LAKERS -at- SPURS - 4-16-14 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

319 Games Missed to Injury… That was the final damage.

It was a miserable season for the Lakers, the worst L.A. has gone through.

With the Spurs resting Tim Duncan all game and Tony Parker as the night went along, the Lakers played out their last game of the season with energy and effort. They played loose and as a team, and it was the first time this season they had 8 players in double figure scoring. No Kobe, no Pau, no Nash, no Xavier, no Bazemore, and they took the final game of the season 113-100.

“I’m proud of them. They did the best they could,” D’Antoni said, mentioning the team never hung their heads this season.

The writing was on the wall in early January that the Lakers weren’t making the playoffs. The math said as much.

We used to say the real season begins today – the day the regular season ends and the playoffs start. That’s not the case this year, but for Mitch and Jim, this is a very important offseason with a very high draft pick and cap space decisions. They need to get it right.

Can’t wait for the lottery. Can’t wait for the draft. Can’t wait for free agency. It’s going to be pretty interesting. What happens next season starts now.


Meeks -- -- Jodie was the most consistent player all season, somehow surviving all the carnage around him for the most part. I would think Meeks and Hill would probably be the most valuable role players from this team. Nick Young, too, if he finds a good season. Meeks and Hill you can plug into any team. Meeks has improved his game tremendously this season. He was always a willing defender and a marksmen, but mixing in the ability to attack off the dribble and finish around the rim or with floaters, took his game to another level. “I played with a lot of confidence, wanted to improve and felt like I did that,” Meeks said. Every team can use a guy like him. Where he ends up, who knows? But he was a great pick up by the organization. Hope they can find a spot for him in their plans. Efficient night from him scoring 14 points on just 6 shots. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-6 shooting (2-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 30 minutes. He was a +18. The Action: He deflected a pass to cause a turnover. He swished a wing three on a kickout. He sank a quick-fire three off the handoff. He attacked off the three line and hit the floater. Second Half: Change of pace cross over in transition and he scored the layup around his man. He missed a runner off the glass. He attacked and was hammered on a layup attempt, he looked ticked on that one, he made both FTs. He scooped up a loose ball, attacked in transition with speed, avoided the charge and had his layup goaltended.

Hill -- -- He had a double-double by halftime playing with a lot of energy. When he imposes his energy on an opponent he should always be a double-double with how he plays. He struggled with his jumper on the pick and pop plays tonight, but worked well around the rim. His post creativity this season has really improved. He’s still got to work on those 15-footers, but they’ve looked improved as the season has gone along. He’s the perfect role player around your ball-dominant stars in this league. He doesn’t need plays called for him to be effective. Wish the Lakers could bring him back, but who knows how the off-season will play out. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-13 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 14 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 1 foul in 28 minutes. He was a +16. The Action: He one-handed a bounce pass on the screen-roll and slammed. He missed an open FT jumper next time down. He drew FTs and made both. He tipped in a missed shot. He ball-faked like MJ palming the ball at the elbow to completely fool the D, then attacked the vacated lane and slammed. He missed another open FT jumper. He took the bounce pass off the two-man game and scooped in a layup around the help D. He regained possession on an offensive board battle that drew a foul, then he got hammered for FTs on the subsequent play, he made one. He had 11 points and 10 boards at the half. Second Half: He was stripped in the lane off the two-man game. He blocked a reverse and controlled it. He scored an And-1 layup after grabbing a tricky bounce pass in the lane, he made the FT. He scooped up a loose ball, gave it up, got it back and scored the layup trailing the break. He missed another pull-up at the FT line. He grabbed an offensive board but couldn’t finish. He faced up, made a quick first step to the baseline and powered in an And-1 layup past his man, he missed the FT. Nice extra pass to Kelly under the hoop for the slam (he could have shot the open jumper, but spotted a teammate).

Kelly -- -- I’d like to see him shoot the three ball like Bonner who was in the other uniform tonight. The rest of Kelly’s game is so much more well-rounded than Bonner, but adding deadeye three shooting takes Kelly to another level. Adding the desire to impose his will on an opponent would elevate his game further. Good job on the boards tonight, he needs to do that more. “I think I’ve improved every day, taking advantage of every opportunity that I had,” Kelly said. “…this is big summer for me.” Put in the work, Ryan. Improve the three ball and hit the weight room. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-11 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed an open corner three. He took a long outlet and reversed on the break. He missed a wing three. He swished a long wing jumper next time down. He choked a reverse layup on the break. He attacked and fed Hill with an interior pass for FTs. Second Half: He missed a twisting FT jumper. He attacked off the three line to lose his man, then scored a layup around another defender. He slammed off the extra pass from Hill, who was at the FT line. He up-faked, moved in a dribble and sank the open wing jumper. He was called for a clear-out, shedding a man with an off-arm shove. He missed a three straight away. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup.

