LAKERS -at- RAPTORS - 1-19-14 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Win Streak!… The Lakers were down by 19 early on as their no-PG bench got killed in the first half. The starters fought back to trim that to just 4 at halftime. Then the third quarter came. The Lakers quickly gave up a 12-0 run and trailed by 16 after a few minutes of scoreless ball. It looked like it might be another one of those games.

They didn’t fold, however, digging in with another run to actually win the quarter.

It was anyone’s game at that point and Nick Young decided it was his. He sank several huge shots in that fourth quarter, just on fire, scoring 15 points in the fourth. Some credit Ryan Kelly, as well, for scoring 7 points in the fourth on his way to 17 in his first NBA start.

It’s been a long time since the Lakers have won back-to-back games, nearly a month exactly. The Lakers held their turnovers to just 9, which goes a long way in keeping an opponent from going off for 120, which the Raptors seemed to be on their way doing today.

“The big thing is we’re playing hard,” D’Antoni said. “The guys are enjoying it, they are bonding together and some guys are getting better. Ryan Kelly has been huge for us.”


Gasol -- -- Valanciunas was lost against Pau and sat quickly after 4 minutes with foul trouble. Anytime those two matched up, Pau was having his way with him in the paint. That led to several of Pau’s scores. When Chuck Hayes came in later, Pau struggled to score against him in that second half. The team didn’t fade like they usually do when Pau can’t put together a full game. “We’re going to try to do a better job starting to the second halves with a better mindset, better focus, more aggressive, not allowing teams to make runs on us,” Pau said. Defensively, the Kelly/Pau combo rotated well behind the plays. The Lakers had only 2 shot blocks, but their positioning helped secure the paint better. He said they got into players and made it uncomfortable for them. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 8-20 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 9 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and no fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +26. The Action: He dunked off the drive and dish from Marshall to start the game. He blocked a shot under the hoop on the other end. He missed a baseline face-up jumper. He worked into the paint and knocked down the easy jumper. Into the paint again and he stepped around his man for the easy one. He overpowered a defender but missed the chippy. He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Marshall, who put it right in his lap. He missed a lefty hook taking body contact (nice to see that call, should happen more often on those), he sank both FTs. He was blocked trying to create against the shotclock. He airballed a pick and pop jumper, yikes. He spun, took contact and powered in the lefty layup. He missed a short one-hander in the paint. He drew FTs on the defensive boards, he made both. He had 14 points on 5-10 shooting and 6 boards in the half. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper. Not close on a lefty scoop across the lane. He settled and missed a wing jumper. He was stripped on a layup. He backed his man down and scored easily on a dropstep. He backed his man down easily under the hoop and scored the lefty layup (more please). He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Nick. He missed a wing jumper. He couldn’t finish another one over his man next time down. He missed a tough turnaround from 12 feet up against the shotclock. He peeked at the shotclock, turned and missed the jumper, but drew FTs (looked like good D), he made both.

Meeks -- -- After scoring 9 points in the first half, he had just 2 the rest of the game. He did a good job early on of getting out in transition for quick strikes. The second half, he had nothing. The Lakers got thumped in that first half when we sat Marshall and had Meeks as the “decision maker.” Just no flow on either side of the court. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-10 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 3 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He drained a wing three on the kickout. He poked a ball loose, busted out, took the pass and scored the layup. He airballed a baseline floater, yikes. He hit Hill on the pocket bounce pass for a dunk. His pass was picked off for a dunk. He missed a wing three. He filled a lane, pounded a dribble off the pass and scored the layup in transition. He pushed it out, slipped and kicked to Marshall for the three. He attacked in transition with speed and drew FTs, he made both. He stripped a man, pushed it out but couldn’t finish over him. He missed a corner three on a deflected kickout. He had 9 points on 3-7 shooting, 3 assists and 3 steals. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He missed a three on a handoff. He got blindsided bring the ball up, no one talking and Jodi oblivious, that led to a layup (and coming off the heels of another layup, that felt like one of those plays that would start a Raptor rally so D’Antoni took a timeout). He drained a pull-up jumper working the two-man game. He totally bricked a tech FT up 6 with 20 seconds left (that would have made it a three possession game).

