SUNS -at- LAKERS – 1-27-19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 9:54 pm    Post subject: SUNS -at- LAKERS – 1-27-19 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Making Sure Nothing Crazy Happens… The Lakers were down three starters with Kuzma sidelined this game, but thankfully they were playing the Suns. The goal tonight was making sure nothing crazy happens and get the easy win.

They went to the body early as the Lakers had 52 points in the paint by halftime. Zubac and Ingram led the way, combining for 28 points on 13-16 shooting in the first half.

After softening the inside, the Lakers stroked it from outside in the second half, making 8-15 threes in the final two quarters.

In the fourth, a series of threes from Stephenson and KCP helped the Lakers take control. Rondo captained the team to the steady 116-102 win over the Suns.

Got to have this one because the games get a lot tougher right now.


Ingram -- -- Ingram gets to play his more natural role now that Rondo is back, KCP is in at the shooting guard, there’s no LeBron (and we are also having Stephenson run the second unit). This means he can focus more on just being a wing. He scored 17 points on 8-9 shooting to go with 3 assists in the first half mostly at that SF spot. The Lakers were able to get into the paint with relative ease. Ingram is pretty deadly from 10 feet in and that’s where he was doing most of his damage. His games was a bit limited by fouls and he finished with 22 points in 32 minutes. He sank his only attempt from three on a kickout. The last couple of games, it’s looked like he’s getting a few more of those looks. Offensively, we didn’t just put the ball in his hands so that the D could load up on him. We ball reversed into those two-man sequences to make sure the D couldn’t settle in. “Just trying to get easy baskets for the team,” he said. It did look a lot easier than it usually does. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 9-11 (1-1 from three, 3-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 6 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He bullied his way to the front of the rim and scored over the smaller defender. He backed his man down and hit the short turnaround over him. Again he muscled his way into the paint and hit the short fade. He iso’d, attacked left, hung and banked in a tough one. He attacked from the wing and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked down the lane and scored the lefty layup. He missed a pull-up 18-footer at the end of the quarter. He took a pass in transition, probed to his right, lifted the ball high over a reach and scored a layup with his right. Great help D rotation to force a brick under the hoop. Dump off to Zu in the paint for a dunk. He worked off the screen, got his man on his hip, froze the big and scored the layup. He worked off the high screen, pumped at the FT line to lose the challenge and hit the jumper. Second Half: He probed and had his pass deflected, but Zubac scored it anyway. He attacked and drew FTs at the rim, he made one. He couldn’t finish a drive he should have had. He swished a corner three on a kickout. He attacked with speed on a ball reversal into the two-man game out of a timeout and he earned FTs, he made one. Interior pass after drawing the help off a spin in the post and it setup Zu for FTs. He caught a man with an elbow in the paint to foul out.

Rondo -- “It’s really nice to have him back. He knows who needs shots, who’s hot,” Luke said. He mentioned Rondo doesn’t hunt assists, he just makes the right play. How much did Luke want him on the floor? He played him 42 minutes tonight. (He should have pulled him with a couple of minutes left.) But Luke didn’t trust anyone else running the offense. We also didn’t put BI into that type of role, either. Despite all the injuries, Luke knows you’ve got to win this game. The Suns lost 7 in a row coming into the game, so he’s going to make sure he gets this W or that hot seat gets hotter. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-9 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 4 boards, 11 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: Nice feed to KCP under the hoop, who missed but scored on the follow. He couldn’t finish a layup on a drive. He attacked and had his layup goaltended. He missed a baseline jumper. He hit KCP coming off the screen for the jumper. He attacked with speed, switched hands in air scored the layup. He couldn’t finish a scoop at the end of the half. Second Half: He airmailed an outlet to Ingram right out of bounds. He pulled out a dribble, crossed over and hit the baseline floater. He attacked and kicked to Ingram for the three. He attacked and setup Zu for FTs at the rim. He knocked a ball loose on a reach from behind. He found KCP for a three in transition. He was picked from behind. He kicked to Lance for a three. He couldn’t finish a drive. He set up Zubac on the screen-roll for the And-1. He missed an open sideline three. He hit Moe on the pick and pop for three. He attacked for a layup.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He quietly led the Lakers in scoring with Zubac. He had 11 points on 5-9 shooting in the first half as well as 2 steals. Steady offensively, nothing out of his comfort zone. That paid off in the fourth when he sank a couple of threes to help nearly bust the game open. He sink 4-9 from three on the night. Defensively, when he was attacked quickly, not much resistance. But good team defense tonight. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 9-17 shooting (4-9 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards (3 offensive), 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a wing three, cut behind the D off Beasley’s offensive board, took the pass and scored a layup. He missed a layup but tipped the follow. He missed a wing three on a kickout. Poor pass on a lob to Zu who was open. He jumped a passing lane, swiped the ball, pushed it up and hit the 9-footer. He blew an uncontested dunk. His pass in the paint was picked off. He stopped cutting and Rondo threw a pass to where he was going. He took the handoff, attacked left and scooped in the lefty And-1 layup, he made the FT. He swished an 18-footer coming off the screen to take the pass. Second Half: He sank a corner three on a kickout. He sank another corner three in transition. Booker went around him for a layup on the other end. He took a dribble left and airballed the three. He up-faked and had the ball poked away for a break the other way. He missed a flat three. He sank a tech FT. He took a dribble and hit the three straight away. He missed a wing three in transition next time down. He measured and drained a wide open wing three.