Marshall -- -- Somehow, he kind of finished the season how he started it with his game tonight. “It feels real good go out as champions,” Marshall joked after the two wins to end the season. Marshall looked more like the player we saw earlier going 4-4 from three and getting the double-double. He said he has to work on being consistent and will put in the work this summer. He played a lot of minutes this season. Not sure if that wore him down the last few weeks and took his game down several notches. Could be. He had his legs tonight and was sinking the three. He showed some great court vision, putting the ball right in players hands on some high-difficulty passes. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-7 shooting (4-4 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 11 assists, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He hit Hill on the screen-roll for a slam to start the game. He sank a wing three in early offense. He sank a deep three on his next attempt. He missed a floater in the lane. Long outlet to Kelly streaking ahead of the D for the score. He swished a sideline jumper when the D sagged off him. He drew FTs on a floater and made one. He lost the handle on the dribble, turnover. He missed a drive. He had 9 points and 4 assists at the half. Second Half: He whipped a pass under the hoop to Wes diving for the layup. Perfect outlet over the top of the D to a streaking Wes for the breakaway slam. He curled into the lane and bounced to Hill for the And-1 score. He jab-stepped and sank a wing three. Nicely timed feed to Sacre for the dunk off the two-man game. He swished a wing three.

Johnson -- -- Horrible shot selection again, making just 5 of 17 attempts. I really don’t know what he’s thinking sometimes. The D’Antoni offense never really worked for him. Wes wasn’t on the break as much as he should have been. He couldn’t play the small-ball lineups like a Shawn Marion at PF because his energy would disappear. When we go small with him, he needs to use that speed and athleticism against those bigger players and make them pay. That energy level and intensity was never consistent. He should be a double-double threat every night if he’d just avoid the Invisible Man role he goes into. The Lakers can probably bring him back for cheap because of that. He’s a very good role player for a contending team because you can plug him into 4 positions defensively. Every contending team needs a guy like that. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-17 shooting (1-7 from three) to go with 11 boards, 2 assists and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a slam on the breakaway, uggh. He missed a three, cut, got it back and missed a short bank. He missed a corner three. He missed an open 17-footer straight away. Another step-back brick from the same spot. He hammered down a bounce pass from Farmar. He missed a deep three. He attacked and missed a prayer. Poor shot selection, missing an early offense chuck with a man on (that may have just gotten him benched for Kelly). Second Half: Another early offense chuck from three, clank. He cut off Marshall’s drive, took the pass and scored a layup (more off ball cutting like that, please). Marshall put the ball right in his hands over top the D from about 50 feet away for a breakaway layup. He swished a wing jumper off a handoff. Another chuck over a challenge from three, another miss. He sank a baseline jumper. He missed a corner three.

Young -- -- He said he has a book coming out this summer. Someone joked it was a pop-up book. Always fun clowning around with Nick. He filled Artest’s shoes in that category pretty well this season. Nick was the only entertaining baller on the court and off the court this year. Meeks was consistently strong, Bazemore had some moments, Farmar, even Kelly. Nick was the only entertainer and the fans took to him. He finished with 7 four-point plays this season, which is a crazy stat. If he wants to stay in L.A. this offseason, he has the player option. He’s earned a bigger contract, but the Lakers maybe a year away from being able to give that to him. Personally, I’d do what I could to stay here unless he’s given a big role on one of the top teams. There’s more to life than a big paycheck. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting (2-5 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He missed a wing jumper a few seconds after entering the game. He attacked and kicked to Meeks for the three. He sliced through the D and flipped up and in a layup in a crowd. He missed a three up against the shotclock. He faked his man in the air, waited for the contact and hit the And-1 20-footer, he made the FT. He iso’d with the shotclock low and swished the long jumper. He missed a deep three. He iso’d on the dribble and sank the pull-up wing three. He had 10 points and 5 boards at the half. Second Half: He sank a wing three (had a man wide open in front of him). He missed a drive. He missed a tough fallaway at the elbow (should have reset the offense once the play busted). He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs, he made one. He crossed over and swished the pretty J from the top of the key. He missed a three with an obvious leg kickout trying to draw a foul.

Farmar -- -- Injury derailed his season. I was really hoping he’d be able to mentor under Nash this season, but injuries to Nash and injuries to Farmar hurt. Nash has the floor game that Farmar needs to refine his skills. The shot looked great all season from Farmar and he sank a couple of threes tonight. This team lacked a credible leader with all the injuries. Farmar had moments and could have learned some from both Kobe and Nash, as well, if they were out there this year. Get yourself healthy this summer, Jordan. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-11 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 6 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He was rejected on a layup off the glass in transition. He sank a wing jumper pulling up off a screen. He attacked and hit Wes for the dunk. He was called for a clear-out foul on iso. He drained a wing three. He was stripped on a drive down the lane. He drained the wing jumper off the two-man game. He missed a heat-check three. Second Half: He sank a wing three out of a timeout. He missed a tough lefty runner at the buzzer. He missed a 20-footer. He missed a drive. He hit Sacre off the two-man game for the short jumper.

