PELICANS -at- LAKERS - 2/25 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

 
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 11:06 pm    Post subject: PELICANS -at- LAKERS - 2/25 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

Building Momentum... Previously against the Pelicans, it was AD leading the charge with big games and big numbers. Tonight, it was LeBron’s turn.

LeBron James dropped a season-high 40 points on the Pelicans as he helped lead the Lakers to the 118-109 win.

This was a nice mix of having a superstar lead the charge, but the role players filling in brilliantly around him. While LeBron had the big numbers, Alex Caruso sparked the team with the highlight plays and a team-high 8 assists. Danny Green knocked down five threes. And the Lakers introduced Markeiff Morris into the mix.

The Lakers were struggling to keep the energy going heading into the All Star break. They appear to have found their second wind.


LeBron -- -- The team tends to go as he goes. He seemed to be in cruise control early on and so the 13-point lead the Lakers had out of the gates was squandered as he settled and turned the ball over at a high rate (4 turnovers in his first 11 minutes). His next 7 minutes, he’d start getting after it. He took Holiday into the post on multiple occasions for scores. AC also found him on the move for a couple scores at the rim. And with that, the Lakers built a little lead in that second quarter. He came out firing from three (hitting three of them and also tipped in Bradley’s missed three) to quickly push the Lakers to 14-point lead in the third as he scored our first 11 points of the half. In the fourth, he got to the rim for some scores and the Lakers built up a comfortable lead to close this one out. LeBron dropping a season-high 40 allowed us to manage a bit of a sub par game from AD. By the way, the chemistry between LeBron and Caruso is pretty damn fun to watch at times. Both think the game really well and it results in some great passing/cutting sequences. The Stats: He scored 40 points on 17-27 shooting (5-11 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 6 assists, 1 block, 7 turnovers and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a +12.

Davis -- -- He had 14 points in the first half but it took him 14 attempts. His jumper wasn’t working as he airballed a couple perimeter shots early. He couldn’t find anything in the post against Zion early on. He had some good looks to Morris early on, but his passing can be pretty sloppy at times when he gets confused or flustered. He was never really able to impose himself offensively in this one, finishing with an inefficient 6-21 shooting. Defensively, he was pretty disruptive around the rim (Lakers as a team did a good job). His best block of the game was also one that had everyone worried. It looked like he might have hyperextended his elbow on the backboard, but it seemed to go away as he looked normal after a timeout as he continued to play. He’s had some good games against the Pelicans without Zion on the court. Tonight, offensively, wasn’t a clean one. Despite all that...look at the numbers 21 and 14 with 6 blocks. It felt like a sub par game, and that’s amazing. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 6-21 shooting (0-3 from three, 9-10 from the line) to go with 14 boards (6 offensive), 3 assists, 1 steal, 6 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +11.

Green -- -- I loved the “winning basket” stuff from Green and Caruso tonight. We had both of them playing their role to perfection. AC was able to distribute the ball while playing his disruptive D. Green was able to knock down perimeter shots while doing the same on D. If we can get that combo doing it anywhere like this in the playoffs ... that gets you W’s. It’s two-way ball from your role players, and the more minutes of two-way ball you get in the playoffs, the more you win. Green had the three ball going. He sank three threes in the first half, including our first bucket of the game. He’d hit a couple more in the second half. He also had a key jumper from the top of the key after moving in off a fly by. Those killed the Pelicans. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-10 shooting (5-9 from three) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +15.

McGee -- -- Not a lot of action in this one. He’d sink a 20-footer (and also overpass at the rim instead of dunking one). There’s a chance his minutes go down further with Morris in the mix as maybe we go to AD at the C spot a little earlier and bring in Morris. But tonight was more just the usual rotation stuff from Vogel wheren McGee plays a couple of stints. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 9 boards (3 offensive) and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a +7.

