LAKERS -at- CAVS - 2-5-14 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Through the Looking Glass, and What They Saw There … In was out. Out was in. Up was down. Light was dark. Young was old. Time ran backwards.

Maybe this is what you get when the two Mikes, the former coach and current coach, collide. Maybe it was all a dream.

The Lakers were supposed to have their depth returning. Instead, they lose Meeks, Hill, and Pau this week. No Kobe. No Henry. They release Harris. They sit Nash tonight to rest him. Then Peanut Butter and Jelly was gone -- Young in the first half, Farmar in the second with injury. And, finally, Chris Kaman fouled out early in the fourth.

At that point, the Lakers had no one on the bench.

Then Sacre fouled out with 3:32 left.

Ummm. What now? Don’t act like you knew. You’ve never seen it. It just doesn’t happen.

“I thought we were going to have to play with four,” Wes Johnson said.

“I didn’t know if we had enough guys. Or…I didn’t know…First of all… I… It doesn’t… Uhhh… That was crazy. It was just crazy,” said Robert Sacre, struggling to describe what was going through his mind and everyone else’s, yet coming pretty close to accurate.

Robert Sacre returned to the game. The Lakers took a technical foul and played on with Sacre and his six fouls on the court. You have to have five on the court at all times. The Cavs would shoot a tech any time he was whistled for another foul.

Somehow, he avoided that and the Lakers managed to pull off a win. (Steve Nash put back on a Laker jersey with a minute left and could have come in at that point, if they needed him.)

It was crazy from start to finish. The two teams combined for 70 attempts from three. The Lakers sank a franchise high 18 three-pointers (the Cavs made just 5-33 threes). The Cavs had 27 offensive rebounds. And still lost to L.A., 119-109.

As bad as things are this year, I certainly don’t miss Mike Brown. He should have attacked Sacre relentlessly with 8+ minutes left, but didn’t. Down the stretch, he sat his All Star, Kyrie Irving, who might have imposed his will to push them to a win (let alone get in the paint for fouls). They had no success from beyond the arc, but fired away relentlessly. They gave up a season high 70 points to the Lakers in the first half. And second-round rookie, Ryan Kelly, led the Lakers in scoring with a career-high 26 points.

“We fought hard, man,” said Blake afterward. Out-gunned, out-manned, they certainly did. Great effort tonight.


Blake -- -- Amid the weirdness, Blake finished the game with a triple-double. He was just 3 turnovers away from a quadruple-double. I’m surprised that didn’t happen with how odd things were. That game was nuts. “I’ve never been a part of something like that. That’s crazy,” Blake said. He drained a couple of late threes to ice the game away. He was dishing dimes early and often (8 in the first quarter). He was the rock steady influence for the Lakers in this game, but even he had some moments down the stretch with early offense misses and miscues before those threes. “He plays hard. He plays with grit and doesn’t back down to anyone,” D’Antoni said. He may have a little man crush on Blake. Hey, triple double in your second game back, why not? The Stats: He scored 11 points on 2-7 shooting (2-7 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 15 assists, 3 steals, 7 turnovers and 2 fouls. The Action: He found Wes for the corner three. He attacked baseline and hit Wes again for a three. He attacked and his kickout was picked off. His lob pass was knocked away, turnover. He hit Young on the break for the layup. He missed a three from the top of the arc. He had 8 assists in the first quarter. He set up Kelly for FTs on the two-man game. He was fouled on the perimeter and he made one FT. He missed a wing three. He had 9 assists at the half. Second Half: He probed and kicked to Kelly for three. His kickout was picked off on the next trip down. He kicked out to Wes for the wing three. He attacked and kicked to Marshall for the three. He attacked and drew FTs on the drive, he made both. He missed a wing three. He missed a corner three. He attacked and threw it away instead of trying to finish a layup that looked like it was there. He iso’d with the shotclock winding down and he drew FTs with no time on the clock, he made both. He swished a huge three with 3 minutes left. He missed a three next time down, probably should have milked some clock that time for sure. He threw a backdoor pass away next time down in early clock. Shotclock violation next time down, making sure he used every second. He swished the final dagger three with 57 seconds left to push the lead back to 9.

