LAKERS -at- KINGS - 11/21 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Gassed or Gasoled?... D'Antoni must have used the word "energy" a dozen times in the post game press conference.

The Lakers bigs looked fatigued. The Kings went after Pau defensively during the stretch run for multiple scores. Dwight struggled to get anything going offensively with our poor passing and execution.

The night after the Lakers had their biggest win of the season, they came out flat...and then some, coughing up another 20-turnover game in the 113-97 loss to the Kings.

"We got to come out with a different mentality," D'Antoni said. "We'll change that."

While the Lakers struggled with turnovers again, they were done in tonight in crunch time by their D. Pau Gasol was the single target and he was exposed badly.

Whether the Kings did it on iso or using speed off screens, Pau got smoked. He's been a soft point defensively for the team all season, but tonight was relentless. Both Kobe and D'Antoni mentioned it some fashion afterward.

This should have been the easiest of the trio of road games. Unfortunately, the team played like they had that mentality.


Kobe -- -- Sloppy game to start and the team as a whole felt it. He had 5 turnovers in the first half on a mixture of bad passes and getting stripped. He was, however, the only thing effectively scoring early on (Meeks later joined him). Kobe single-handedly tried to keep them in the game offensively. He had 16 points in the third on a variety of threes and his usual assortment of creativity (14 of those came in a row). Great scoring game, but the turnovers really showed how this team missed Nash. Nash could keep the other guys in the game and actively engaged much better while Kobe is doing his thing. This was kind of one of those games where teams deal with Kobe getting his, but win by shutting everyone else down. The Lakers ultimately scored enough points to win. So that strategy may not have worked unless you take into consideration that maybe guys weren't into it defensively because of this or that they were able to rest while Kobe attacked one point. Neither Pau or Howard scored in double digits. "I believe if everyone was involved...the other team would have to use a lot of energy," Metta said. He praised Kobe but didn't like the distribution of points. The Stats: He scored 38 points on 11-20 shooting (5-9 from three, 11-13 from the line) to go with 3 board, 3 assists, 2 steals, 7 turnovers and 3 fouls in 39 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He jumped a lane and stole a pass, then missed a three on the other end. He drained a Dirk-like fade from the wing next time down. He pushed it up and hit Pau for a layup. He didn't protect the ball while trying to direct the offense, had it stolen and then fouled. He then picked up another foul. He attacked and missed a bank. He couldn't finish a backdoor lob. He attacked and banked the pull-up in the middle of the lane asking for a foul. Unnecessary behind-the-back pass, turnover. He drained a flat-footed three over a smaller man with the shotclock low. He sank another three next time down. He missed a three straight away next time down. He attacked to his right, spun left and hit the And-1 in the middle of the lane, he made the FT. He drew the D off the high screen, then jump passed to a cutting Hill for FTs. He swiped a kickout pass. He missed a three, we got it back, he cut and was stripped for a layup the other way. He slithered through the D and scored a layup. He was stripped again on the dribble. He threw a lob entry out of bounds. He had 15 points on 6-11 shooting to go with 3 assists and 5 turnovers. Second Half: He drew FTs on a pull-up jumper off the wing screen, he made both. He attacked, spun, faded and came up short. He probed off the screen and drew FTs in the lane taking contact as he shot, he made one FT. He was fouled on the perimeter, more FTs, he made both. He drew more FTs on the perimeter and made both. He lost the handle, chased it down and hit the sideline three to beat the shotclock. He stroked a wing three next time down. He hit a third three in a row to cut the lead to 4. He lost a dribble at midcourt, unforced turnover. He missed a wing pull-up. He had 16 points on 3-5 shooting in the third. He got a defender off his feet on a three and drew FTs, he made just two. He somehow hit a fading one-hander across the lane. He missed a long three straight away (needed that one). He attacked middle, spun back the other way, got undercut and somehow still flipped in the And-1 layup, he made the FT to cut it to 4. He couldn't finish a layup on a drive.