Bradley -- -- He was 0-5 in the first half (0-4 from three). He’d miss three more wide open threes to start the second half. Just shot blanks all night. I would have liked to see Vogel run him less than 22 minutes as it was pretty obvious he was off tonight. I’m surprised he got back in the game after each of his stints to the start the halves. Hopefully, he got this game out of his system and gets back to knocking them down. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-8 shooting (0-7 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 22 minutes. He was a +3.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Nice work with 11 points on 4-7 shooting in the first half, including 3-6 from three. In the second half, he scored on a couple plays he’s really good at: The first is that midrange wing jumper coming off the strongside handoff play. He seems automatic on those. When the pressure is on, those are big makes. The second one was just another counter strike layup in transition. He’s our fastest guy down court. He picked up a tech arguing about a no call when Lonzo shoved AC to the ground with his off hand on a drive for a score. I like seeing him out there closing games as he spaces the floor and plays good D. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 6-11 shooting (3-7 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -1.

Kuzma -- -- With Morris in the mix, we’ll slide Kuzma down to the wing more. But you saw the quick trigger from Vogel tonight late in the third. He had enough of Rondo/Kuzma getting worked and coughing up leads. He sat them for AC/Morris and the Lakers turned things around. Morris will eat into Kuzma’s minutes at backup PF and also our C’s as I think we’ll start to favor the AD/Morris combo a little more and maybe the AD/McGee or AD/Howard just a little less. (Dudley’s time at backup C is probably done, too.) We’ve got to dial in those non-LeBron minutes. At least tonight, we didn’t have to suffer through them for long as Vogel changed things up. Kuzma had some nice attacks off the three line for scores. Morris will give us a bit more dog out there when Kuzma is playing a bit soft. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-10 shooting (0-3 form three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 12 minutes He was a -19.

Caruso -- -- The Accountant balanced the books tonight. We traded Lonzo Ball, but AC managed to give you everything we traded...and end up out-Lonzoing Lonzo in this one. I mean that block at the rim he had of Lonzo, sending him to the floor with the ball off LO...that kind of said it all for Laker fans. They loved it and we’ll see that highlight again and again. The passing, the D and chipping in with a few points. Copy. Paste. Do it again and again like this. He was moving the ball like a boss in his first stint, finding three shooters on kickouts and LeBron cutting for scores at the rim. He had 6 assists in his first 5 minutes. Just beautiful ball from him there. That’s exactly what we want. The highlight reel dish of the night was going between his legs with a no-looker to LeBron trailing for a dunk. They were down 1 when he entered in the second quarter and up 8 when he sat for Bradley. Now, I really can’t think of a great reason to bring back Bradley here who was 0-5 with a turnover. We played AC just 6 minutes in that first half and he had the team rolling as he sat. That was a little puzzling to me. But Vogel had no problems benching Rondo in the third quarter and not bringing him back. The result? AC finished a +20 in 17 minutes. How often do we see numbers like that? And the home crowd eats it up. It sparks Staples to life, sparks the team and we go. So when he came in for that second half stint, he scored a layup off a screen-roll with LeBron. He had that Lonzo rejection. He scooped up a loose ball, attacked and finished a tricky And-1 layup over his head. Staples was going nuts. Loved this game from AC. The decision make was so good. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +20.

Morris -- -- “I was tried as hell out there. I hadn’t played for two and a half weeks,” Morris said. Let’s look at the rotations and usage first. He came in with 3:11 left in the first quarter to play PF as we slid Kuzma down to the wing. To close the quarter, we sat AD for LeBron and slid Morris to the C spot for a minute. We then sat him to open the second quarter with our usual second unit. He’d return to close the half with AD and LeBron. This gives the Lakers some more size/length on D and floor spacing than with Kuzma. He’d get his scores in the first half. He was left open on a cut and AD found him for a dunk. AD then found him ducking in against the zone and sealing for FTs. “Just trying to move around, find my shots,” Morris said. In the second half, we had a similar rotation in the third quarter. But with Kuzma and Rondo not getting it done, Vogel started him with Howard in the fourth. You can see the possibilities here as we become a much deeper team. Defensively, he’d switch quite a bit. The team D stuff may take a bit to figure out. I liked that we had some length that he could use against BI when they ended up on each other. Those longer, mobile players have given us some trouble this season and now we have another option here. He had a nice block recovering on a guard at the rim. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-3 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 block and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. He was a +2.