Zubac -- -- Standing O when he fouled out with a minute left in the game. Dominating game from Zubac. He seemed to be in the Suns head tonight. Whether it was the continual challenges at the rim, the hard screens or just dominating in the paint, they felt him all night. Defensively, we were blitzing Booker on the screens with Zubac, forcing him to then recover on the rotations. Excellent work by Zubac on this. He really moved well on the court, pushing the ball handler out to midcourt and hustling back to recover in the paint. Loved seeing that change from him defensively and just how well he handled it. Sure, it’s the Suns, but he took them out of their offense. He was just a consistent, steady force on both ends of the floor. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting and 7 boards (also a team-high +11) in the first half. Similar impact in the second half. His usual assortment of good hands and finishes around the rim. He also continued his impressive showing from the line. Just a pleasure to watch right now. Young kid is bringing it. “Every time we play him, he keeps playing at a high level,” Luke said. Embiid up next. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 9-16 shooting (6-7 from the line) to go with 16 boards (5 offensive), 4 blocks, 2 turnovers and 6 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He blocked a jumper in the paint. He bullied his way to the middle of the paint and missed. He might have blocked another layup, but forced the miss regardless. He drew FTs flashing to the ball and attacking, he made both. He erased a layup, swatting it out of bounds on a Suns ATO play. He missed a jumphook, got it back and went glass instead for the score. He grabbed an offensive board and scored. He dunked off the dumpoff pass from BI. He got the ball at the FT line, took a dribble, spun and scored the lefty layup. He hit a jumphook working the post against the shotclock. Second Half: He flashed weak to strong off the screen, took the pass and hit the short jumphook. He guided in a tipped pass for a score. He couldn’t finish a layup he should have dunked, getting blocked, got to finish those. He regained a possession drawing a foul on the offensive boards. He missed a tip at the front of the rim. He couldn’t finish through a soft foul off the setup from Rondo, he made both FTs. He grabbed an offensive board, shed the defender and powered in the layup. Miscommunication and we gave up an And-1 off an inbounds pass. He couldn’t finish off glass. He grabbed a board and missed the dunk, got hit from behind with no call. He scored the And-1 on the roll with Rondo, he made the FT. He rejected a drive and controlled it. He drew FTs on the interior pass from Ingram, he made one. Looked like he blocked a dunk attempt, but they called a foul. His man tried to attack him and Zubac rejected the drive off him as he tumbled out of bounds, domination. Moving screen and he fouled out with 1:37 left, standing O.

