked across the lane and hit the short one. He spun in the paint and lost the ball. He missed a deep three. He sank a corner three on a Randle kickout. He drew FTs in the post, he made one. He drew FTs on a putback attempt, he made both. He was fouled on the offensive glass to regain a possession. Second Half: He attacked off the three line and fed Randle for FTs. He missed a tough turnaround from 15 feet out. Short on a step-back three. He missed a one-hander in the paint. He airballed a short one. He was hacked in the post for FTs, he missed both, come on. He missed a deep three from the wing.

Kuzma -- -- Strong finish by Kuz tonight with 15 points in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t like he was lighting it up or anything prior to that. He just keeps his confidence high and chipped away. Check out the last several notes below from him, a string of big plays down the stretch. We leaned on the rookie and he delivered the big double-double. He was missing chippies around the rim early on and wanted the whistles, which were not coming, but that didn’t deter him. After the game though, he mentioned the defense. “We did a great job of really buckling down,” Kuzma said. They allowed just 36 points in the second half. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 9-21 shooting (4-10 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He was strip-blocked on a drive. He attacked and charged, out of control. He sank a corner jumper off a jab fake. He attacked baseline and choked the layup, then missed the follow tip. Weakside cut and Lonzo lobbed to him for the dunk. He missed a wing three. He couldn’t finish a layup on an off-ball cut and wanted the call. He hit a corner three in transition. He blocked a drive. He missed a wing three. He lost the ball in the post. He gave up a straight-line drive and layup, shading to no one. Second Half: He attacked and missed a floater. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He clanked another three. He sank a three in transition. He missed a pull-up three in transition (not a good shot because his man challenged well). Way off on a three off the elevator screens out of a timeout. He hit Lonzo cutting weakside for the dunk. He swished a corner three on a kickout. He missed a wing three. He pushed it up and hit the pull-up 15-footer. He attacked with speed and hit the running hook over Gasol. Quick attack off the three line, he was hacked on his right arm, but scored the And-1 layup with his left instead. He hit Randle under the hoop for a layup. Out of a timeout, he iso’d against a player, rose up and rattled down a deep three straight away. Intentionally fouled with 15 seconds left, he made both FTs.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He started off slow, but eventually the three ball started falling. His last was one of the bigger plays of the game as he rattled in a And-1 three for the 4-point play. They showed a stat of him being the best shooter from three after the All Star Break, hitting 50% of his threes. Tonight, he ended up 4-9. He even hit off those curl sequences that we ran a ton of earlier in the season. And where some of his worst shot selection took place. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 5-12 shooting (4-9 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed an open three from the top of the key. He bounced a pass to where he though Brook was rolling to, but Lopez popped instead, turnover. He missed a wing three out of a timeout. He hit Wear on a skip pass for a three. He missed a drive, but Randle cleaned it up. He missed an elbow pull-up. He missed an open three on a kickout. He forced Gasol into a turnover. He let a man blow by him baseline for a layup. He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs, he made both. He drained a pull-up wing three. He swished a three straight away next time down. Second Half: He knocked down a baseline jumper in transition. He sank a three curling off the screen to take the pass. He missed a wing three. He iso’d and rattled in the And-1, step-back three, he made the FT. He missed a tough wing three out of a timeout. He made a tech.

Wear -- -- Congrats to Wear getting his contract for the remainder of the season. I’ve enjoyed his aggressiveness with the shot and that he knows his role. He help dig the Lakers a little out of the first half hole with 11 points off the bench in the second quarter, shooting 4-7 (3-5 from three). They even set up a play for him out of a timeout and he drained the three. On the defensive end, he had 2 steals that quarter, as well. Quieter second half as he didn’t score, but a strong 19 minutes where he was a +14. Lakers needed that badly as the roster has been depleted. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-10 shooting (3-7 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He sank a wing three on a skip pass. He missed a three next time down on a kickback. He was fouled on the offensive glass to regain a possession. He swished a step-back wing three after losing a man on a fly-by. Nice challenge on iso D to force a miss. He pushed up a loose ball in transition and hit a toe-on-the-three-line pull-up. He swished a wing three coming off the weakside screen out of a timeout. He missed a wing three up against the shotclock. He missed a pull-up from three in transition. Second Half: He missed a three in transition. He missed a pull-up 16-footer. He hit Randle off the two-man sequence for FTs. He missed a short one in the paint.

Zubac -- -- Weird minutes for Zubac as we ran him with Lopez. Not much action from him tonight. The Stats: He didn’t shoot or score and had 1 rebound, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 4 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: Nothing to report. Second Half: He threw a pass away.

