LAKERS -at- HAWKS – 2-12-19 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:19 pm    Post subject: LAKERS -at- HAWKS – 2-12-19 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Welp… You simply can’t drop as many games to bottom-dwelling teams as the Lakers have.

They were all over the place in this game. They could score but not get stops. Then, when they could get stops, they simply stopped scoring.

The defense was super soft early on. Granted, they had two bigs out with injuries (and Hart and Ball), but there were just too many breakdowns and miscommunications.

In the fourth, the Hawks were begging the Lakers to win. But the Lakers answered with turnovers, bricks and blown layups. The game was there for the taking, but they simply couldn’t put the ball in the hoop. Stop after stop on D and absolutely nothing again and again on O. The Lakers had just 4 field goals in the last 10 minutes and finally fell 117-113.

“This is a tough loss for us,” LeBron said.

This kind of game won’t sit well.

“That’s a disappointing loss for us but it’s time for us to get away and reflect a little bit about where we are as a group,” Luke said. “I think this first part of the season, we’ve gone through a lot of adversity as a group.”

The remaining schedule is not in their favor. Rest up and get after it.


LeBron -- -- He was picking apart the D, finding cutters in the half court sets or teammates on the break for easy scores early on. He had 10 assists in the first half. Some really good moments of Bullock, Ingram and others coming off screens and LeBron finding them. This was one of the positives in the game. He was probably robbed of another 3 or 4 assists on missed layups. It seemed like the team missed a ton of those all night long. He should have had a new career high in assists instead of finishing with 16. Luke ran LeBron big minutes (43). The team needed the win and they needed LeBron to man the C spot with the injuries. They could have run McGee more even with his foul trouble, but he (liked everyone) seemed a bit confused defensively. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 8-20 shooting (3-10 from three, 9-11 from the line) to go with 11 boards, 16 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: He pushed out, skipped around the D and scored a layup. Bounce pass to Ingram cutting for an And-1 layup. He fired an inbounds to Bullock for a layup. He kicked to Bullock in the corner for a three. He missed a jumper from the top of the key. He pushed out the break and lobbed to Kuzma for the finish. He missed an open three. Turnover trying to thread a bounce pass. He swished a wide open wing three. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made one. He drew FTs on the break, he made both. He hit Bullock cutting for a layup. Similar sequence next time down and he hit Ingram cutting for a layup. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He sank a long three to bail out the offense after the play busted out of a timeout. He hit Kuzma on the break for the three. He missed a two-for-one three attempt after letting the ball roll all the way up court. He was blocked at the rim at what looked like a layup. Second Half: He hit Bullock for a layup cutting weakside. Long advance pass to Ingram for a layup. He attacked and kicked to Kuzma for a three. He hit Bullock behind a screen for a wing three. He sank a long wing jumper, foot on the three line. He missed a three from the other wing next time down. He sank a much-needed wing three. He missed a three straight away. He couldn’t finish a putback. He posted up and couldn’t get a shot off in the paint. He missed a wing three. He attacked and was blocked. He couldn’t finish over a Young on a drive left. He attacked in transition, drew a reach and threw it up from about 14 feet out on the fly and it went in, he made the FT. He attacked and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a tough step-back corner three. Turnover trying to thread a pass. He crashed the glass and was fouled for FTs, he made one. His defender reached, he attacked and threw down. He missed a three in transition. Bullock tapped a steal to him and LeBron took it for a layup to cut it to 3.

Kuzma -- -- One of those games where Kuzma needs to move the ball just a little bit more. Luke mentioned he was annoyed we didn’t make swing-swing passes to Bullock. There was one of those later in the game that Kuzma took and missed the three instead of making that play. So no doubt, Luke was thinking of Kuzma on those comments. Slow start for Kuz as he missed his first several shots before shooting .500 for the rest of the game. Too many missed layups by Kuzma tonight. Defensively, the team as a whole had some communication breakdowns. Kuzma was in on that. They just didn’t seem ready to switch as quickly as they needed to in the small ball lineups. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 8-20 shooting (3-9 from three) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He choked a layup on the bounce pass from LeBron to start the game. He missed a wing three (should have cut to take that pass and he would have had a layup). He missed a short baseline jumper off the inbounds. He missed an open corner three next time down. He finished a lob on the break. He missed a reverse he should have had in transition a few seconds later. He curled into the paint, took the pass and scored a layup. He knocked a ball loose at midcourt and it led to a Laker And-1. He sank a wing three off a handoff. Another one from the same spot in transition next time down. Second Half: He slithered his way off the three line to a reverse layup. He found McGee flashing to the ball for the short jumphook. Corner three off the kickout from LeBron. He missed a corner three. No communication on a switch and we gave up an easy score. He missed a baseline floater. He missed a wing three in transition. He missed a wing three. He grabbed an offensive board and reversed like Ceballos. He couldn’t finish a layup off a curl, might have been under cut. He blocked a drive. He up-faked and was called for a travel on the other end (weak call). He was going to pass the ball on the break but had to change at the last second and bricked the layup, uggh. He missed a three, Rondo got the board, Kuzma cut and scored a layup when Rondo found him.