Beasley -- -- With Kuzma sidelined, Beasley moved into the starting PF position. Some good help D moments, including a block on Booker’s dunk attempt (he’d finish with 3 blocks on the night). The passing was hot and cold. He was spraying passes to places where he thought players were. He found Stephenson open on the bench, and later, a ref open from three. Eventually, he and Stephenson would connect in the fourth quarter when Beasley found him for a couple of key threes. Not a great scoring night, but just enough on D and dishing out 6 assists made him effective. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-12 shooting to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 3 steals, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls in 26 minutes. The Action: He got an offensive board and hit KCP cutting for a layup. He attacked and was rejected in a crowd. Easy score from the elbow on a drive left. He threw a pass out of bounds. He switched hands in air and dunked off the feed from Lance. He was blocked, got it back and missed the short one. He blocked his man on the other end to return the favor. He bullied his man in the post and hit the jumphook. He got caught in the air and threw it out of bounds. Second Half: He hit Zubac coming weak to strong off the set play for a score to start the half. He attacked right and hit the floater left. Great help D to reject Booker’s throwdown attempt. He missed a good look at a jumphook. He attacked and missed the runner. He kicked to KCP for a corner three. He missed a short one at the rim, but Zubac cleaned it up. Out of control and he kicked out to the referee. He missed a short hook across the lane. He erased a drive with a block at the rim. He found Lance for a couple of threes. Nice read as he picked off a pass after we blitzed the screen.

McGee -- -- Somehow, he still managed to be negative in the +/- in his 11 minutes. He’s really fallen off. He needs to find another gear or his second wind and get his mojo back. Freethrow shooting-wise, he seems like he’s all wrists right now. Offensively, we’re not finding him for as many lobs (doesn’t help we have passers out). He also seems to be maybe too comfortable where he’s taking chances he might not have early on in the season. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He tried to attack from the elbow and charged over the smaller defender. And-1 layup off the great drive and dish from Lance, he made the FT. His finish attempt was blocked on the break. He sank a short one in the middle of the paint on a set play. He couldn’t finish a lob. Second Half: He threw a bounce pass away instead of attacking off the pass, layup the other way. He was flattened on a high post entry by the help D for FTs, he bricked both.

Hart -- -- He pulled himself later in the game with knee tendinitis. He hit a three and threw down a dunk off a drive from the corner. He had a nice rejection off glass on a recovery on the defensive end. Hopefully, the knees get a little more rest. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He traveled on his first touch, attacking off the three line. He erased Booker’s drive with a rejection off glass. He sank a corner three off a swing pass. He missed a wing three. Swing pass to Lance for three. He forced and missed a sideline three in transition. He attacked past Booker from the corner and threw down with both hands. Second Half: Nothing to report. XXX

Stephenson -- -- Good run in the first half as he started by working off Rondo. Then ran the second unit effectively. The Suns soft D allowed him to get into the paint for scores or to set up teammates. In the second half, he hit a series of much-needed threes in the fourth quarter to force a timeout. Lance in full air guitar mode on the one that forced the timeout (he said Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” was playing in his head). That flurry of scores in the fourth punched back when the Suns were poised to make a run. He said he’s getting a hundred threes up before and after practice. With Kuzma sidelined glad we got the production. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 7-10 shooting (3-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +12. The Action: He missed a wing three. He broke his man down, attacked, ball-faked, then fed McGee for the And-1 layup. He fouled 40 feet from the hoop on pressure D at the end of the quarter to give up FTs. He sank a corner three off the swing pass. He attacked and finished with his left. He hit Beasley rolling for a dunk. He drew a charge in transition, taking a shoulder from Jackson. Second Half: He attacked off the wing screen and hooked off glass over the big. He sank a much-needed sideline three off a kickout. He attacked the paint, held the ball up high and then scooped it around the help D. He missed a wing three. He swished a corner three on a kickout. A few seconds later, out on the break, and he swished another corner three in transition on the kickout. He airballed a turnaround almost behind the backboard trying to beat the shotclock.

Mykhailiuk -- -- He struggled with his shot, missing from the perimeter and even a point-blank layup attempt. Later in the game, he had no confidence in the jumper and decided to go to the dribble and got picked after too much dribbling. That got him benched by Luke until the final minutes. Just wasn’t feeling it tonight. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-5 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He scooped up the loose ball and pushed out the break. He drew a push-off foul anticipating a cut to get the stop. He missed a corner jumper. He got to measure and square up a three and missed it. He choked a layup on the break. Second Half: Nice job as the only man back on a 3-on-1 break to disrupt it to help get a stop. Way short on a three in transition the other way. Too much dribbling because he had no confidence in his shot and he was finally picked. He missed a wing three.

Caruso -- -- He came in to close the third quarter while Rondo was out there. No real run. The Stats: He didn’t have any stats in less than 1 minute. He was a -2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He overpassed instead of trying to finish.

Wagner -- -- He came in for Zubac when he fouled out with over a minute left. Moe quickly drained a three on the pick and pop. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting from three to go with 1 board in 2 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He sank a pick and pop three.