Marshall -- -- His fifth straight double-double. He kept the turnovers down in this one and down the stretch we worked the ball to Nick a bit more to iso or score off screens and milk his hot hand. The team struggled without a playmaker on the floor. When their offense struggled, their defense was MIA. The starters were able to lock in on that end of the floor. “That’s been the key the past two games,” Marshall said of the Laker D. Offensively, Kendall struggled to finish some easy ones around the rim. He did knock down a couple of threes again. He’s made 25-52 threes, nearly .500 shooting behind the arc. Exceptional shooting from long range. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-10 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 11 assists, 2 turnover and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +22. The Action: He up-faked to lose his man, attacked and hit Pau for the dunk. He attacked in early offense and kicked to Meeks for the three. He attacked and missed the layup (should have used glass). He attacked the paint, drew the D and hit Pau for the layup. He attacked the paint and missed the little scoop he should have had. He iso’d on his man, spun and hit the tough wing jumper to just beat the shotclock. He attacked and couldn’t finish another layup (missing the easy ones, making the tough). He sank a wing three on a kickout in transition. He found Wes for the three. He was called for a weak offensive foul, jumping in front of a big with his dribble alive, getting him sealed and then about to attack after creating a two-on-one situation, not sure how that was a foul, looked like a great play in the making. He attacked from the wing and scored the layup around his man this time. He had 7 points on 3-6 shooting, 8 assists and 1 turnover. Second Half: He attacked to his right but tried to score with his left and had it easily blocked off him, that’s an off-hand shot with the man on his hip. He missed a wing three, looked like he was back on his heels a little. He threw a pass away on a kickout, right to a Raptor and points the other way. He swished the three on the kickout from Harris. He missed a 20-footer behind a screen.

Johnson -- -- He had a brief stretch where he sank back-to-back threes, but not much else in this game. The Lakers opted for Young at SF wisely to close the Raptors out. We ran Wes a little at PF after our first half issues with the Sacre/Hill combo. We may see more of that. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-4 shooting (2-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He attacked in transition, not close on a layup. He attacked and charged, defender was there forever. He swished the open three on the Marshall kickout. He swished a corner three next time down off the swing pass. He got backdoored for a dunk the other way. He let a man fly by, moved in and drew the foul, he made both FTs. He had 8 points and just 1 board at the half. Second Half: He couldn’t hold a pass, three the other way. He missed a wing three. He blocked a shot, but didn’t match up afterward and his man scored.

Kelly -- -- As mentioned, we’d probably see him in the starting lineup. Chalk up yet another new combination of players to start games. Everyone but Harris has had a chance to start. Kelly had a quiet first half, but the team played well with him on the court. He had 14 points in the second half. He picked up the scoring in the third quarter to help get the Lakers going when they were struggling. Then, he had several clutch scores late in the fourth quarter. He had a late turnover that stuck with him afterward. “I’m still pretty angry that I turned the ball over there passing to Pau at the end of the game. Those are things that can’t happen,” he said. Super-efficient game, getting his 17 points on just 7 shots. Well done. Are we watching him grow up and break out? “If he keeps developing, getting stronger, he could be a very good player,” D’Antoni said, mentioning that Kelly had 6 months where he couldn’t play ball because of injury. He and Pau, our starting bigs, didn’t register a foul in big minutes. Kelly’s smarts and mobility helping a lot. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-7 shooting (1-2 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He sank a wing three on the swing pass (had passed up several before finally taking that). He drew a moving screen on the other end to get a stop. He deflected a pass in the lane and it ignited a break. He had 3 points on 1-1 shooting and 1 board in 19 minutes. Second Half: He attacked off the three line and hit the runner for the Lakers first points of the half. He jumped a passing lane and drew the clear-path foul, he made both FTs. He attacked, stepped through at the FT line and banked in the And-1 leaner, he made the FT. He attacked from the wing, spun, was falling down and still banked it in on his way down. He attacked, put on the brakes, pivoted and just missed the elbow jumper next time down. Nice double in the corner to force a turnover with Nick. He missed an open wing three, short (that was drawn up out of a timeout). He ball-faked, moved in closer and swished the baseline jumper next time down. He drew three FTs next time down on a wing three, he made all three with 2 minutes left. He threw a pass away trying to hit Pau (who either wasn’t ready or it was too low a pass).

