HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 3/20 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:40 pm    Post subject: HAWKS -at- LAKERS - 3/20 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

LeBron Down... In the second quarter, LeBron had his ankle rolled into and went down in pain. He’d go to the locker room shortly later after trying to test it out (he’d hit a three to keep his double-digit streak alive), but now we wait for the diagnosis.

Their first full quarter without LeBron, the Lakers scored just 12 points, a season low. The Lakers went scoreless for the first 6 minutes of the second half as the Hawks packed the paint and the Lakers struggled from the perimeter.

They’d trail by 9 heading into the fourth quarter. The offense got back on track, scoring 29 by running a lot through Trezz, but they couldn’t dig out of that hole without some better shooting. And that didn’t happen.

The Lakers fell 99-94 to the Hawks.


LeBron -- -- He drew a crowd on the left wing in the second quarter and in a loose ball scramble had his ankle rolled into as he was hit by another player. He went down in immediate pain. After a timeout, he stayed on the court and sank a corner three (for his 10th point), but on the defensive end, you could see he couldn’t put weight on it while trying to box out under the hoop. He immediately called another timeout and went to the locker room. “We didn’t really feel like it was a basketball play,” Trezz said afterward. Kieff didn’t think it was on purpose. As for the game, something to watch out for is how crowded the paint is with Jones/Trezz out there. The Hawks were able to pack it pretty well early and our offense struggled to get on track despite LeBron putting pressure on the rim. The Stats: He had 10 points on 3-6 shooting (1-2 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists and 1 turnover in 11 minutes. He was a -5.

Schröder -- -- Like LeBron, he saw a lot of bodies in the paint. He had 9 points on 3-10 shooting with 3 assists and 3 turnovers in the first half. Not pretty, but he was able to manufacture some points at the line early. He missed a couple easy ones he should have had. In the second half, we could not get on track. You could see Schröder try to throttle up the defensive intensity to help spark the team. He had a dive on the defensive end for a loose ball and a timeout. Without LeBron and AD, we need to kind of play with that attitude. We’re going to have to scrap for everything and battle hard on D. A little beat up in this game as he slipped on the offensive end and came up limping some. That dive and a late foul on a corner three all looked a little painful. He and Rondo covered each other for a stretch and Rondo ended up picking up a tech as Schröder tried to draw a foul on Rondo after taking an elbow from him. Rondo kind of rubbed the ball in Schröder’s face after, but Dennis kept his cool. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 4-15 shooting (0-3 from three, 8-9 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 6 turnovers and 4 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -5.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- Man, just stone cold. He only took a single shot in the first half. Then when he felt the need to try to contribute with LeBron out in that third, he missed all four of his attempts and he missed a tech FT, as well. Painful. Didn’t get a single three off, either. Things probably only get worse for KCP when LeBron/AD aren’t there and he’s not in his comfort zone. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-5 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 21 minutes. He was a -18.

Morris -- -- He had 12 points but it took 13 shots. He missed a few too many good looks at three (2-9). Hit two more of those and it’s anyone’s game. Lakers just didn’t have enough of that. Our smaller lineups struggled with containing the defensive boards. We gave up 16 offensive boards. Our bigs needed to have a little more motor on that end, but the team needed to crack back more and provide help. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-13 shooting (2-9 from three) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +1.

Jones -- -- Oof. We were not good with him on the floor. First possession, we ran the set to get him a lob dunk off a two-man action with LeBron and he finished it. LeBron would also set him up for FTs with an interior feed later. As pretty as the finishes are, the problem is we’re not really a vertical spacing threat enough to make this work. We can set it up early to make them think about it, but the Hawks simply just sat in drop coverage and packed the paint causing the offense (even when LeBron was out there) to struggle. It was even worse when LeBron wasn’t out there as we went scoreless with Jones on the floor in the second half. So as much as people like the highlight play dunks and blocks, the team game has challenges it’s not quite ready to handle. So you saw Vogel give him the hook and look for answers elsewhere. There are things Gasol provides this team that aren’t flashy, but they are missed. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-1 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards (3 offensive), 1 turnover and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a -17.

Harrell -- -- We tried to lean on him in the fourth quarter, running the two-game from the top of the key and then also giving it to him in so on the left block for some iso jumpers. He also had a sweet putback jam, elevating in a crowd and hammering. We were just already in a hole at that point and couldn’t play at a high enough defensive level to get on a run. The start of the second half killed the team. Not quite the usual good hands from Trezz tonight as he fumbled a couple easy passes away. Guys got to help our bigs on the boards against a team like this. We can talk about being undersized, but if you’ve got Kuz and the guards watching instead of helping, you’re going to get exploited way more. Help out, it’s not an issue. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 10-13 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +14.

Kuzma -- -- When LeBron went to the locker room, you could see Kuz pick up his aggressiveness off the dribble to setup teammates or get to the rim for scores. He had a good stretch in that second quarter of breaking down the D on iso for scores or passes. We slid him into the starting lineup for the second half and he didn’t come through. He went 0-4 in the third quarter. Really didn’t do much of anything in the second half. We need more from him. Speaking of which, I’d like to see him beasting on the boards more. We got worked today. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (1-5 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 foul sin 37 minutes. He was a -2.