Walton -- -- The Lakers worked their way to a 10-2 lead after the first 3 minutes and forced a timeout… They are blitzing the screens when Booker has the ball… The lead was cut to 14-10 and Luke called a timeout… Hart in for Beasley out of that… The Lakers were up 4 when McGee entered for Zubac with 4 minutes left… Stephenson in for KCP, Lakers up 1… The Lakers led 31-27 after the first quarter… He started a McGee, Beasley, Hart, Svi, Stephenson lineup… Zubac in for McGee who picked up his third foul with 8:50 left… Lakers up 9 when the timeout came… Rondo, KCP and Ingram in for Stephenson, Beasley and Hart, Lakers up 8… Hart in for Svi, Lakers extending their lead… He pulled out Zubac for Beasley, and Beasley turned the ball over and then gave up putback in his 30 seconds at the C spot… The Lakers led 65-53 at the half. All Lakers were positive in the +/- in the first half. The Lakers had a 52-22 advantage on points in the paint. They shot just 2-8 from three… Booker attacking more on iso or early offense versus getting the double team off screens to start the half for the Suns… The Lakers pushed out to 15 and forced a timeout… The lead was trimmed to 12 and Luke took a quick timeout to prevent anything from happening… Zu out for McGee out of that… Svi and Stephenson in for Hart and KCP… Caruso in for Ingram, Lakers up 11 with 1:18 left… He sat Svi for KCP… They led 90-81 heading into the fourth… He started a Zubac, Beasley, Ingram, KCP, Stephenson lineup. Changing things up… Luke with a quick, angry timeout on a blown BLOB play to give up an And-1 to the Suns with 11:25 left as the lead was cut down to 6… Rondo in for Ingram who picked up his fifth foul… Lakers back up 13 to force a timeout… Whatever play we had out of that timeout resulted in a shotclock violation as it busted… They still extended to a 17-point lead off a couple KCP threes and forced another timeout… Svi and Ingram in with 5:44, Lakers up 15… Not sure why we’re leaving Rondo out there once the game was under control. Luke didn’t want anything crazy happening in this one…
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JerryMagicKobe
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 9:57 pm    Post subject:

Primero!
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tox
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:21 pm    Post subject:

Seems like BI always tears up the Suns. I imagine it has to do with them not having a rim protector/ good interior defense more broadly.
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 11:02 pm    Post subject:

tercero!
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Shaber
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 11:12 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!

I wonder if there are stats about which team is the most injury-prone? Lakers sure seem to be among the "best" in this category.

Good to win for a change. If Zubac can bring the same game next time against Embiid...
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:02 am    Post subject:

If you want to see a selfish basketball player, I encourage you all to go back and watch all the highlights of this one and just watch Devin Booker. His effort on the defensive end is disgusting. Say all you want about our young guys and all their faults, but they at least try to play correctly. Dude is a joke.

Great efforts by Zu and Lance in this one, fun game.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:04 am    Post subject:

Anyone see Stu throw shade at Booker, “the Suns just hope his hamstring issues aren’t chronic’. Lance is usually circumspect when talking player injuries. He brought that up on his own.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:50 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Praise God that Zu finally got a chance to play. He has been great and keeps getting better. The veteran leadership of Chandler and McGee has really helped him. Watch how Lebron gets the ball to him once he returns.

Nice game by BI and KCP and that fellow playing the air guitar.
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 4:26 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!

Zubac - Awesome game by ZU! He's earned the starting center position. We need production at the beginning of games and he brings it. I view McGee and Chandler's main role going forward is to support Zubac's development.

Ingram - Great to see an efficient game where he doesn't try to do too much. Rondo at the point probably helps BI stay in the flow of the game.

Lance -
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 5:28 am    Post subject:

My only issue is Rondo’s minutes. There is no way he can sustain playing 40 + minutes a night, but we need him on the floor at all times
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 5:43 am    Post subject:

Suns straight horrible. Booker prob looking at his bank account after every game, frustrated but can’t tell nobody, picking fights with non confrontational players. Zubac, oh man, can he be like Sabonis, the father
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 6:04 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB:)
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TooMuchMajicBuss
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:07 am    Post subject:

Thanks again DB! One more for the win column. Here's hoping Lebron is fully healed and ready to go.
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