Ingram -- -- He led the Lakers in the first half with 16 points on 6-10 shooting. He did a good job getting downhill off the dribble or on off ball cuts for some easy finishes. Really, some of his better work off ball at times early on. He’d also get 3 fouls in the first half, which had him sidelined a little. Then he’d pick up his fourth in the third quarter and he seemed to disappear after that. Late in the game, he was a negative factor offensively. He seemed to be making a point of grabbing defensive boards early in this game, but that also went away. He did play at the PF spot for a stretch in the first half, so that might have been stressed to him that if we’re going small, he needs to board. Multiple times in this game he was stripped in the paint as he gathered to finish at the rim. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-14 shooting (0-1 form three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 4 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He got downhill in transition and easily scored a layup. He iso’d, backed his man down and scored a layup around him. He was called for a travel but it looked like he was stripped and regained the ball. He cut baseline weak to strong and LeBron found him for the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He was stripped in the post. He missed a pull-up from the wing. He didn’t take an open three, iso’d and sank the 21-footer instead. He cut after setting a screen and LeBron found him for the easy layup. He was stripped on the break to take a dunk away. He missed a jumper on the inbounds. He got downhill in transition and drew FTs on a moving defender, he made both. He overpassed instead of taking the easy layup. He drew a charge in the paint to get a stop. After his pass was picked off, he got it right back off Kuzma’s steal and scored an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He got pinned deep in the paint and gave up an And-1, his third foul of the half. Second Half: He attacked and lost the ball for a dunk the other way. Quick change of ends after a made basket, LeBron chucked it to him and BI finished without coming down. He picked up his fourth foul with 7:31 left and sat for KCP. He attacked in transition and was swatted by a big. He iso’d and it resulted in a shotclock violation when he was eventually stripped. Great cut off Rondo’s drive and he was fouled on a monster throwdown attempt, he made one FT. He missed a corner three on a kickout. He forced up and bricked a smothered turnaround in the post.

Bullock -- -- Really impressed with him on both ends of the floor in this game. Defensively, he was covering 1 to 5 pretty effectively. He was active, long and always moving. That defensive versatility will be huge if the Lakers can get Lonzo back and start playing ball on that end of the floor with consistency. Obviously, he’ll be an upgrade from Svi this season, who is young and still growing into his game. The question will be whether Reggie is just a rental or a part of the future. He had 10 points on 4-5 shooting in the first half. In the second half, we probably should have looked for him a bit more. He had a few scores off set plays where he worked off screens on cuts for catch and shoots. You can easily see how well he’ll fit with LeBron on the floor. “I definitely felt the comfort growing,” he said. He said he knows it will take a little time, but they don’t have that, so he needs to get up to speed quickly. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting (3-6 from three) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He sank a wing three, pulling up off a screen. He missed a three coming off the screen to his right. He scored a layup out of the BLOB play after a timeout. He swished a corner three on the kickout from LeBron. Nice cut as he set an off-ball screen and LeBron fed him for the layup. Second Half: He helped get a stop in the post with LBJ to start the half. He missed a short one on the other end. He threw away a bounce pass that wasn’t there as he came off a screen. He blocked his man from behind to get a stop. Great weak-to-strong curl to take a pass from LeBron in the post and score a layup. He swished a wing three behind a screen. He missed a corner three on the catch. He missed a wing three out of a timeout. He missed a layup on the break after taking a long outlet. He stopped a big in the post out of a timeout. He swiped an inbounds, tapping it to LeBron who took it for a score.