Farmar -- -- He came out on fire, scoring 19 points in the first half and sinking just about everything he took. Great to see him back. Sad to see him go. He’ll be back, though. “I’ll be all right,” he said. His calf cramped up and his hammy tightened after playing 33 minutes. He didn’t want to press his luck and sit another month, so he iced it down and stayed out of the game at that point. He had 13 of his points in the second quarter, just money from three. This Laker team has a great bench. They’re fun to watch. But the injuries just decimated the team to the point of it being impossible to make the playoffs. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-15 shooting (5-8 form three) to go with 1 board, 8 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He broke down the D and hit Wes for the three. He swished a sideline three. His bounce pass was picked off. He drained a wing three in transition next time down. He swished the corner three on the kickout. He drained another one on the post kickout next time down. He swiped a ball and took it the distance for the score, his third straight for the Lakers. He attacked the paint next time down and fed Kaman for the And-1. He got tapped on a corner three. He iso’d on Deng and swished the three (they changed it to a two after review…otherwise the Lakers would have ended up with 19 threes). He swished a heat-check wing three on his next attempt. He attacked and missed the FT pull-up jumper. He hit Kelly rolling to the hoop for a layup. He had 19 points on 7-9 shooting (5-6 from three). Second Half: He hit Sacre on the screen-roll for the short one. He missed the iso three from the wing. He missed a layup on the break, but Wes cleaned it up. He missed a long three up against the shtoclock. He attacked and kicked to Kelly for three. He sliced through the D and scored a layup with his left. He missed a stepback jumper on iso. He lost the ball on the dribble after getting held with no call. Sloppy pass and it led to a score the other way. He swiped a pass, pushed it out and missed the layup, hurting himself on the play.

Kelly -- -- In more weirdness, the second rounder looked much better than the No. 1 pick on the other team. Kelly scored a career high in his 42 minutes. With Pau and Hill now down, we saw a stretch of Kelly at the C spot with both Kaman and Sacre in foul trouble. That will never work, but he filled in as best he could. I’m actually surprised he didn’t finish with 30. He missed a couple FTs at the end of the game and missed a shot or two he usually hits earlier. His three ball has looked better lately. He’s still making the transition to the NBA game and that three range should be more consistent, but he’s sure looked comfortable out there offensively. Still a lot of work on the defensive end, of course. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 8-16 shooting (3-7 from three, 7-9 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 42 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: Too passive and he helped get a shotclock violation despite several touches on the possession. He sank a three from the wing in transition. He missed the corner three. He let his man go right around him for a layup. He attacked on the other end and powered in the short baseline leaner. He missed a wing three. He was hit on the reverse attempt on the screen-roll for FTs, he made both. He missed a 16-footer on a kickout. He gave up a board and putback on the other end. He attacked off the three line and drew a push on the pull-up in the lane, he made both FTs. He took the handoff, quick first step and he attacked the paint, sliced through the D and scored the layup. He drew a charge in the post taking a ton of contact and going down well. He slipped the screen, took the pass and scored the layup. He was stripped at the buzzer when we ran a help defender right behind him on a poorly set up play. Second Half: He drained the wing three on the Blake kickout. He grabbed an offensive board, up-faked to get a man landing on him, then stepped through and spun the And-1 up and in, he made the FT on the highlight reel play of the night. He set up Sacre for FTs on a nice read. He was hit on a three with no call and missed. He swished the sideline three on the kickout from Farmar. He attacked and missed with his left. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a wing three on a two-for-one attempt. He iso’d at the wing with the shotclock low, attacked, spun and flipped in a tough leaning toss to beat the shotclock. He was intentionally fouled with 48 seconds left, he made both. He was fouled again after securing another board, he missed both that could have got him to 28.

Johnson -- -- He went off in the first quarter for 15 points, hitting several threes in a row. His energy was there tonight and the results followed. It wasn’t just threes, but also some hustle plays on the break, shot blocks, offensive boards. That’s all the little stuff that ads up to a more complete game and impact on the game. The Lakers need big games from him now to get W’s. When they are loaded with healthy bodies and their stars, these are the games that kill top teams, not just cellar dwellers. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-15 shooting (4-7 from three) to go with 9 boards, 2 blocks and 3 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He sank a corner three on the swing pass. He sank a wing three on a kickout from Farmar. He swished his third three in a row on a kickout from Blake. Too hot a pass and Kelly couldn’t hold it, turnover. He blocked a shot from behind. He crashed the glass and slammed down the Sacre miss. He swished a corner three, feeling it. He missed a heat-check pull-up jumper in transition next time down. He filled the lane with speed and Nick found him for the two-handed slam. Back in, he bricked a FT jumper. He scored 15 points to go with 2 blocks. Second Half: He missed the sideline three on a kickout. He drained the wing three on the Blake kickout. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He missed a pull up at the FT line. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He missed a wing three.

