ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 4-8-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

 
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DancingBarry
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:02 pm    Post subject: ROCKETS -at- LAKERS - 4-8-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

Awful From A to Z… The Lakers gave up 49 points in the third quarter on their way to another blowout loss, this one 145-130 to the visiting Rockets. Four more games to go.

The Lakers defense was … Absurd. Appalling. Atrocious. And those are just the “A” words. Bad. Bogus. Butt-ugly…

Houston scored their highest point total of the season. The Lakers gave up their highest point total -- the most points the Lakers have allowed in 30 years and a bucket away from the most points since the 60s. They gave up 80 points in the paint tonight -- 80. They played no defense.

Zero... Zilch…

The lone takeaway from this game was Steve Nash reaching another milestone. Playing through a hamstring tweak and some back pain, he moved into third place all time for assists in the first half. He was subbed out a minute before the half to a standing ovation at Staples. And that was about the last time the Lakers were competitive in this one.

“I think I learned how to pass on a soccer field,” Nash said. “…It felt almost like cheating that I could use my hands.”


Meeks -- -- Out on the break, he took the pass from Nash for the milestone assist. Great job again getting out on the break with speed. If the Lakers could play D with any consistency, his ability to change ends on the court would be a big part of our wins. Since we don’t get stops, we don’t get wins and what could be exciting game-breaking plays are just stats. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 12-21 shooting (2-6 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 38 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He worked the two-man game and found Kelly open for the jumper. He threw a pass away on the drive. He missed a pull-up jumper. He forced a three and was blocked. He missed a wing three. He attacked, anticipated the whistle, threw up the jumper and drew FTs, he made both. He missed an open baseline jumper (twisted a little in the air). He pushed out a block and scored a layup. He hit a pumping three straight away to just beat the shotclock. He then stole the ball and took it the distance for a dunk. He drew contact across the lane and FTs, he made one. He scored a layup off the Nash outlet. He couldn’t power up a layup in the paint off the Nash bounce pass. He couldn’t finish a tricky layup off the curl. Out with speed and Nash hit him for the dunk (Nash’s assist to move past Jackson). He missed a sideline jumper, but cut off the offensive board by Wes, took the pass and scored the layup. He had 16 points on 6-13 shooting in the half. Second Half: He got out quickly off a Laker steal for another layup. Marshall hit him cutting for a layup. He missed a wing three. He couldn’t finish a layup. He scored a reverse in early offense. Out on the break again and he scored the layup. He and Nick on the break again and he made the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He swished a three on his next touch.

Hill -- -- No interior D from the Lakers in this one. Hill managed 3 blocks, but even on one of those, the rest of the Lakers just stood and watched as the Rockets grabbed it scored a layup. Offensively, Hill had his jumper working well tonight. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He sank the face-up 15-footer from the wing. He missed a floater instead of taking the jumper in the lane. Horrible perimeter pass, score the other way. He hit a pull-up off the two-man game with Nash. He took a pass under the hoop, pumpfaked and couldn’t finish the easy And-1, he made both FTs. Second Half: He poked a ball loose and ignited the break. He missed a turnaround fade with no one around for offensive rebounding. He swished a baseline jumper. He faced up and sank a wing jumper. He missed a 19-footer. He blocked a shot and saved it to a teammate. He swished a wing jumper.

Kelly -- -- Some pretty awful defense in the first half. Terence Jones was waltzing around him like Kelly wasn’t even there. Just no resistance at all. None. Clearly a lot of work on this end of the court for Kelly, but it will give him something to work on this summer. Jones eventually twisted his ankle at the end of the third to stop the bleeding. Otherwise, he was going for 40 easy. Kelly was killed. Offensively, the Lakers went to Kelly early on for several possessions. They also did that early in the second half. He managed to get to the line tonight with regularity. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 5-11 shooting (0-3 from three, 8-11 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 4 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -25. The Action: He sank an open wing jumper working the two-man game with Meeks. He was hit on a three next time down with no call. He missed a turnaround in the post on the next possession. He slammed off the drive and dish from Marshall. Lots of issues with Jones defensively. He backed Lin down, swung the ball through and hit an And-1 turnaround in the lane, he made the FT. He kicked out to Farmar for three. He missed a three straight away. He drew FTs in transition, he made both. He missed a jumper, but blocked a shot on the other end to ignite the breakaway score. He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs. He fell asleep defensively and his man cut behind him for a lob dunk. He had 10 points in the first half (Jones had 23). Second Half: He gave up a hoop to Jones to start the half. He scored a layup off the bounce pass from Johnson on the other end. He attacked, spun and drew FTs in the paint, he made one. He faced up and swung through on Harden (who complained, lol) for FTs, he made one again. He couldn’t finish a layup on the break. He knocked a ball loose for a steal. His man spun and dunked down an And-1. He dunked off the Marshall bounce pass. He drew FTs on the defensive glass.

