LAKERS -at- BULLS - 1-20-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Overtime… With as many lead changes as we saw in this game, it was no surprise this one went to OT.

The Lakers got a spirited effort from their defense and a 31-point game from Nick Young, including a couple of huge plays to tie the game up in regulation and in overtime. He drew a foul on a three with 4 seconds left and made all three FTs to send it to overtime. In OT, he swished a baseline jumper with 6 seconds left to tie it up again.

With 0.9 seconds left, they needed one more stop to send the game into double OT.

The inbounds came to Taj Gibson in the paint with Bulls clearing a path. Pau was late to read it and react, Manny Harris was caught on the wrong side of Gibson and the hoop, and the Bulls won it at the buzzer with a layup. The Lakers fell 102-100.

"It was a good play," D'Antoni said. "It was designed well and they executed well. We played baseline and didn't slide over."

Tough loss, but better toughness from the Lakers these past few games.


Gasol -- -- Despite the loss, great two-way game by Pau. Rare we can say that, but he really did a very good job on both ends of the floor before that final overtime. He anchored the D and protected the paint better than he has all season, getting 5 blocks and actually making Noah think about putting up shots around him. Rare we have altered shots because of Pau’s presence, but we had that until the final second in OT. He was protecting the baseline on that final inbounds, but didn’t see how the play was developing until it was too late. He needed to cover for Manny who was positioned to protect against a pop out. Had Manny stayed where he was before someone moved him that play would have busted. Pau did a good job putting his team on his back down the stretch for a series of scores in regulation. But in OT, his post game suddenly went turnover prone as we tried to attack Noah who had 5 fouls. He just fumbled the ball away a couple of times. Those hurt. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-15 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 19 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 3 steals, 5 blocks, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He rejected a shot in the paint. He missed a baseline jumper on iso. He had Noah sealed, backed him down, pumped a couple times and scored the And-1 with his left, he made the FT. Nice read of Nick coming off the split play at a different angle cut than usual and it led to a layup. He stood after a turnover and his man scored in transition, didn’t even try to get down court otherwise he could have prevented it. He battled for an offensive board and drew FTs on the putback attempt. He missed a short one with his left. He kept the ball up high with his left and swept it in around a defender across the lane. Fronted by Boozer, he dunked off the high-low bounce pass from Kelly. He blocked Boozer’s one-hander. He deflected a pass in transition to get another stop next time down. Second Half: He airballed a chuck from three when a play busted and he had to beat the shotclock. He was hit in the lane for FTs, he made one. Up against the clock and he hit a lefty hook in the lane. He blocked Noah in the post and controlled it. No box out and he fouled Noah on the putback. He swiped a pass in the paint. He fumbled a pass away in traffic. He no-looked a pass out of bounds. He blocked a layup on a help D rotation, it led to a Laker breakaway. He took contact, Noah went down and Pau hit the floater. He iso’d against Noah on the left block, Pau spun baseline and reversed around him. He took a bullet from Meeks and scored the layup next time down. He missed a face-up wing jumper up against the clock. He was stripped on iso and wanted the foul with under a minute left. Overtime: He swished a 16-footer on the two-man game. He spun and lost the ball out of bounds. He forced a jumper over Noah and missed. He posted up and fumbled the ball away, ouch. He tipped the ball multiple times on a Young miss but couldn’t get it to go.

Marshall -- -- Really quiet game from Marshall. He wasn’t a scoring threat as all of his attempts came from behind the arc, usually on kickouts. Off the dribble, he was purely a passer. This was one of those games where had they had Steve Blake, he probably finishes this game for the Lakers. The Lakers sputtered to start the fourth without him or a PG on the floor. Those are such tough minutes for the team. Marshall said against a tough defensive team like the Bulls, you need to match that play on D. They did a pretty good job tonight and have looked much better on that end lately. “Defensively has been the difference,” Marshall said. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting from three to go with 2 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 1 foul in 40 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He hit Meeks on the backdoor cut with a bounce pass for the score. Nice read on a rotation to cover Boozer and he swiped the pass, pushed out the break and hit Meeks for the FTs. He missed a long three on a kickout. He hit Nick in the wing with speed while bringing it up and Nick quickly took it to the rim for the dunk (probably not an assist but the pass made that play happen). Second Half: He drained a three on a kickout from Meeks. He was forced into a one-handed chuck from three trying to beat the shotclock, percentage buster on the airball. He missed a wing three. His bounce pass in the paint was picked off. He hit Sacre on the pick and pop for the jumper. Overtime: He hit Pau for the 16-footer on the two-man game.