Howard -- -- He’d get his only bucket on a putback off an offensive board. He regained another possession drawing a foul on the offensive glass. The D was up and down. He had a nice block on a dunk attempt and also blocked Zion trying to finish. But he also missed a rotation pretty badly early on. Quiet, but effective. Glad he can be happy just doing the dirty work like this tonight and not being a focus of the team. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +12.

Rondo -- -- Welp...those non-LeBron minutes can be pretty painful. We’ve got to figure them out. We saw Vogel give Rondo the quick hook in the second half for AC. It’s been rare we’ve seen that, but just look at the +/- in this one. Rondo a -17 in 12 minutes up to that point. AC went on to a +20 in 17 minutes. Oof. Rondo had his big game against the Celtics. It was pretty obvious it wasn’t happening tonight so Vogel shut it down pretty quick. That’s all I want to see. Obviously, I’d love to see AC have more 8-assist games. He’s been making better decisions and Rondo has been in his ear at times. I hope we’re seeing some growth from AC so he can take the baton from Rondo more often and produce like tonight. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -17.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: Extending the lead from 3 to 9 when LeBron sat in the fourth. The bench had 38 points and 13 assists with just 4 turnovers on the night. Usually AC and Howard are in the game when LeBron sits in that fourth quarter. In the third when he sits, neither of those guys are playing.

Key Substitution: Vogel sat LeBron/McGee up 6 for the Rondo/Kuzma combo. We trailed by 3 a few minutes later and he benched Kuzma and Rondo for AC/LeBron to close the third quarter. What I like about this is the willingness to not put up with the issues that lineup often has. He’s trying to sit LeBron and bring him back so we don’t have those awful collapses at the end of quarters. He’s got Morris in the mix now and he’s got AC doing a better job with the ball distribution. So...what you have now is a Kuzma/Rondo vs. Morris/AC combo in these situation that he can go to if needed. We took back control from that point on in the game.

Key Stats: Let’s go with the 27 assists. AC led the way with 8. More of that, please.
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Dr. Laker
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 11:10 pm    Post subject:

First! Thanks, DB!
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 11:25 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB. It would have been a shame if we blew this game and wasted the King's performance (still the best in the game). His inside/outside game was incredible. Thanks AC! He was a HUGE spark.
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 11:37 pm    Post subject:

Bron had 2 FT's !
Zion had 17 FT's!!!!!!
This league is so goofy
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 12:24 am    Post subject:

Quote:
The Accountant balanced the books tonight.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:15 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB!!!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:15 am    Post subject:

genester wrote:
Quote:
The Accountant balanced the books tonight.



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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:26 am    Post subject:

Thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:45 am    Post subject:

thanks DB!
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 7:52 am    Post subject:

I said it before, but I wonder if Frank will begin to try going to a different strategy with the 2nd unit, and not relying on a QB mindset. It works with Lebron in the game, but when Lebron is out, Rondo sometimes does it, others can not. The problem is that when he can not, it is usually really really bad.

Wonder if we can try more naturally gifted 2nd units, such as

Davis at the 5
Morris
KCP
Daniels (Or Green)
Caruso

A lineup like that, you do not need specifically a QB. You could drop the ball up high to AD, and work from there with the floor being spaced out for him. With having guys that love to spot up for 3 in Daniels, KCP, Morris, you have good kick out targets. Caruso is pretty quick and can get into the paint off dribble penetration. But the #1 thing is AD would be up high at the 5 and create.

Those 4 in game minutes that Lebron sits, you could probably try something like that.