Howard -- -- You worry about how he's going to respond to back-to-back as he still gets into game shape. D'Antoni gave him a pass tonight as a result. Dwight has walls he has to push through. "It's tough to play through fatigue," he said. He and Pau had just 1 offensive board. The energy just wasn't there and had a little rest these two games. The Lakers did a poor job integrating him into the offense in the first half. He had just 2 points on 2 shots. They couldn't get him the ball on drives or two-man sequences. His post-ups were very simple dump-ins and no movement off ball or to get switches. He picked up a flagrant late in the game, swinging a forearm behind after getting frustrated with a man all over his back with no call. He refused to comment on not getting the ball. Good job avoiding the bait from the press. He admitted they were tired. "We still got to play," he said. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-4 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He was blocked in the post. He threw a pass away, layup the other way. Looked like a clean block, but they called goaltending. Nice handoff to Peace for the layup. He charged on a kickout pass. He slammed off the interior lob from Pau. Just 2 points on 1-2 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He didn't try to finish at the rim on the break, instead kicking it to Metta for three. He jammed back in a missed drive by Metta. He had just 4 points after three quarters. He was fouled on a strip by Hayes (looked pretty clean), he made both. He fumbled away a post possession, uggh. He blocked a drive to get a shotclock violation. He couldn't power in a layup under the hoop. Kings went to Hack-a-Dwight for a possession, he made one FT.

Gasol -- -- "We have to crash the glass better. Get ourselves active on the offensive glass to get ourselves going," Pau said. We can't have just an offensive board each from our two bigs. The game, however, really centered around what happened on the other end. The Kings were picking on Pau's defense down the stretch. They attacked him on iso out of deadballs or off screens with speed. The Lakers struggled to get stops as a result. That just killed them in crunch time. The Lakers were scoring, but Pau was giving it right back. The Kings were getting layup after layup and then when we helped a big three. D'Antoni gave Howard a pass for the energy, but Pau doesn't have that excuse. Just a horrible second half on both ends. In fact, he would have been scoreless if not for a token dunk we got in garbage time. In Kobe's discussion of the D'Antoni offense, he mentioned Pau needing to pick up the pace. "Pau is used to laboring up the floor, just kind of coastin a bit," Kobe said. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-10 shooting (1-1 from three, 1-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He scored a layup when Kobe found him running the floor. He missed a 21-footer. He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs, he made one. He was blocked on a soft finish and then missed the follow. He threw a pass out of bounds where Kobe was a second before. He sank a corner three on a kickout. He drew FTs when Kobe hit him off the screen, he missed both. He hook lobbed to Dwight for the dunk. Poor D on the screen roll and he gave up an easy jumper (you can't hang back that far with Dwight behind you, challenge that). He missed a jumphook. He had 6 points on 2-6 shooting (1-4 from the line) and 7 boards. Second Half: He iso'd and faded on our first possession, not a good one. He missed a wing jumper. His man sagged off him and he missed another wing jumper. He fumbled a dribble away, layup the other way. Horrible D on Thompson who just went right around him for a score. He gave up another score to Cousins on iso. Cousins crossed him over for another score. Token dunk with a minute left.

Peace -- -- Metta was diplomatic in his critique of the offensive distribution and how that affected the D. He's always liked to wear on guys offensively and having that payoff for him on the other end. He sees the team as a whole being able to wear on each of their men, so they can't load up on the Lakers on the other end. Some truth to that. Doubt you will find a game where Metta doesn't always bring an effort. Kobe mentioned it in the playoffs last year. He can always trust the effort will be there from MWP. He looked like his consistent self tonight, as well. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-10 shooting (2-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He drained a sideline three to start the game. He attacked and set up Morris for FTs. He missed a corner three. He posted up and drew FTs, he made one. He took the baseline handoff from Dwight and scored the layup. Second Half: He bullied Evans in the post and drew FTs, he made both. He was rejected out of bounds on the breakaway. He forced his man into a travel with some pressure D. He missed an elbow jumper. He drained a sideline three after measuring it for a second in transition. He attacked and missed, but Dwight threw it back down. He missed a wing three. He missed an open sideline three. He attacked off the three line, spun away from his man and hit a baseline jumper.

Morris -- -- He and Kobe combined for 12 turnovers and 5 assists. Kobe said they will go over the game and look at where they can improve. He was playing a pretty good game until he hit a stretch where he had multiple turnovers and a missed shot all in a row. That hurt. On the other end he had to deal with Brooks, Evans, and Thornton. He did a pretty good job on whomever he was assigned. Brooks had gone off on us in previous games, but whenever Morris was on him tonight, he had him reeled in. Despite Morris scoring double digits and playing strong on D, ultimately those turnovers will make a coach cringe more than anything. We're going to have to weather the miscues and errors as he learns the game. In the last game, you could see D'Antoni telling Morris to shoot. Same thing tonight. He doesn't want the over-thinking and miscues. Keep it simple and he'll be happy. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 3-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls. He was a -12. The Action: MWP attacked and dished to him for FTs under the hoop, he made one. He drained a pull-up 20-footer to just beat the shotclock. Bad entry pass, layup the other way. He attacked across the lane and banked in a hooking layup on the drive. He charged trying to attack in transition. He missed a corner three in transition. Second Half: He sank a corner three on a kickout. He fumbled a dribble out of bounds (D'Antoni ticked he didn't shoot it). He drew FTs diving for a loose ball on D, he made both. He traveled trying to create on iso (call for the screen). Another turnover on a poorly run screen roll. He missed a three straight away. He attacked off the three line and was hammered in garbage time for FTs, he made both.