Kelly -- -- We put him on Noah and Pau on Boozer defensively to start. The Bulls later sat Boozer in favor of a smaller, better defending lineup. Scrappy game from Kelly. He didn’t have the fourth quarter scoring like we’ve seen recently. I was kind of hoping they would draw something up for him. I’d love to see a play that frees him up for something in the midrange where he looks automatic (like he is at the FT line). Some good chemistry out there on both ends. He had a very good read on one high-low sequence that got Pau a dunk. “He plays well. He’s smart,” D’Antoni said, mentioning he needs a stretch four out there. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He iso’d with the shotclock low after grabbing a Meeks airball and knocked down the sideline jumper. Good challenge in the post, then he filled the lane on the other end, saw an opening and attacked with speed for the slam. He missed a wing jumper off the dribble. He attacked Noah with his left and missed the drive. He forced Boozer into an airball in the post. He picked up a Sasha-esque second foul in the backcourt trying to pressure, ticky-tack foul as Chick would have said. He up-faked to get a fly by, moved in closer and hit the midrange wing jumper. He missed the three on the Pau kickout. He flashed to the FT line to take a pass and quickly bounced it to Pau heading to the rim for the dunk, great read and he spotted that as soon as Boozer fronted Pau, which is why he flashed to the FT line. He missed a wing three in transition. Second Half: He pushed out in transition, spun and was hit on a jumper, he made both FTs. They sagged off him to deny the post entry, so Kelly measured and drained the three. He grabbed a loose ball and was mugged under the hoop, he made both FTs. He missed a three straight away. Overtime: He had a ball poked away on iso, turnover. He stepped in front of Noah on the weakside rotation to take a charge on help D. He deflected a pass out of bounds with 0.9 left.

Meeks -- -- Some pretty good passes by Meeks in this game. Usually his playmaking is a nightmare, but he’s had some nice pocket passes or plays off the dribble. Putting him in this situation is certainly rounding out his game more than ever. The season-high 7 assists was excellent against a good defensive team. He’s seeing the court very well and perhaps getting a little more used to the decision-maker role. We still need a true point as we struggled to start the fourth to get any flow going. We also struggled to defend D.J. Augustin. Some mistakes were made by the guards, but to be fair, we are leaving our guards out there on an island against the screen. That’s tough against a shooter who has it going. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 4-10 shooting (2-4 from three, 6-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 44 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He missed a wing three. He cut backdoor and Marshall found him with the bounce pass for the dunk. He busted out with speed in transition, took the pass and drew FTs, he made both. He swished a wing three on a kickout from Harris. He threw a pass away on the break. He swished a three behind a Sacre screen. He missed a wide open, rushed corner three in transition. He had 12 points and 2 assists at the half. Second Half: He threw a pass away on a drive, layup the other way. He kicked to Kendall for the three. He was expecting a whistle after taking contact and missed the off-balance leaner. Poor inbound D and it caused Pau to take a foul. He stripped his man, pushed it up, then threw it away. He got it back and was blocked. Great bounce pass off the two-man game to Hill for the dunk. He missed a step-back baseline jumper on iso. He was grabbed in transition for FTs, he made both. He took the long outlet and was shoved on the dunk attempt, he made both FTs. He attacked baseline, drew the D and whipped a feed to Pau for the layup. Overtime: He missed a runner. He got Augustin to turn it over with 10 seconds left down by 2, a rare stop against him.

Johnson -- -- This is the guy who should have been in Manny’s shoes on those defensive subs to get final stops. He’s got more chemistry, more length and more experience. For some reason D’Antoni went with the new guy. Not that Manny is a slouch defensively, but Wes is our best man defender on the team and he wasn’t out there. That was a poor decision. Wes didn’t have a great game, for sure, but that might have been the difference. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-4 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He missed a wing three in transition. No rotation to help Pau and we gave up a layup. He missed a three off a swing pass. He tried to thread a needle and it went out of bounds. Second Half: He settled for a jumper after his man flew by instead of attacking and open lane and missed. He missed a sideline three on a kickout. He attacked off the three line and forced a foul, he made one FT.