Sacre -- -- Add another odd chapter to the career of Robert Sacre. The 60th pick of the draft, the Mr. Irrelevant, who has played a lot better than a lot of other guys that went before him had an interesting night. Sacre fouled out in the fourth, but kept playing. Not too many 60th picks make the league. Fouling out in an NBA game and still playing? Doesn’t happen. He should have gone for the career-high 7 fouls just to be different. He was dazed and confused about what would happen to him just like everyone else. Overall, solid game from Sacre. He drew some clutch charges with that foul trouble. He still struggled to get rebounds. Offensively, he worked the pick and rolls nicely for some short ones in the paint. Looked very smooth on the floor on both ends. If only, he could pull down boards. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-8 shooting (0-2 form the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 block and the 6 fouls. He was a -3. The Action: He flashed to the post, took the corner entry and hit the turnaround. Great challenge on a dunk on one end to get a stop and he slammed on the other when his man flopped under the hoop. He missed a pick and pop jumper, but Wes cleaned it up. Second Half: He hit a one-hander on the screen-roll with Farmar. He was about to concede a layup, then a putback, but drew the foul on the third attempt for his fourth foul. He missed a baseline jumper. He couldn’t finish the easy And-1 at the rim, then missed both FTs. He hit a much-needed jumphook in the paint. He missed a baseline pick and pop. He stood in and drew a charge. Again, he stood in and took another charge, great job with the foul trouble on those last two. He scored a layup on the interior feed from Marshall.

Marshall -- -- It wasn’t a ball dominant game from Marshall, but he blended in pretty well playing across other PGs. He probed like a PG when the opportunity was there, but also shot like an SG when left open, sinking four threes. He, Blake and Farmar combined for 30 assists. Crazy numbers. Good job not getting lost in the shuffle while out there. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-6 shooting from three to go with 4 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He sank a three off the swing pass from Farmar. Second Half: HE drained a wing three on the kickout from Blake. He measured and drained a wing three next time down. He missed a wing three at the end of the quarter. He drained a wing three on the swing pass when left alone. His bounce pass was picked off. He attacked baseline and hit Sacre for the layup. He missed an open corner three.

Young -- -- He banged knees pretty hard in the second half. Gary Vitti, the secret tank commander, sat him in the second half. He’ll get an MRI and the way those have gone lately for Lakers, could be trouble. Just seemed like a bang of the knees, but who knows? Just when we had Farmar back, too. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists and no fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He pushed it out and hit Wes for the dunk. He filled the lane and scored a layup on the next possession. He missed a chuck from three. He iso’d and missed the jumper. He missed a face-up three from the top of the arc. He attacked the paint and threw up a horrible brick with guys all over him, just kick it out. He attacked the paint and drew FTs at the rim, he made both.

Kaman -- -- “Unbelievable situation,” Kaman said, his hair upside-down (seriously, look at him. That’s just weird.) The camera flashed to Chris Kaman as he joked about being able to lie down on the bench earlier in the game. He wasn’t kidding, of course. He led the Lakers with a +17 in his 14 minutes. He always seems to have to work those cobwebs out of his offensive game after sitting. He hit just about everything he took tonight. D’Antoni gambled with him in the first half as he and Sacre had foul trouble. Kaman picked up his fourth of the half and that came back to revisit them later. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-7 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 6 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a +17. The Action: He sank a hook in the paint. He hit a short jumper flashing to the post. He tipped a missed jumper with a second left in the quarter. He took the drive and dish from Farmar, pumpfaked and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He picked up four fouls in the first half. Second Half: He bricked a fallaway in the post. He swished a turnaround on the two-man game with Blake. He picked up a cheap touch foul for his fifth. He faced up in the post and hit the 14-footer from the wing, Lakers needed that one. He fouled out trying to get through a screen on D with 8:29 left.

D’Antoni -- -- Wow… The Lakers pulled out to an early 10-4 run, Sacre and Kelly scoring… Lakers were 5-5 from three and led 19-11 after 5 minutes. They had it going early… He brought in Young for Kelly, sliding Wes to PF, same score… 11-point lead (Lakers 6-6 from three) when Kaman came in for Sacre with 4 minutes left… Marshall in for Farmar… The Lakers led 36-17 after a strong first quarter on both ends… He started a Kaman, Kelly, Young, Farmar, Marshall lineup… Lakers sinking just about every three they took during this stretch and led 45-19. They made 9-12 from three… With Nick Young chucking and missing the lead was trimmed to 22 and D’Antoni called timeout… Lakers running Kelly at the C spot now with Wes at PF having foul issues with their bigs… Up 19, he went to Kaman for Kelly. Kaman then picked up his fourth foul of the first half and had to sit again for Kelly. D’Antoni picked up a tech shortly later… The Lakers led 70-49 at the half. The Lakers were 10-17 from three and shot 62.5% from the floor. The Cavs were 1-8 from three, shooting 37%... The Laker centers sat on the bench with five and four fouls each with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Trouble… They lost a little lead at the end of the third… They led 98-80 heading into the fourth… It was trimmed to 13 after a minute… D’Antoni called timeout with 9:39 and a 10-point lead… Farmar tweaked a calf. Kaman fouled out with 8:29 left. Possibly no bench players if Farmar can’t return (his leg was wrapped in ice)… The lead was trimmed to 8 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Thankfully, Farmar took the ice off and came back in, but surprise, it was only for a minute before having to sit with the injury… The Lakers lived by the three to the end. Blake sinking a couple of big ones… They still gave up 108 points...