Young -- -- “Just sitting in that hotel room, I wanted to be in that game bad,” Nick said. “For me to come back out here and my teammates still believe in me, my coach still believe it me, I just felt good.” Back after his suspension and he lit up the Raptors. We somehow managed to win that last one without him. He nearly cracked the 30-point mark, which no Laker has done yet this season. As mentioned, he dominated that fourth quarter. The Raptors didn’t know what to do with him and that led to several fouls on jumpers. He was on fire beyond the arc, sinking 5-7, including a dagger with a minute and a half left. Nick’s anger and call out has seemed to spark the team and get them out of their funk right now. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 7-13 shooting (5-7 from three, 10-11 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He lost the handle, it bounced back to him, the lane cleared, so he attacked for a layup. He missed a wing jumper. He sank a corner three on the baseline kickout from Harris. He missed an iso jumper. He missed a wing three against the shotclock. Second Half: He got squashed on a three attempt for three FTs, he made all three. Nice D to force his man into an airball on a jumper. He attacked and no-looked to Pau after drawing the D. He drained a wing three in early offense. He turned to launch a three, got his man to foul and also drew a tech, he made that FT, then made two of the three FTs. He sank a crazy corner fallaway on iso. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He swished a sideline three in transition off a swing pass. He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He missed a layup on a drive. He drained a three at the top of the key with 3:37 left to take a 4-point lead. He iso’d and drained a huge three straight away with a minute and a half left to give the Lakers a 5-point lead. He somehow got bailed out on a long, fading chuck up against the shotclock, huge foul with 20 seconds left, he made both FTs. He was so fast on the inbounds intentional foul pushing it up court that the refs reviewed it as a possible clear-path, he didn’t get that but did knock down both FTs.

Hill -- -- He’s fighting off a cold. Small minutes, but he was able to be a positive factor out there off the bench. Our second unit could use his garbage man work to help bail them out of bad situations. It’s tough for Hill when we don’t have guys getting dribble penetration or drawing attention. The opposition can keep track of him better. We also don’t have any of those screen-roll plays for him, as well, without a point guard. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting to go with 5 boards (2 offensive) and no fouls in 11 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He kept a board alive on a Laker miss and we regained possession. He took a pocket pass from Meeks and dunked. He backed his man down and missed the short turnaround. Second Half: He worked Hayes into the lane and hit the controlled jumphook over him. He backed his man down and sank a bank over a help defenders as his man went down.

Harris -- -- He’s trying to pick his spots and fit in. Good to see D’Antoni find some minutes for him with Nick back. It’s not hard with as depleted as we are, but this is a good opportunity for him. It may be tough to get practice time in on the road, but he’s looked comfortable and the second unit has to keep things simple just out of necessity. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-8 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: In the game, he immediately rose up high off the Young missed jumper and slammed it back down in a crowd. He sank a pull-up wing jumper in transition. He missed a floater in the paint. He attacked a crowd and it led to a jumpball which he lost. He attacked and kicked to Nick for three. He looked fouled on a jumper at the buzzer, no call. He missed a wing three in early offense. He had 4 points on 2-5 shooting. Second Half: He attacked and kicked to Marshall for three. He took a cross-court pass, settled himself, then drilled the wing three against the shotclock. He missed an elbow jumper. He cut off ball but couldn’t finish the layup, asking for the foul.