Caruso -- -- He was a +8 in his minutes. We may need more minutes from him in order to keep our from taking a big step back without LeBron on the floor quarterbacking a lot of that. Offensively, he’d knock down a corner three on a kickout from Kuz on his only attempt behind the arc. He got fouled with no call on a layup attempt. I want to see him go harder to the rim. He drew FTs on a steal and attacking in the backcourt (that prevented a Hawks breakaway with a man advantage as Trezz was on the floor...unfortunately, he missed both FTs. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +8.

Horton-Tucker -- -- Some good moments with THT running two-man action with Trezz to start the fourth. I also liked how well THT put guys in jail coming off those screens. If he can get to a floater off those or wait for a Boston roll secondary screen type of action to get to the rim like LeBron will, that can be a weapon more consistently for him. Not terribly efficient tonight. He shot blanks again from three, including an airball with 2:46 left (hit that and we’re in striking distance down the stretch). In any event, leaning on THT more and getting him more reps with Trezz is a good thing. Defensively, some mental mistakes that had the coaches upset. He had a couple shooters just T up threes on him. He sagged off Galo once for no real reason and the coach’s got on him. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-12 shooting (0-2 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +5.

Matthews -- -- Big first quarter, sinking three threes from the left side. All on balance, catch-and-shoot and looking good. That helped erase a Hawks lead and give the Lakers some much-needed floor spacing. Then he was MIA for the rest of the day. I’ll put some of that on the coaches. He can be streaky. It would be nice put him in position for some open corner looks on set plays when he’s got that going. But they also didn’t keep him in the mix. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-5 shooting (3-4 from three) to go with 2 boards, 1 turnover and no fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -3.

McKinnie -- : -- Brief stretch for a couple of filler minutes. Nothing to report. Imagine he probably gets more minutes in the next one. The Stats: He had 1 assist in 2 minutes. He was a -3.

Vogel -- -- Key Moment: LeBron calling a timeout after hitting a three and trying to test the ankle out. I feel like that double-digit streak was on LeBron’s mind. We got him a three, he hit it, but when he couldn’t hold ground on the boxout on the other end, LeBron said that’s enough for today. Game was pretty much lost there. The scoreless 6 minutes to start the second half were a result of this.

Key Substitution: Trezz was a +14 off the bench tonight in his 33 minutes. The 15 minutes with Jones, we were a -17. Even with LeBron, Jones wasn’t helping the team as there was too much traffic in the paint. To make Jones work, we’ve got to make the D pay the price for sagging in the paint in drop coverage. A lot of things you can do there outside of lobs, especially with high screens or weakside screens to free up three shooters.

Key Stats: Let’s go with 16 offensive boards for the Hawks. The Hawks only shot 39.8% for the game. We should gave up too many second chance opportunities. They lost the first half 13-2 on second chance points. Collins and Capella had 7 offensive boards that half. They’d hold the Hawks to just 4 second chance points in the second half, but their offense couldn’t get on track in that third.
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Laker7
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:50 pm    Post subject:

First!
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DrDent
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 3:12 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

Upsetting afternoon. First the injury, then the offensive struggles.

As an aside, difference between the Lakers (currently 3rd) and 7th place in standings is only 2 losses. Mind you, that is not the main concern at this point, but if there is an extended LBJ absence...yea.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 7:26 pm    Post subject:

Thanks DB.

I have missed the last few Laker games.

Injuries are the risk you play when you have a short season turn-around.

The Lakers have the injury bug this year and we will have to wait and see if they can recover from it to make a long playoff push.
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 8:55 am    Post subject:

Just FYI - I won’t be able to cover the game tonight in case anyone can jump in for me.
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danzag
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:02 am    Post subject:

Thanks, DB.

Injuries suck. After the shortest offseason ever, there goes our 2 best players. Thank God it's not season ending. It could've been much worse.
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A Mad Chinaman
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:42 am    Post subject:

DancingBarry wrote:
Just FYI - I won’t be able to cover the game tonight in case anyone can jump in for me.
Take care of what you need to take care of!!

I know you are meeting the team to use your healing powers to make LBJ and AD healthy - lol!!

Bad thing is that the standings in the Western Conference is very close, hence probably there will be a fall in the standings. On the other hand, it means that the Lakers can rise very fast in the standings upon being healthy

Given that there really isn’t a Home Court Advantage during the upcoming playoffs, being healthy is the top concern

Hopefully Schoeder, THT and Caruso will be able to trigger the offense with much more flow

With greater efficiency and effectiveness in defense to trigger the offense will be in the future

With KCP and Kuz being non-factors on offense, along with Matthews being even more inconsistent than KCP despite the increase MPG, could Morris be the dependable shooter to ease the congestion in the paint that never seems to go inside out?
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 8:04 pm    Post subject: Kravitz's comment has received more than 1,360

Kravitz's comment has received more than 1,360 likes while her Instagram post overall has received more than 396,840 likes as of Sunday evening.

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