Ennis -- -- It’s clean out the freezer time for the Laker bench with IT out. We’re down to leftovers and ice-crusted frozen foods. Ennis thawed himself off quickly and scored a couple buckets in the first half along with 2 assists (and no turnovers). He had another drive for a layup in the second half. Very good minutes from him tonight. No turnovers. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He missed a floater. He pushed up the break, got middle and kicked out to Kuzma for three. He bricked a lefty finish. He swiped it back. He attacked off the handoff and took it in for a layup. He pushed out a rebound, bumped off a defender and scored the layup. He got tapped on a corner three. Second Half: He airballed a three trying to beat the shotclock. Nice help challenge to force a miss. He attacked the paint off a hesitation move and scored the layup on the other end.

Walton -- -- The Lakers quickly fell back 12-3 to start the game. The defense looking like it picked up where it left off in the last one… They were down 20-10 when Ennis came in for KCP... No pace to the game for the Lakers. Lonzo invisible and walking the ball up… Zubac in for Randle, Lakers down 27-10… KCP in for Ball, down 14. So a Zubac, Lopez, Kuzma, KCP, Ennis lineup… The Lakers trailed 28-17 after the first quarter… Randle, Wear, Ball, KCP, Ennis to start the second quarter… Wear with a couple threes and Randle finally activate and the Lakers cut it to 7, forcing a timeout… Kuzma in for Ennis out of that… The Lakers trailed 46-37 when the next timeout came… Lopez and Ennis in for Randle and KCP… Down 7 when Randle came in for Kuzma… KCP in for Ennis, down 7… The Lakers trailed 57-52 at the half… They tied the game up 59-59 after two minutes and forced a timeout… Lakers gave a 9-0 run out of that before Luke called a timeout… Down 5 when Zubac came in for Randle and Ennis in for Ball… That Lopez/Zubac combo didn’t look good, so he quickly sat Zubac a couple possessions later for Wear, Lakers still down 5… Down 2, Luke called a timeout in the middle of a possession. He brought in Randle and Ball for Lopez and KCP and set up a bricked three for Kuzma off an elevator screen… The score was tied 71-71 heading into the fourth. Good job defensively only allowing 14 points that quarter… He started a Randle, Wear, KCP, Lonzo, Ennis lineup… Kuzma in for Ennis. Down 4… He sat Randle for Lopez up 1… They pushed out to a 5-point lead off some scoring by Kuzma and forced a timeout… Up 2, the Lakers missed 3 straight FTs between Lonzo and Lopez… All starters in… Up 3 with a minute left and Luke called a timeout. Tech by Memphis and a three by Kuzma and the Lakers were suddenly up 7 with 44 seconds left… Why are we inbounding to Lonzo with 34 seconds left? He was intentionally fouled and he bricked both badly... Just 11 turnovers by the Lakers tonight. Perhaps having no IT played a role in that, but also it’s Memphis…
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
OregonLakerGuy
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 23 Feb 2005
Posts: 13207
Location: Oregon

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:50 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
deal
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 17 Aug 2008
Posts: 14900
Location: Earth

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 7:53 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB !!!!
_________________
Lakers need to build a freaking team !
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
TooMuchMajicBuss
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 17 Sep 2008
Posts: 21064
Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 8:03 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Missed the game. Win 32 was a long time coming. Here's hoping for a few more before season's end!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Dr. Laker
Franchise Player
Franchise Player


Joined: 12 Apr 2002
Posts: 17065

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 8:22 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!
_________________
On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
JM
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 25 Jun 2005
Posts: 1281

PostPosted: Sat Mar 24, 2018 8:36 pm    Post subject:

Thank you.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
RI Laker
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 27 Jun 2005
Posts: 7135

PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:03 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Classic line: " It’s clean out the freezer time for the Laker bench."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
oldlakerfan
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 15 May 2001
Posts: 2146
Location: Tega Cay, South Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:19 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
DShotMaker1824
Star Player
Star Player


Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 8767

PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:34 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB
_________________

"Through the legs to the left, through the legs to the right, we don't run them Laker plays, we just Kobe fadeaway..."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Thoughts and Ratings All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1
Jump to:  

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum






Graphics by uberzev
© 1995-2018 LakersGround.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Terms of Use.
LakersGround is an unofficial news source serving the fan community since 1995.
We are in no way associated with the Los Angeles Lakers or the National Basketball Association.


Powered by phpBB