Young -- -- I’ve never seen anyone get fouled as much on threes as Nick has this year. He nearly had another 4-point play again in this game. He was fouled with 4 seconds left on a three to tie the game up at the line. “That’s my first time going to the line in a situation like that,” Nick said. He knocked down all three clutch ones like he’s been there. Great game from him and some huge clutch hoops. He swished a baseline jumper to tie the game just before we lost it. Asked if he was playing like Kobe, Nick said, “I can’t play like Kobe, man. There’s only one Kobe. Kobe’s been a great mentor for me, just telling me all kinds of things during the game and that’s unbelievable for me this whole year, just learning from the greatest player to play this game.” It really was a Kobe-like performance to get our first 30-point game of the season, which just goes to show you how easy Kobe makes a 30-point game look every night. He needs to stick around another year and really learn from Kobe. The Stats: He scored 31 points on 11-23 shooting (3-6 from three, 6-7 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 43 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He got backdoored for a layup. He scored a layup coming off the split play to take a pass from Pau. He attacked and fumbled a ball away, his man scored on the other end. He missed a chuck from the wing. He iso’d and sank the pull-up from the top of the key. He whipped a pass through traffic to Hill rolling to the hoop and it led to FTs. He swished a wing three to start the second quarter. He swished another three next time down on the kickout from Sacre as Nick came across a screen. He pushed out a rebound and scored a layup in transition for his third straight score. He missed a leaner and wanted a foul, then picked up a tech, shoving Nazr. He missed a long chuck with the shotclock about to go off. He drained a long three and was hit for an And-1, he missed the FT to miss another chance at a 4-point play. He missed the heat check corner three next time down. He took a quick dish from Marshall and attacked from the wing before the D could get set and slammed it down. He had 17 points (including 3-4 from three) at the half. Second Half: He chucked up a shot expecting a foul and missed. He missed a pull-up on the wing. Nice job dropping baseline to deflect a pass off a Bull. His man gambled on the pass and missed, Nick attacked and swished the baseline pull up. He missed a three on iso up against the shotclock. He threw a pass away getting double teamed. He swished a pull-up jumper from the elbow. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a three in transition. He drew FTs getting out in transition after a Pau block, he made both. He missed a quick-fire wing jumper. He drew three FTs on a long chuck from three against Noah with 4 seconds left, he made all three clutch ones to tie it up. Overtime: He attacked baseline and charged, looked like Dunleavy moved his heel off the three line at the last second. He curled into the lane, took the pass and windmilled in an And-1 layup around a defender, he made the FT. He missed an open wing jumper. He attacked and missed a layup. He swished a baseline fade coming off the screen to tie it up with 6 seconds left.

Hill -- -- Jordan’s post game looks a lot better this year. A lot was talked about him working on his perimeter game this offseason and that didn’t pan out. His post game, however, has shown some nice speed and confidence to get to his jumphook. He showed the counter move, up and under off that tonight, as well and a short turnaround. Good minutes with him and Sacre on the floor tonight unlike the other day. The Lakers made an impressive 85% of their FTs tonight, missing just 4 in 26 shots. Sure they could have used the one Jordan missed, but can’t expect better shooting from the line than that. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-4 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He took a pass from Nick under the hoop, pumpfaked and drew FTs, he made one. Nice read and close out to block a corner three and get a shotclock violation. Second Half: He missed a jumphook against the shotclock. He dunked off the two-man game with Meeks. He iso’d, spun to his hook, then went up and under instead for the layup, sweet move. Look like he swatted his man in the paint and it led to Meeks points the other way. He sank a short turnaround over Noah. He was called for a charge on a post move.

Harris -- -- D’Antoni subbed Harris in a couple of times for defensive stands. On that final play, you can see where someone told Manny to get behind Gibson. He had been between him and the basket. As soon as the two Bulls made like offensive lineman and cleared a hole, Harris was left on the wrong side of his man on the inbounds. Pau was late to react on help D and the Bulls scored at the buzzer to win in OT. “It wasn’t his fault. It’s the team’s fault,” D’Antoni said. Coaches included. Hopefully, D’Antoni swipes that play for his playbook. We got a rare post-game interview from Harris. “They made a tough shot and a tough play at the end,” Manny said, but was optimistic with how the team played. Really liked his work on the glass in this game. The Lakers needed more of that. They’ve got to rebound as a team, but often seem to gamble a bit too much on leak outs. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-9 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He shaded baseline when no one was there, layup. He drained a wing three he could step into trailing the break. He iso’d out of a timeout and missed the pull-up wing jumper. He attacked and missed a fading wing jumper. He set up Meeks for three next time down on a kickout. He attacked across the lane and hit the fading one-hander. Excellent close out to recover and shut down an offensive set. He missed a layup on a drive. Second Half: He jab-stepped and missed a wing three. Trapped in no-man’s land and he threw it away. He missed a three next time down. He was blocked from behind on a pushout. Great crash of the defensive glass to help his bigs and secure a board in traffic. He attacked and was blocked out of bounds, he wanted the foul. Overtime: In for only that final defensive stand.

Sacre -- -- Much better minutes from Sacre tonight. He was challenging shots well in the paint. He and Pau combined for 8 blocks as the team put together one of their better defensive efforts. Definitely looked like an excellent back-up, second-string or third-string big in this game. He also scratched out a couple of hoops within the confines of the offense. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-5 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 16 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He rejected Gibson in the lane to ignite a break. He missed a jumphook from the left block. Aggressive trap, pushing a man to the sideline with Nick, then forcing him to cough it up. He drained a pull-up 10-footer off the screen-roll. He threw a pass away trying to hit Meeks backdoor. Second Half: He swatted a drive out of bounds. He got tapped on a jumphook in the paint. He swatted another shot out of bounds on the other end. He missed a long wing jumper up against the shotclock. He sank a wing jumper on the pick and pop.