Hill -- -- The Lakers had just 6 offensive boards. That's a hustle stat. And it's no surprise that Hill had half of those. He had a very active first stint in this game. But disappeared later. With as badly as Pau was playing on D, D'Antoni might have considered subbing in Hill. Normally, I doubt that happens because of what Pau means to the team offensively, but Pau was scorched. The Lakers struggled from the FT line tonight, missing another 12, Jordan was the worst offender with three misses. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (1-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He posted up and hit a baseline turnaround. He missed a 16-footer but got back in transition to help force a turnover. He battled for a missed FT, missed a jumphook, got it back and found Meeks for three. He was called for a clear out on a drive to the hoop. He was hacked in the post for FTs, he made one. Kobe found him under the hoop and he was hacked, he missed both FTs. He missed a 16-footer next time down. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Jamison -- -- At some point they may need to sit Jamison if he can't get anything done at the SF. I wrote that after his first stint tonight. D'Antoni decided that he'd sit Jamison the rest of this game. So maybe that point has happened. We'll see. Maybe Nash helps if they get on the court at the same time. Whether Jamison is just slumping or needs more touches, he's not getting it done like did last season at PF. Even if he wasn't that efficient in Cleveland, it was still more efficient than our weak bench. He's just not getting it done. The last couple of games were especially problematic. The Stats: He didn't score on 0-2 shooting to go with 1 steal and 1 foul in 5 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a wing three at the buzzer. He missed a three in front of the Laker bench. Second Half: He did not play in the half.

Meeks -- -- He came out knocking down shots to start the fourth. He's streaky and D'Antoni recognized that and kept him in the game, running without a point guard for part of his minutes. It's a shame we couldn't get stops because that's the kind of performance during the fourth quarter that wins games for teams. "He's got such a quick trigger, it's important for him to pull it," Kobe said. D'Antoni said the same thing. They want him to get his confidence high and providing some much needed spark. That second unit got killed in the first half and has been prone to giving up some runs to the opposition. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-9 shooting (3-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He drained a three from the sideline on a Hill kickout. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He drained a wing pull-up jumper. He took contact attacking off the three line and drew FTs on the next possession, he made both. He sank a heat-check three from the wing. He sank a baseline jumper out of a timeout. He sank a wing three on his next touch. He missed a three straight away. He missed a sideline three in transition. He attacked and missed a layup.

Duhon -- -- At one point we saw a Kobe/Meeks backcourt. While Meeks was hot, it also says that D'Antoni knows he just doesn't have a playmaking PGs to set the table and run the show. He has to rely on Kobe right now. When Nash gets back, it will be Kobe and Nash. The backup PG, the backup SG, the backup SF are all big question marks. The system relies on playmakers. If Duhon doesn't bring his playmaking experience in this offense to the table, he's going to be firmly buried on the deep bench behind Blake and Morris. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-1 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 2 assists and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Great job stepping in to take a charge on the Kings at full speed on the break. He jumped a passing lane and was fouled as he deflected the pass, he made one FT. Second Half: He missed a three with the shotclock low. He then got lost on D and gave up a three to Brooks.

Sacre -- -- He got in for a final minute of action. The Stats: He had no stats in 1 minute. He was a -2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Nothing to report.