Marshall -- -- Very, very flat game from Marshall. Little spark to ignite anything out there. How does he not score in this game? They were giving away points. That’s an impressive bagel. He is an awful team defender. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-4 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a -15. The Action: He attacked and hit Kelly for the dunk. He was swatted out of bounds easily from behind. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He hit Meeks cutting for the layup. He choked a layup after getting Lin on his hip. He missed a wing three out of a timeout. He outlet to Nick for the breakaway score. He hit Kelly with a bounce pass for a dunk.

Johnson -- -- He got the start and the Harden assignment for a good stretch. We would bring Young in to cover Harden and slide Wes over to the PF spot. We had no anchoring or D by the bigs to help with Harden who is a handful when he attacks. Offensively, Wes started off tentative, over passing some and not attacking what was in front of him. He scratched out a few points as the game went along and ended up with more assists than our staring PG. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 3-11 shooting (3-5 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 39 minutes. He was a -26. The Action: Over-pass instead of trying to attack the rim and throw down. Too hard with an interior feed, turnover. He took his eye off the ball and dropped a pass out of bounds. He was blocked on a reverse. He swished an open sideline three on the kickout from Nash. He bricked a turnaround in the lane. He was blocked on a layup attempt in transition. He missed a wing three. He would not be denied, grabbing a Sacre miss away from a Rocket, giving it up, then skying to grab another miss and he no-looked to a cutting Meeks for the layup. He drew FTs on the sideline, he made both. Second Half: He missed a wing three on a handoff. He swished a wing three when his man gave him room. He fumbled another pass away. He spotted Sacre wide open under the hoop for a dunk. He let a man fly by, moved in and clanked. He missed a short pull-up jumper. He swished a sideline three at the buzzer.

Nash -- -- Glad to see Nash out there looking like himself as he passed Jackson in assists. D’Antoni said he played on one leg tonight, but he looked pretty smooth fighting through the injuries. Only John Stockton and Jason Kidd remain ahead of him. Nash was smiling wide after reaching the milestone with an outlet to Meeks on the breakaway score in the second quarter. Laker fans cheered loudly and gave him a standing ovation when sat. You can tell L.A. would love to love Nash. If only he could have been healthy these last two years. D’Antoni shut him down after that first half. Their competitiveness seemed to go along with him. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-2 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 13 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He got tapped on a pull-up wing jumper. He attacked down the lane, drew the D and hit Wes with a perfect kickout for the three. He swished an open three off the kickout from Farmar. He pushed up the break and hit Farmar for the wing three. He hit Hill off the two-man game for the jumper. He stood in and took a charge on Lin in transition. He outlet to Meeks for the layup, tying Jackson on the assist. He took the pass from Sacre after a Kelly block and outlet to the streaking Meeks to move into third all time for assists. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Young -- -- He picked up some quick fouls in the first half, limiting his minutes. He also picked up a tech on one of those Harden whistles. That didn’t stop him from scoring at a high clip in low minutes (32 points in just 23 minutes). He was hoisting up some threes with regularity in that second half. Two Rockets and two Lakers had 30+ points in this game. The Lakers got no stops. The Rockets didn’t have to. The Stats: He scored 32 points on 11-19 shooting (6-10 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a three in transition. He sank a step-back sideline three. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup. He then picked up a tech on the other end on a foul call against Harden, Young’s second, so he sat. He swished a step-back three straight away. He spun and missed a long jumper. Second Half: He was blocked in the paint for a dunk the other way. He attacked baseline and dunked. He leaked out off a challenge, took the outlet and dunked. He curled around a screen, took the pass and drew FTs on the three (getting his leg out to draw contact), he made all three. He was blocked on a drive. He drained a wing three in transition. He rattled down a wing three for the Lakers first score of the fourth. He sank a three on a kickout. He missed a wing three from the other side. He missed a corner three. He took the outlet and scored a breakaway layup. He slammed on the leak out, taking an unnecessary foul from Garcia, he missed the FT. He surveyed the floor and missed a three.