Sacre -- -- He was a -19 in just 6 minutes. That’s a good way to get yourself in the doghouse behind Kaman, if that’s even possible. Without a lot of our talent, any crack in the team armor just gets exposed even more. Because our lineups have been in flux all first half of this season, shuffling lineups around you never know what you are going to get on any given night. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 1 board and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a wing jumper on a pick and pop. He slipped a screen and dunked. He couldn’t power up and finish a layup off the Marshall feed. You need to go with Kaman in the second half or some other combo. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

D’Antoni -- -- Down 13-11, he sat Johnson for Young… He brought in Harris and Hill for Kelly and Meeks. Nice to see Harris still in the rotation and he instantly made an impact with a couple scores. The Lakers led 24-20 when the next timeout came… He sat Pau and Marshall for Meeks and Sacre out of that timeout. The dreaded no PG minutes… This unit got torched. D’Antoni took a why-bother timeout with 25 seconds left in the quarter. They gave up 16 points in those last two minutes. But that timeout was a waste, we’re just going to run one more end-of-quarter iso for Nick and the quarter will be done… The Lakers trailed 36-29 after the first quarter… He started the same Sacre, Hill, Young, Harris, Meeks unit that was getting thrashed… He sat Hill for Kelly after a minute… He sat Harris for Marshall… D’Antoni called a timeout down 15 after just a couple of minutes… He went back with the starters and Young instead of Johnson… He sat Young for Johnson and we had the starters back in with just under 8 minutes left. Last 7 minutes have been horrid… They chipped away and cut it down to 7, better chemistry on both ends… Great job by the starters in this game. They ended on a 23-8 run to cut the lead to just 4… The Lakers trailed 58-54 at the half. The Lakers shot 46.5% (20-43, 6-10 3PT, 8-8 FT). They had just 4 turnovers in the half. The Raptors shot 58% (25-43, 5-16 3PT, 3-3 FT). DeRozan and Patterson combined for 30 points on 13-18 shooting... Lakers scoreless to start the half for several minutes. He sat Johnson for Young down double digits again…Down 10, he brought in Harris for Meeks midway through the quarter… They cut it back to a 3-point lead with 3:30 left, getting a series of 3-point plays and stops… They took a 1-point lead and brought in some defenders for the final stand... The Lakers led 82-81 heading into the fourth. They played their first unit long minutes. Now for the subs that got rocked in the first half… He went with a Hill, Johnson, Young, Harris, Meeks unit, no Sacre (or Kaman)… D’Antoni finally made some subs after a stretch of minutes deep into the fourth for that second unit. He brought in Pau, Kelly and Marshall for Hill, Harris and Johnson down 3. Those three have played strong all game… Down the stretch some Kelly and Young in crunch time helped the Lakers take the lead and secure the win. Nick hitting crazy shots, Kelly with some super efficiency…The Raptors shot 9-30 from three…

[markjay]

First?

[Chronicle]

We should trade meeks and hill
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Kobe

[Nobody]

I love Swaggy. Nice back to back wins, shows you just how horrible the East really is.

[SweetP]

Two game winning streak!
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[SweetP]

[ReaListik]

[lakerjoshua]

Nice to see so many smiles around

Thanks DB!

[pio2u]

[Texas_Pete]

Thanks DB. Always appreciate your efforts.

Ryan Kelly showed a lot of poise down the stretch. He looked really comfortable out there. I'd like to see him grab at least 8 rebounds (given the amount of minutes he played tonight). But I like what I saw overall. Maybe he can blossom into a Ryan Anderson type player? Although I'd like more talent at the position he plays, I think he has a Laker future.

[pio2u]

WOW....MARSHAL HAS 5 STRAIGHT DOUBLE-DOUBLES!

[Laker's Fan]

Nice recap.

Still trying to figure out why Mitch didn't get the standard 2nd year non guaranteed on Kelly's deal. He's restricted but if he proves to be a player, LA has missed an opportunity to cap manage.
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Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[mhan00]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[waterman40]

[LGTownDrunk]

Lakers kept turnovers under 10, finally, and win. Kelly doesn't play very good individual defense, but he seems to be the most aware Laker of what's going on around him. His team defense was quite good tonight. Smart kid.

Thanks DB.
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We want Soon now....we want Soon now....we want Soon now!

[A Mad Chinaman]