McGee -- -- Some foul trouble in this one probably limited his time some, but Luke also went small for a ton. The lack of bigs reminds me of the start of this season when we were hurt badly in the small ball. Not a lot of action or playmaking to McGee in this one offensively. He seemed confused at times defensively. Kind of feel like if we had Zu available in this game, we win it. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: Trailing the break, he tried to cram over a closing defender, took contact and went down hard for FTs, he made both. He was fouled on the defensive glass for FTs, he missed both. He faked a handoff and hit the baseline jumphook. Second Half: He swished a quick jumphook flashing to the ball. Illegal screen out of a timeout, turnover, and his fourth foul.

Rondo -- -- Uggh, those turnovers. He had 6 tonight. Some of these just drive me crazy with poor decisions, but there were also head scratchers with how you throw the ball into a teammate’s feet as he’s cutting. Defensively, he was both picked on as a switching small and also just abused because he was a bit lazy sometimes. We miss Lonzo, no doubt, but he’s got to make a better effort on that end. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-10 shooting (2-4 form three, 1-3 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 6 turnovers and 4 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He attacked in early offense and scored a layup. Awful bounce pass into KCP’s feet for a turnover. He missed an elbow pull-up. He changed directions baseline and drew FTs at the rim, he made one. He dumped off a pass to KCP trailing for an And-1 three. He drew an offensive foul battling on D in the post. He threw a post feed away not on the same page as his teammate and a bad angle, as well. He missed a corner three on a kickout. He attacked off the three line and scored the backhand layup. Second Half: Screen assist to free up Bullock for an open three in semi-transition. Turnover on a cross-court bounce pass on the baseline. He found himself open from the wing and swished a three. Next time down, he pushed it up, hesitated, changed directions on the big and scored the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. Lazy D and he gave up a three. He attacked and missed the layup. He threw a kickout away. He attacked and fed Ingram for FTs as he was fouled on a cut for a dunk. He traveled, attacking off the three line. Tough runner, not close. He hustled for an offensive board and hit Kuzma cutting for a layup. He missed a wing three. He sank a wide open wing three. He threw an inbounds away.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He had 11 points on 4-7 shooting (3-4 from three) for a strong first half offensively. Looked like he was on his way to a decent game. He’d score just one jumper in the second half. Defensively, still problems. Funniest play from him in the game was when he fell asleep on an inbounds and realized his man was in the corner. He then ran there to try to man up and ended up in perfect position to swipe the ball. Just dumb luck on his one steal in this game. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting (3-7 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He sank a corner three on a kickout from LeBron. He didn’t use glass on a reverse and missed. He tipped in a missed shot. He sank an And-1 three trailing the break, he missed the FT to blow the 4-point play. He swiped the ball on an inbounds. He choked a layup off the feed from LeBron. He sank a wing three in transition. Awful close out after getting lost and he gave up a layup. Second Half: He missed an open wing three on the swing pass. He blocked a drive. He got his man on his hip, pump-faked and hit the tricky 17-footer. He missed a wing three. He missed a wing three.

Stephenson -- -- Just an awful game. Luke trimmed his minutes a little short in the second half despite all kinds of foul trouble from others. He didn’t hit a shot and had some poor shot selection in the process. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-5 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He clanked a forced three. He iso’d and missed a long wing jumper. He attacked and was stripped, turnover. He missed a sideline three then went brain dead in transition, not matching up to give up a dunk. Second Half: Wild, off-balance corner jumper and he missed, just bad shot selection.

