LAKERS -at- BUCKS - 3-27-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

What the Buck?… How do the Lakers lose both games against the Bucks this season?

Asked if it can get worse, D’Antoni quickly said, “Oh, yeah, it can get worse.”

In Tankerville, that may be the most inspiring words he’s said all year…and coming on the heels of what looked like a sure W in the win column tonight.

The Lakers fell 108-105, giving up 56% shooting to the Bucks and allowing easy hoops throughout the night.

“Our whole problem is never on the offensive end,” D’Antoni said, making like Capt. Obvious in the Hotels.com commercials we’re getting peppered with these days.

Jordan Hill led the team with 28 points and 16 boards. While he wasn’t great defensively like the rest of the Lakers, he was dominant on the offensive glass, giving the Lakers second-chance scores from start to finish. One of the few fun things to watch in this one.


Hill -- -- Jordan was the best player in a Laker uni tonight. While his defense against the guards wasn’t a bit poor at times, he was the only Lakers imposing his will on the opponent. He kept the Lakers in this one, killing the Bucks on the offensive glass. He had a number of tip-ins and putbacks from start to finish on his way to tying his career high and just a board off his career rebounding night. Doing both those in the same game? Wow. Just looks like a different player than where he was a few weeks back when he looked run down. I’m not sure they every really ran a play for Hill in this one. He got a couple of iso sequences out of the natural flow of things, but to drop 28 points without being featured? That should kill most teams. A perfect player to plug in next to your superstars…which is our big problem this season. We’ve got none. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 13-17 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 16 boards (9 offensive), 1 steawl, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He grabbed an offensive board and scored the Lakers first bucket. He missed a pull-up elbow jumper, got it back and was blocked. He tipped in a missed jumper. He lost a dribble out of bounds on iso. He grabbed another missed three and put it back in. He took a pass in transition, nearly had it knocked away, but flipped it up and in. He tapped back in a missed Marshall jumper. He crashed the glass, grabbed the Meeks miss and dunked it. He tipped in a Kaman miss. He had 14 points on 7-10 shooting and 11 boards (8 offensive) at the half. Second Half: He scored a layup off the interior feed from Kaman. He overpowered his man on the baseline for a layup. He drew FTs on the drive and dish from Bazemore, he made both. Back in and he immediately grabbed an airball and flipped it in over his head. He faced up, spun and threw down. He missed a jumphook in the middle of the lane. He faced up and sank the baseline jumper. He drained an open wing jumper to tie his career high and cut the lead to 4 with 1:35 left.

Meeks -- -- They missed their usual numbers from Meeks tonight. Just not his usual impact which would have put them over the top. He had a breakaway layup in transition blocked and couldn’t finish a reverse on the baseline backdoor play. Those have been easy points for him all season. He still managed a couple of steals defensively. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-10 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: His bounce pass was picked off for a layup the other way to start the game. He missed a sideline three. He sank a corner three in transition. He drained an open wing three, taking a kickout. He was rejected on a layup in transition. He missed the reverse off the baseline backdoor play. He curled in the lane, couldn’t finish, but Hill cleaned up the dribble penetration. Second Half: He missed a wing three when his man gave him half a step to fire. He took a handoff, saw an open seam and attacked for the layup. He missed a wing three. He blindsided his man and took it the distance for a layup. He attacked and kicked to Young for three. Nice help D to save a layup on the other end.

Kaman -- -- He was late to meet up with the team for this one. The team D early on was late as well and seemed to set the tone for the game. The Bucks guards were able to get layups with ease as the Lakers bigs weren’t able to slow them down or were late in transition to help wall them off. Offensively, Kaman did his usual thing, hitting some jumpers off the two-man game. He missed a couple of chippies he should have had. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-12 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He attacked, spun and drew FTs, he made one. Late read and he threw an interior pass away. He sank an elbow jumper. He sank a bank from the right side. He swished a pick-and-pop wing jumper on his next touch. Not close on a fallaway in the post. He kicked out to Meeks for a three. He faced up, attacked and couldn’t finish the layup over his man. He choked a point-blank layup. He missed a baseline jumper. He swished the FT jumper. He missed a jumphook, but Hill cleaned it up. He had 9 points on 4-10 shooting. Second Half: He scored an easy layup off the screen-roll. He cleaned up the miss off dribble penetration. He hit Hill on the interior feed for the layup. He threw an outlet away.