D'Antoni -- -- Kobe picked up two fouls 4 minutes in. Mike kept him out there... He sat Morris for Duhon midway through the quarter... The Lakers trailed 11-10 when Cousins had to sit with his second foul... The Lakers were up 1 when Hill came in for Howard with 3:34... He sat MWP for Jamison up 5... He sat Kobe for Meeks with a couple minutes left up 3... The Lakers led 21-15 after the first quarter. The Lakers had 5 turnovers in the quarter... He started a Howard, Hill, Jamison, Meeks, Duhon unit... They quickly lost the lead on an 8-0 Kings run in 2 minutes... He went to MWP, Morris and Kobe down 5 less than a minute later... Kobe got the lead back 30 seconds later... They had the full starters in with 6 minutes left... Turnover prone ball, another 8 turnovers in the second quarter... The Lakers trailed 42-41 at the half. They shot 44% (15-34, 5-13 3Pt, 6-15 FT...with Dwight not shooting a single FT). The Kings shot 46% (19-41, 3-8 3Pt, 1-2 FT). The Lakers had 13 turnovers at the half... The Lakers started to fade in the middle of the third behind some more turnovers... He brought in Duhon for Morris down 8... He sat Pau for Hill with 4 minutes left, down 6... He called a timeout trailing by 11... He sat MWP for Morris down 8, no Jamison in this rotation... Kobe single-handedly trying to keep the Lakers in this right now, sinking multiple threes (14 straight points) to cut the lead to 4... The Lakers trailed 73-69 heading into the fourth... He started a Pau, Hill, Meeks, Morris, Duhon unit (again no Jamison)... They pulled within a point, then got thumped to trail by 9 and forcing a timeout barely 3 minutes in... He went with the starters but with Meeks instead of Morris... They cut it to 5 with Kobe, Meeks and MWP (their post players MIA). The Kings called timeout with 4 minutes left. The Kings went right at Pau out of that timeout for multiple scores. The Lakers struggled as a result... He went to deep bench for the final minute... The Lakers had 20 turnovers which the Kings turned into 23 points. There wasn't much D'Antoni offensive flow in this game... "If we're going to play Showtime, they just closed the whole theater," D'Antoni said...

[lakersfreak]

Thx DB
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Forget carbon, reduce your government footprint

[George the Greek]

Pau and Dwight played like crap.
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[Cha*n]

"If we're going to play Showtime, they just closed the whole theater, and played like the muppets" D'Antoni said...

That's DB and that was the whole quote.

[Nobody]

The thing that disappoints me the most is giving up so many points on such % to one of the most offensively challenged teams in the league. Miami would have put up 170 on us with that kind of D. Inexcusable.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Thanks DB!

[limchrc]

Thanks, let's win the next game.

[Captain_Napalm]

[driver]

Point distribution is pure BS. If you're hot, you (bleep) shoot. MWP and the rest of the team should get it done where it counts the most: DEFENSE. WOW I have not seen much defense since the D'Antoni era arrived. Barely squirt by the Rockets and tonight, a shameful loss to the Kings.

[Captain_Napalm]

[lakerboy]

thanks db

phil used to say that you recognize a contender by looking at their road record. championship teams get the job done on the road. last year we were god awful and this year seems like it's the same story. not a good sign imho

[Captain_Napalm]

[Arbitrary]

Thanks DB.

[SilverBullet]

Thanks DB.

[Gwyn]

MWP complaining about distribution when he was outshooting the rest of the starters other than Kobe early in the season in some games.

[ForrestHump]

[Sleepy]

[lakerboy]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB. Good recap of an awful game.

[DancingBarry]

Captain, Nash is going to look more like Nash of last year when he's back in his system vs. the Princeton we ran without any two-man game. That's going to be a huge difference from what we saw. Kobe can definitely score big numbers while Nash floor generals and keeps guys engaged. First, we're not going to have 12 turnovers from him like we got from Kobe and Morris trying to do Nash's job. That will improve possessions and, in turn, distribution. Secondly, while Kobe will get a good chunk of points like he did last night, his game will shift more off ball, where Nash is running plays with others but Kobe is set up off of that. That keeps more players involved even when Kobe ends up scoring. This will make the offense much more dynamic even when Kobe is still churning out the points. Third, it seems logical that Kobe and Nash's time on floor will have to be staggered because of our lack of playmaking outside of those two, so you'll have minutes where Nash is working and Kobe is resting and vice versa. Whether that's just 5 or 10 minutes per game who knows, but it will be more minutes that each guy can do their thing. Ultimately the offense becomes much less myopic with our second ball handler because of those things and Kobe's aggressive nature with a higher percentage off ball will still get him big nights.

[DancingBarry]

[DancingBarry]

[Arbitrary]

DB's on a roll like it's a game thread! Thanks again.

[jibikao]

Was the bench really that bad? Even Kobe mentioned that the 2nd unit needs to throw the ball to Howard more.

I was hoping the starters don't play more than 35mins because of back-2-back.

That's one thing I worry about watching Nash's PHX team. He played the starters way too many minutes but the season is early and these NBA super athletes shouldn't run out of gas that quick and I don't think they practice much to save energy.

[32]

Thanks DB.
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