Sacre -- -- After getting picked at 60 in the draft a couple of years ago, he’s steadily improved his game. Late draft picks need at least 3 years most of the time. Hopefully, Sacre continues to improve this off season. He needs to be more consistent with his offensive game and do a better job on the boards. I’m not sure if he’ll even improve more on his shotblocking abilities, but you could see tonight that he could have used just a couple inches more on his standing reach. Players were able to finish around him despite Sacre putting in a good challenge. His man D improved quite a bit this season has he was able to stay with and even contain some of the better scorers at times. Just keep putting in the work. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-10 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 5 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a short one in the lane off the bounce pass. He missed a baseline jumper. HE choked an uncontested dunk to erase a great assist from Farmar. Second Half: He hit a jumphook off the interior feed from Kelly. He missed a tip, got it back and was blocked. He hit the 12-footer off the two-man game with Farmar. He missed a challenged one-hander in the middle of the paint. He missed a jumphook in the post. He cleared out a man with a bump and little shove and hit the jumphook. He slammed off the pick and roll with Marshall. He got bumped to the floor on a post move for FTs, he made both.

Brooks -- -- He thought about taking that three on the final possession to get to double digits. He should have let it fly. No one is going to begrudge the Lakers 3 points in a meaningless game. Had he knocked it down, every Laker would have scored in double figures. He finally got in a little earlier in this one, Lakers up 11 with almost 9 minutes left. D’Antoni won’t put him in down 20+, but up 11 early in the fourth? Odd. Glad he got some time. Teammates gave him the ball just about every possession down the stretch. The Stats: The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a long wing three. He had his floater goaltended off the rim. He attacked the paint, took a bump and hit the short one at the front of the rim. He crossed over and reversed against token D. He threw a pass in the backcourt, turnover. He iso’d and drew FTs on the drive, he made one.

D’Antoni -- -- It’s over. Finally… With the Spurs resting Duncan, the Lakers took an early 16-12 lead midway through the first quarter… D’Antoni brought in Sacre for Kelly and Young for Johnson out of that… The Lakers led 33-23 after the first quarter, good energy from the team in their last game… He started a Sacre, Kelly, Johnson, Young, Farmar lineup… The Spurs reeled the Lakers in and D’Antoni brought back in his starters with Nick instead of Kelly… The score was tied 51-51 at the half… A 6-0 Laker run forced a timeout to start the half… The Lakers had a 9-point lead when the timeout came midway through the quarter. They didn’t let go from there… The Lakers led 86-75 heading into the fourth… He started a Sacre, Kelly, Johnson, Young, Farmar unit again… He brought in Brooks shortly later… Lakers were up 12 midway through the quarter when the timeout came… Farmar out, Marshall in… Lakers cruise to the finish line... Eight players scored in double digits… “I thought the coaching staff did their job improving these guys and giving them a shot,” D’Antoni said of the minutes for all the young guys this season…

Mrs. DB and Kids -- -- Thanks again to the Mrs. and little ones. I took a few more games off this season, but not many! And that always cuts into the family time and schedules to make that happen. Always appreciative of their flexibility and ability to put up with the Lakers on the TV every game – especially this season when the Lakers were getting beat like drum relentlessly. When did I stop watching the Lakers this season? Right now.

[OregonLakerGuy]

For the last time, thanks DB.

[City_Dawg]

Thanks for sticking it out DB. A truly bigger man than most.
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*sighs*

!...

[DancingBarry]

[magicdays]

Thanks, DB. Your work is always appreciated. Huge reason I am an LG member is your excellent analyses and sound perspective of every Laker game. Have a great summer!
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Ahhhh, those were the days...time for a new beginning!

[SweetP]

[TDRock]

[Gimme_the_rock]

Didn't catch the game yet ... but, as always, feel like I got the words-eye-view.

Big ups to you.

Thanks to your wife and kids as well.

Have a great off-season!

[DancingBarry]

[focus]

[Lakersneuron]

Thanks DB! Another season come and gone. I look forward to reading your next season under better circumstances (hopefully).
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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."

[City_Dawg]

[lakerjoshua]

[Laker_Town]

Having no cable and sometimes no desire to watch, a big thank you db, for the write ups. It keeps me up to date

Confession: I scroll through the emoticons before I read the context

[leor_77]

I usually hate when the Lakers are done for the year, but in this case, I'm THRILLED that the season is over.

[Shaber]

[ksmgf]

Thanks DB. Love your review as always. Gonna to miss reading them as we are missing the playoffs

[Marauder]

[dirka dirka]

Thanks for your work this season DB. Tough season, they can't all be plums!
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[Hammett]

Thanks DB, for contributing even during the darkest of hours.
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Lakers. Built different.

[leor_77]

[Omar Little]

One guy you missed in the write up:

DB
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“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[sgtpepper1972]

[wolfpaclaker]

DB showed his dedication as a fan this year. Bravo.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Thanks to DB

Huge thanks and appreciation are personally sent to Mrs. DB and Kids!