Marshall -- -- The Bazemore/Marshall duo combined for 10 turnovers. Meanwhile, Sessions and Knight combined for 52 points. The Lakers lost the game right there. They were just thoroughly outplayed by the Bucks guards. We still had a chance to take the game in crunch time but Marshall was ineffective on both ends. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 7 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He flagged a bounce pass trying go backdoor on him. Great help D to strip Zaza and save a hoop. He missed a three on the other end. He found Hill in transition for a layup. He hit Johnson cutting for an And-1 layup. He threw a kickout into Wes’s feet and out of bounds. He attacked down the lane and scored the lefty layup. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked and whipped it to Kaman for the FT jumper. Second Half: He hit Kaman rolling for the easy layup. He missed a 19-footer. He attacked and missed a layup, but Kaman cleaned it up easily. He jab-stepped and swished the wing three with the shotclock low. He was called for an offensive foul using his off arm, rare we see that from him. Turnover on a pass out of a timeout down 7 late, ouch. He attacked the lane and had his attempt spiked out of bounds. He fouled Sessions off the screen with 1:30 left for FTs.

Johnson -- -- A whole lot of nothing from Wes this game. Another one of those invisible man acts where he doesn’t impose his athleticism on the game. That’s the knock on him. He just fades into the night with too much regularity. Still a good role player to have because of his defensive versatility and ability to have a big game. Without an attitude that makes people take notice, he’ll pay the price when it comes to compensation for his services. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He forced a turnover with some tight D out on the perimeter. He missed a sideline three on the other end. He took his eyes off a pass and fumbled it out of bounds (Marshall getting a turnover, but Wes’s fault). Nice baseline cut off the split play, normally we run scissor-type cuts, he went baseline to mix it up and lost his man for the And-1 layup when Marshall hit him, he made the FT. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Bazemore -- -- Yikes. Sloppy game with the ball handling and playmaking. He was a bit frustrated by his own decision making, you could tell during each of those 5 turnovers. Backup PG is a tough spot to put him in but we have no choice. It’s still a good opportunity for growth for him, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw just a little more Xavier and Meeks handling the ball for those second units after losing to the Bucks. No real effort to score from the perimeter in this game until he made a chuck from three with a couple seconds left. He was mostly attacking the paint. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-7 shooting (1-1 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He attacked and threw a kickout away. He stepped on the sideline as he pushed off. He attacked baseline and got caught in the air trying to pass, another turnover. Not close on a reverse. He attacked in transition and scored with his off hand. He got out in transition with speed and was fouled, he missed both FTs, uggh. Not close on a layup in transition a few seconds later. He turned the corner and took it for a layup. Second Half: He attacked and setup Hill for FTs. He took an outlet coast to coast for a layup over the D. He lost the handle in transition, turnover. He hit Sacre rolling for the score. He set up Sacre for FTs on the screen roll. He was called for a travel on iso. He attacked the paint and didn’t hit the rim. He chucked in a wing three over a couple defenders with 2 seconds left.

Young -- -- You kept waiting for Nick to suddenly put the team on his back and get over on the Bucks, but it never really happened. He didn’t have one of those frenzied scoring streaks that would have made the difference. He still managed to lead the bench. The sheer volume of his shot attempts should usually do that. Nice to see him take another charge. He’s staying pretty focused on that end of the floor this season. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-14 shooting (3-8 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He was blocked on a three on iso. He attacked against the shotclock and scored a layup with his left. He swished a wing jumper. He crossed over to lose his man and drained the three. Second Half: He sank a pull-up straight away on his first attempt of the half. He missed a corner three. He found Sacre with low position for the easy one. Way off on a pull-up jumper. He missed an open baseline jumper. He stepped in and drew a charge. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs getting hit in the head, he made both. He traveled with some sloppy footwork after pulling up his dribble. He drained a wing three with 2 minutes left. He missed a big wing three with a minute left. He drilled a clutch wing three set up out of a timeout to cut it to 3 with 16 seconds left. He bricked a sideline three attempt.

Henry -- -- He made his first couple attempts, then didn’t hit anything from the field the rest of the game. He scratched out a few FTs, but not the double-digit game we’ve been getting. He somehow managed the team low -11. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-8 shooting (0-3 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He drained a sideline jumper on his first attempt. Pressure D on an inbounds and he forced a turnover. He attacked baseline and threw down a huge dunk. Telegraphed pass, dunk the other way. He missed a wing three at the buzzer. He missed a tough corner fade against the shotclock. He attacked down the middle of the lane, but couldn’t finish the easy one. He drew FTs on a quick counter attack, he made both. Second Half: Way short on a wing three behind a screen. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs, he made one. He got tapped on a three at the end of the third. He missed a challenged drive.