Farmar -- -- He was back in the mix tonight. With Bazemore done for the season, the Lakers are in dire need of another PG. Jordan just seems to pick right up where he left off every time he returns. Just hope he can stay healthy. The three ball looks money, the active D usually sparks something and the speed and finishing ability from the PG spot is much needed. He led the team with a +6. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-10 shooting (2-4 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers and no fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He blocked a man from behind. He swiped a ball from Lin and pushed out the break. He drained a corner three off the kickout. He attacked and missed a tough runner. He hit a 22-footer coming off a screen next time down. He kicked out to Nash for the three. He drained a three on a kickout from Nash. He blew past Harden and scored an And-1 bank (Harden complaining, lol), he made the FT. He missed a wing three. He had 11 points on 4-6 shooting in the half. Second Half: He took contact and no call on a layup down the middle of the lane and missed. He missed a layup, then grabbed it back away from a Rocket. He threw a pass behind a man, turnover. He picked it off on the other end to get it back. He threw a swing pass away to start the fourth. He drove to his left and scored the layup. XXX

Sacre -- -- Some troubles with his timing on the screen-rolls tonight. The guards were expecting him to roll faster and weren’t connecting with him in stride early on. Too many fumbles and miscues. Defensively, he fouled out. At least he used all 6. We just had no presence in the paint tonight. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-6 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 block, 1 turnover and 6 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He drew FTs on the screen-roll, he made both. He couldn’t handle a pass from Farmar in the lane. He missed a turnaround in the lane. He blocked a shot and it ignited a break. He airballed a floater. He was blocked on a dunk attempt, unable to elevate after pumping against a defender. He missed a turnaround in the lane. Second Half: He was called for an illegal screen to erase a Young hoop. He sank a face-up baseline jumper. He dunked off the perimeter ball movement by the Lakers. He fouled Harden on a three.

Brooks -- Down 20 with 6:20 left and MarShon got in tonight. This game was lost in that third quarter when the team was going through the motions. That’s when D’Antoni should have brought in MarShon who is hungry from sitting in the doghouse every night. It’s not like he’s going to ruin the D. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 0-2 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists and no fouls in 6 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He pushed out a Kelly steal and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a three in early offense. Nice challenge on a drive to get a miss.

D’Antoni -- -- The Lakers went to Kelly for several straight possessions to start the game. Rockets with some mismatches with smaller defenders... D’Antoni called a timeout down 14-6 after an 8-0 run by the Rockets… He brought in Farmar and Young for Meeks and Marshall… Young picked up two quick fouls and sat for Johnson. He brought in Sacre for Hill… He brought in Nash for Meeks… The Lakers trailed 35-26 after the first… He started the Sacre, Johnson, Young, Farmar, Nash lineup… Young quickly picked up his third foul and sat for Meeks… The Lakers cut the lead to 8 and forced a timeout… Meeks helped trim the lead down to 4 with a series of scores and forced a timeout… He sat Sacre for Kelly down 5… Hill picked up a Harden foul and had to sit… So Sacre, Kelly, Johnson, Meeks, Nash out there now… He sat Nash for Marshall with a minute left after Nash picked up his assist. Standing O for Nash… The Lakers trailed 66-61 at the half. The Lakers shot 41.7% (20-48, 7-16 3PT, 14-16 FTs). The Rockets shot 53.2% (25-47, 3-12 3PT, 13-16 FT)… The Lakers faded quickly with no D and D’Antoni called a timeout down 15… Down 18, he brought in Young and Farmar for Marshall and Kelly… The Lakers trailed 94-71 midway through the quarter when D’Antoni called another timeout… Horrible, horrible D. The Rockets ended up with 49 points… The Lakers trailed 115-90 after three. We still have a quarter to go?... Garbage time all fourth quarter…
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mhan00
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:09 pm    Post subject:

Our defense is impressively atrocious.
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SweetP
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:11 pm    Post subject:

Another yuck-y game. Home stretch, just get the season over with.

Has MDA just forgotten about Brooks or has his attitude/work effort been THAT bad? Guess it doesn't really matter, he won't be back next year.

What could have been with Nash had he not been so fragile. Glad to see him hit a milestone, maybe now the team can get back to winning, LOL.
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Shaber
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:42 pm    Post subject:

The only positive now seems to be that the end is near. Only four games of this misery left.
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PG Johnson / Goodrich
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Romano338
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:54 pm    Post subject:

When a team scores 130 points, shoots at 46% and 43% from 3-pts and 80% FT and still losses, you know where the problem is...
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Vin
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 3:57 am    Post subject:

With D'Antoni it is definately showtime... For the other team.
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ElginBaylor
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 4:26 am    Post subject:

Sadly this team cannot die fast enough.
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SmokeAndAshes
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 5:36 am    Post subject:

Romano338 wrote:
When a team scores 130 points, shoots at 46% and 43% from 3-pts and 80% FT and still loses, you know where the problem is...
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yinoma2001
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 5:49 am    Post subject:

Can we please try to keep Meeks???
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waterman40
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 5:50 am    Post subject:

um..............yeah...........
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Klone_dd
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:51 am    Post subject:

Marshall looks out of it. Pretty bad when Nash on one leg outplays him.
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