Wagner -- -- With Chandler and Muscala out with bum wheels, we ran a brief stint of Moe at the C spot. The team did not fare well as they were a -7. He’s not quite ready for anchor duties. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting from three to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed an open wing three. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Walton -- -- The Lakers took a 14-10 lead after a 7-0 run… They lost the lead after giving up a series of threes and Luke called a timeout, down 1 with 3:43 left in the quarter… He went with a Wagner, Stephenson, Rondo, KCP, LeBron lineup. Why wholesale change? Spread it out a few minutes... An 11-0 Hawks run as a result, Lakers down 10… The Lakers trailed 38-32 after the first quarter, mostly on threes… He started the smaller Wagner, Ingram, Stephenson, KCP, Rondo lineup… LeBron back in quickly at the C… They cut it to 1 on an 8-0 run... They forced a timeout taking a 1-point lead… Kuzma in for KCP as the Lakers add a little more size, up 1… A series of layups, so Luke called a timeout down 3… LeBron out for Stephenson… LeBron back in for Rondo… Ingram out with his third foul with 2:37 left for KCP. Lakers down 1… The Lakers trailed 69-65 at the half. On their way to giving up another 120+ game… Quick timeout by Luke after giving up a series of dunks, Lakers down 3… McGee with four fouls out after 3 minutes for Rondo, Lakers down 2… Now BI with his fourth and Luke sat him for KCP, score tied with 7:31 left… Kuzma sat with foul trouble with 4:09 left. Stephenson in… McGee back in with 3 minutes left for LeBron, Lakers down 4… The Lakers took a lead, but gave it back up on back-to-back threes and Luke called a frustrated timeout with 1:22 left in the third… LeBron back in for Stephenson… The Lakers trailed 100-95 heading into the fourth… He started a LeBron, Kuzma, Ingram, KCP, Rondo lineup… Lakers can’t afford to lose the first 5 minutes… Timeout, Lakers down 8 with 9:37 left… Down 6 with 6:55 left, KCP out for Bullock. They didn’t lose ground, but they didn’t make any up… Lakers 2-12 shooting on last 12 attempts… Lakers cut it to 3 with 13 seconds left and let the clock go down to 4 seconds left before fouling…
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tony
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:22 pm    Post subject:

Embarrassing as (bleep)
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lounger
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:37 pm    Post subject:

Thanks, DB... I think this is it for the Lakers this season. But, who knows?!?
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Shaber
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 12:28 am    Post subject:

Can you feel too how trading Zubac hurts?
Sure he is no saviour, but suddenly we are really thin at C, where we were packed just a few games back.
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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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Daphanabe
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 12:45 am    Post subject:

What a brutal demoralizing loss. Really skeptical we make the playoffs now.
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Shaber
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 3:31 am    Post subject:

tony wrote:
Embarrassing as (bleep)


Can this group of Lakers feel embarrassed?

Do they?

Can they make adequate conclusions and emerge stronger than before?

Somehow I doubt.


My sky has fallen down.
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Lakers depth chart

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C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan
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oldlakerfan
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 3:47 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB

Maybe they win with Zubac
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danzag
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 3:57 am    Post subject:

The team gave up. I am giving up too
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akgolf
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:34 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB:(
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LakerLanny
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 7:39 am    Post subject:

As we sit at the All Star Break, we are on pace to win 40 games.

Obviously that is way below expectations and not a playoff qualifying win total.

A win streak right away is badly needed if this season is to be salvaged.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:04 am    Post subject:

How many games we lost against tanking teams?
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Stumpy25
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:06 am    Post subject:

The defense sucks, it's like nobody is giving effort. This reflects on Luke's lack of toughness. He's got to go, but I think they will wait until after the season is over.
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RI Laker
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:13 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB. Great point about Lonzo and Bullock on the defensive side of the ball.
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Nobody
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:29 am    Post subject:

Yeah, Luke, 57 out of 82 games equals the first part of the season. Not enough time to make up ground, in my opinion. Poor roster construction and LeBron missing those games really did us in. Eevn if they do squeak in, I don't envision them beating any of the top teams in a 7 game series. Back to the drawing board for the FO. And soon.
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70sdude
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:24 am    Post subject:

Thanks for the recap.

A few weeks back, my son suggested that the team's play on this road trip would end up the bellwether for the team's chances in the final quarter of the regular season. OK, it's not a good result. It's 2-4. Ouch.

I'm starting to accept that these Lakers won't finish strongly enough to qualify for the postseason. Many of us wondered if a club comprised of such an unusual set of characters (and not great shooters) could be assimilated quickly into a potent team and even dragged into a playoff series successfully by an ironman superstar. It's not over yet, but it's a task that perhaps only a healthy LeBron can pull off now. How healthy is he ?
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yinoma2001
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:29 am    Post subject:

This was a trap 1-2-3 Cancun game. Plus it's the ATL so guys were probably out partying pretty hard the night before.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 12:47 pm    Post subject:

Horrid, pathetic garbage. Thanks for recapping that DB.
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Lakers#1Team
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:01 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Hope you have a nice vacation from recaps!
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:52 pm    Post subject:

LakerLanny wrote:


A win streak right away is badly needed if this season is to be salvaged.


I worry that the big win streak was already set up for us in the schedule, but we got hit by the injuries and flatlined during that stretch.

We definitely need all hands on deck to make it happen right now. Hopefully, we get everyone rested and then Lonzo back asap.
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