[SweetP]

Crazy game.
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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

[mugwump]

What a surreal game. Beat a franchise record for three pointers, huge lead nearly given up. The refs somewhat confused about what to do with Sacre and four eligible players. Bill MacDonald shouting and cheering after every Laker basket like it was the playoffs....

It felt like a big game, it had a wild ending, it was fun to watch... but it was against the worst team in the league so it was extremely surreal.

[lakerjoshua]

I only saw the second half. Thanks DB,. Weirdest game ive ever seen.

[Klone_dd]

We won the Stupor Bowl.

With all the injuries and some curious MDA decisions, the Lakers have mastered the art of tanking without tanking. On the opposite end, the Cavs and Mike Brown are showing full tank mode. Keeping Kyrie out from mid-3rd on? Really?

[A Mad Chinaman]

Wow!

[LGTownDrunk]

One of your most entertaining write-ups ever, DB.

As fun as the game.

If we start winning again, MDA has to go.
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We want Soon now....we want Soon now....we want Soon now!

[PLATNUM]

"Gary Vitti, the secret tank commander, sat him in the second half"

[crackadon]

[Shaber]

[Chronicle]

Love the titles of all your thoughts and ratings, db
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Kobe

[angrypuppy]

Thanks DB.

Yeah the Lakers fought to win, but the result was a Mike Brown tank job. You could argue he learned his job well from Pops, but I strongly suspect he got word from Dan Gilbert to trash the record. The Lakers were ragged from a back-to-back and a short rotation, and what did Brown do? He benched his only All Star and their only true scorer.

The Lakers front office better take heed. There's a deep crop of Grade A prospects in this draft, and multiple teams will be tanking. Some teams perform a strategic tank (like Phili) where they try to dissolve their roster. Other teams perform a tactical tank, where the head coach undoubtedly gets word from above that they are to come up short in close games (Cleveland). And some teams deploy both strategic and tactical tanking maneuvers (Boston). If we don't get smart on at least the strategic level, we're going to bonk well short of Embiid, Wiggins or even Exum.

[FreakofNature]

Thanks DB...Nice write up, I enjoyed it...

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB for a very entertaining and informative T&R. It's good to know the effort was there for the people we had on the floor.

I've always wondered what would happen if a roster goes below 5 due to foul trouble. Now we know. I never thought it would be the Lakers answering that question for me.

That would have been interesting seeing Sacre set an NBA record with 7 fouls in one game...

[waterman40]

We won the tank battle.

[City_Dawg]

Cleveland is tanking for yet another lottery pick. Trash franchise.

Thanks DB.
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*sighs*

!...

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

[angrypuppy]

[wolfpaclaker]

Weirdest game I have ever seen.

Blake has become a real Fisher type in the clutch. All began under Mike Brown ironically in that Denver series.

It's a shame we're unlikely to be any good the next few years, in terms of competing for rings. If we somehow do, he'd be a great backup to have, to come in at those critical junctures. Wonder what it would take to re-sign him on a 2 year deal.

Good game for the young guys as well. Kelly is slow as hell, but he should be able to make it in the NBA as a backup.

[yinoma2001]

[kobe_r9]

mike brown gets fired again. because of lakers............
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Phil Jackson said Bryant's first comment to Jordan, however, was: "I can take you one-on-one!"

Kobe Bryant on Michael Jordan's trash talk: 'He knows I'm a bad motherf*****'

RIP Dr. Jerry Buss

[Omar Little]

[Anthem_Joker]

A rare occasion to see Pringles chucking 3 ball system being successful for once...

[Romano338]

Cavs showed us how to tank

[pjiddy]

Is "Medicaments Men" front-page the longest-running to this site ever? It's been up for 60+ days. lmao