Kelly -- -- We probably should have ran Hill more of Kelly’s minutes. He was just too dominant at the PF spot on the glass tonight. Kelly played a steady game, but you could see the intensity pick up a bit when Hill returned in the fourth quarter. It’s interesting to watch Kelly’s iso game. You don’t know what you are going to get, but if/when he gets more polish to it he’s got triple-threat tools at the PF to make a lot happen. Hope he puts in the work in the offseason to elevate his game. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He attacked, spun, pumped and was blocked. Second Half: Nice swipe at the ball as his man rose up to force a turnover. He probed a gap in the D, took contact, lost the ball momentarily but still hit the short And-1, he made the FT. He iso’d and lost the ball, probably fouled with no call judging by the reaction. He missed an open wing three. He attacked, changed directions with a nice spin move and drew FTs, he made both.

Sacre -- : -- With how the starting D was against the PGs tonight, it wouldn’t surprise me if D’Antoni threw Sacre into the starting lineup again. He clearly leans on Sacre to bring the D. Sacre scored a few points working off that screens with the guards. Again, good minutes for him this season and you can see his growth over where he was last year. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-5 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He deflected a bounce pass to get a stop. He sank a wing jumper off the two-man game. He flagged a pass that saved a sure layup. Second Half: Nice help D to save Kelly who got burned on iso. He hit a short one off the screen-roll with Bazemore. He drew FTs on the screen-roll, he made both. He rolled to the hoop, posted up and hit the easy jumphook on the very low post position. He airballed but Hill cleaned it up. He missed a pull-up in the lane. He knocked a ball loose, then slapped it off his man to get a stop.

D’Antoni -- -- Lakers transition D was horrible to start, giving up a number of layups. As the season closes, I think this probably only gets worse… A 7-0 Laker run and they forced a timeout, trailing 15-14… Up 5 with 3 minutes left, he brought in Bazemore, Young and Sacre for Kaman, Meeks and Marshall… Xavier, then Kelly in shortly later. Bazemore looking sloppy at the point… Up 5 midway through the second quarter and he brought back in Kaman and Hill… A minute later he sat Bazemore and Young for Meeks and Marshall… The score was tied up 43-43 shortly later when the timeout came… Wes back in to complete the starters again… Lakers slipping on both ends and trailed by 6 when the next timeout came… Hill was saving the Lakers with second-chance points… The Lakers trailed 55-53 after the first half. The Lakers shot 50%, the Bucks 62%. Hill helped them to a 23-15 advantage on the boards... Down 5, D’Antoni brought in Henry, Bazemore and Young for Meeks, Johnson and Marshall… They fell back by 8. He brought in Sacre for Kaman… Kelly for Hill down 6 shortly later… They chipped away and tied it up a few minutes later… Poor close, however, to the third and the Lakers trailed again… The Lakers trailed 87-80 heading into the fourth… He started a Sacre, Kelly, Henry, Meeks, Bazemore lineup… Lakers doing a poor job leveling off Sessions off the screens (make him a shooter) all game long… Down 11 after 2 minutes and he sat Henry for Marshall… Down 10 with 8 minutes left, he finally brought back Jordan Hill (should have done it sooner)… Hill doing his thing and the Lakers chipped away… He sat Marshall with a minute left for Bazemore to get a stop. They couldn’t secure the miss down 4 and ended up giving up a jumper with 21 seconds left. That possession took a lot of clock… Down 6 with 21 seconds left, they got a three from Young out of a timeout… They gave up a layup instead of fouling with 10 seconds left. Timeout again. They missed a three, got it back and ran the same inbounds play and got a Bazemore three with 2 seconds left... They got a foul with 0.6 left and a missed FT. A three would tie it. But Nick couldn’t get it off on the quick chuck…

[1hu2ren3dui4]

First.

[SweetP]

I really don't know how they lose some of these games.
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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

[Shaber]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[KeepItRealOrElse]

[SweetP]

[KeepItRealOrElse]

[SweetP]

[KeepItRealOrElse]

all good. maybe im quick to point the finger at kobe; im just tired of seeing crap to ok defense from the Lakers year after year

[SweetP]

[Chronicle]

Jeff Adrien, Khris Middleton and Ekpe Udoh are possible targets.

Middleton will be under contract, but Adrien and Udoh are very cheap free agents.
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Kobe

[Shaber]

[kwase]

143 Points?!?!?!? Really?!?!?!