D’Antoni -- -- Back and forth battle tonight… We sat Johnson for Young after 4 minutes up by 5… The Lakers were up 13-12 when the timeout came midway through the quarter. No subs. The trailed a couple minutes later by 3 and D’Antoni brought in Johnson and Harris for Kelly and Meeks… Down 2, he brought in Hill for Pau… He brought back in Kelly for Johnson, but Kelly picked up his second foul and had to sit… The Lakers trailed 31-26 after the first quarter… He started the Sacre, Hill, Young, Harris, Meeks lineup to open the second quarter (Kelly might have played instead of Sacre had he not had the foul issues)… Good D by this squad to open the quarter. Young and Meeks hitting threes and scoring. The Lakers forced a timeout leading 39-34… After a couple of threes by the Bulls, D’Antoni called a timeout midway through the quarter. He brought back in Pau, Marshall and Kelly for Hill, Sacre and Meeks… Up 3, we sat Harris for Johnson… Meeks back in for Johnson, Lakers up 1… Good defensive quarter by the Lakers, holding the bulls to 18 points in the second… The Lakers led 52-49 at the half. The Lakers shot 51%, the Bulls 39.6%... Here comes the third… Up 6, he brought in Nick and Manny for Meeks and Johnson… Up 1, he sat Kelly, Pau and Marshall for Meeks, Sacre and Hill with 3 minutes left… The Lakers led 72-69 as both teams scored 20 in the third. Good job in the third… He started the same Sacre, Hill, Young, Harris, Meeks lineup… Offense really struggling to get any kind of flow. D’Antoni called a timeout with the Lakers down 3 after 3 scoreless minutes. He brought in Marshall for Harris to help right the ship… He sat Hill and Sacre who did a good job holding the line for Pau and Kelly up by 2 midway through the quarter… Lakers had a chance to go up 5 or 6, but took too long to create something and had to settle for a Pau jumper trying to beat the shotclock. After a couple of Bulls scores, the trailed by 2 instead and called a timeout with 32 seconds left… They missed a quick two-for-one by Young, then Nick accidentally tripped Noah on the other end for FTs with 7 seconds left. He subbed in Sacre and Harris to get a rebound. Noah made one FT… Lakers down 3 with 7.4 left. Timeout. He brought back in Kelly for Sacre. Three-point shooters in. Nick drew three FTs on a long three against Noah. Nick tied it up… Tied up 93-93 with 4 seconds left. They would need a stop to send it to OT. He brought in Harris on D for Marshall. They got the stop… Overtime: The Lakers pulled out to a 5-point lead after a couple minutes… Bulls came back and the Lakers trailed by 2 with 1:30 left. D’Antoni called a timeout… Down 2 with 10 seconds left, he called a timeout. Lakers scoreless in the last couple and need someone to step up. Nick tied it up with a baseline swish coming off a screen and fading away from the defender…That was quick. The Lakers would need to get a stop with 6 seconds left. He brought back in Manny for Marshall again. Kelly deflected a pass with 0.9 left. Under a second to get a stop. The Bulls put to blockers in front of Gibson and someone told Manny to get behind Gibson. Gibson just followed the blockers in, took the pass and scored at the buzzer as Pau was a hair too late to help. Game over…

[mhan00]

Tough loss.

[ThreePointBomber]

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The most important shot in basketball.

[kobe_luver]

Thanks DB!!

[LGTownDrunk]

At least the Lakers are competitive now.

Young leans towards the basket slightly on this 3s, which I think is why he gets fouled so much. The other Lakers should learn that move - it's gold.

Great write-up as always, and entertaining game.

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

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB. Tough loss, good effort.

[Lakersneuron]

this one hurt. But shelter from the rain is taken under the large shadow of the

Thanks for the write-up as always DB. I didn't even notice Wes wasn't in on that last play. I do remember thinking, "crazy that Harris is getting crunch-time burn".
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"I don’t give a [expletive] what you say. If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, 'Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.' Well, [expletive] you. Because I don’t play for your [expletive] approval."

[Klone_dd]

A spirited game on the 2nd of a b2b. Disappointed they got beat, but once again, the art of tanking without tanking.

MDA did make a gaffe not having Wes in at the end. Pau had a very complete game, but those possessions at the end were horrendous. Nick played the Kobe role very well. If he had a post up game, look out. I really like the development he and Meeks have shown.

[mnstrdnk]

[A Mad Chinaman]