One of the things we do is go with Howard (non creator or spacer at the 5), Kuzma (not really a spot up guy, but more of a creator himself who has been very inconsistent), Rondo (not a floor spacer) together. That is 3 dudes the opposing defense is not worried about from the wing or top of the arc as a 3 point scoring threat at all.

Instead you put AD at the 5 but up high at the top of the arc, Morris at the wing, KCP and Daniels at the wing or corner pockets and Caruso (or even Rondo or Bradley) can run some point with AD being the pick setter. It would allow for some better offense IMO when Lebron sits.

The crazy thing is when we beat OKC and Houston, we did a lot of that stuff. Even without AD. We just got the ball to our spot up 3 point shooters and found to create the offense fast. For whatever reason with Lebron available in games and AD, we fall asleep. We get so reliant on him creating, we forget the other way to play.

I would love to see us clinch the #1 seed in the West a bit early, and Frank get that 2nd unit a lot of run and reps to get an identity heading into the playoffs.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:47 am    Post subject:

wolfpaclaker wrote:

<snip>
Davis at the 5
Morris
KCP
Daniels (Or Green)
Caruso
<snip>


Just curious, why not Cook instead of Daniels? Nearly as good a shooter, better pnr/penetration/finishing, bit more ball-handling, just as limited defensively.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 12:12 pm    Post subject:

DB, once again your summary is amazing, and for me has become a required read after every game. As an avid Laker fan since the early 60's, and an almost 40-year season ticket holder, I can't think you enough.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 1:37 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB! Excellent and spot-on write-up once again.

LeBron and Caruso - awesome games last night.

Davis - way off on offense, but his defense, shot blocking and rebounding were still there.

Green - VERY solid game, more of this please!

KCP - picked up a T letting a ref have it for allowing Lonzo to shove AC to the floor without a whistle. Good on ya KCP. I'm liking him more and more as this season progresses. Defense, hitting shots, keeping defenses honest, and getting down the floor very quickly.

Morris - I'm really curious about how well he integrates on team defense under Vogel. We'll see in the upcoming weeks.

Oh, and Zion - what a friggin' beast. Very tough alongside Ingram.

Great win against an opponent that I hope we don't see in the playoffs.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:01 pm    Post subject:

ThePageDude wrote:
wolfpaclaker wrote:

<snip>
Davis at the 5
Morris
KCP
Daniels (Or Green)
Caruso
<snip>


Just curious, why not Cook instead of Daniels? Nearly as good a shooter, better pnr/penetration/finishing, bit more ball-handling, just as limited defensively.

You are right
Forgot about him
But was thinking defensively maybe Daniels could defend 2s Caruso 1s and that Daniels is naturally a guy that likes to come off screens and shoot (same for Green).
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deal
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 3:09 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB...a good win.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:03 pm    Post subject:

I came in here looking for the Ingram section, then remembered.

Good win though. Pelicans will be killers soon enough.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:28 pm    Post subject:

LakerSanity wrote:
I came in here looking for the Ingram section, then remembered.


Ouch.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 8:29 pm    Post subject:

Richcbt wrote:
DB, once again your summary is amazing, and for me has become a required read after every game. As an avid Laker fan since the early 60's, and an almost 40-year season ticket holder, I can't think you enough.


Thank you, kind sir. Much appreciated.
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:14 pm    Post subject:

LakerSanity wrote:
I came in here looking for the Ingram section, then remembered.

Good win though. Pelicans will be killers soon enough.


Would love to hear DB’s thought about BI, Zo and Hart also
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 5:02 am    Post subject:

1311176 wrote:
LakerSanity wrote:
I came in here looking for the Ingram section, then remembered.

Good win though. Pelicans will be killers soon enough.


Would love to hear DB’s thought about BI, Zo and Hart also


In the General Baasketball Discussion Forum there is a thread for each of the Pelicans, for BI and for Lonzo. Go there. Maybe he posted there.
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