LAKERS -at- MAVS - 11-21-14 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Yuck… The Lakers were able to score at a decent clip, but once again they struggled to have any kind of defensive presence. The Mavs just pulled away hitting open three after open three on their way to the 140-106 blowout.

The Lakers gave up a 7-point possession to end the first quarter and fell behind by double digits. After that, it wasn’t close.

Kobe was stone cold on good looks, but was moving the ball well to lead the team in assists. Lin was aggressive and scoring. Hill was hitting the outside jumper and getting putbacks. The Lakers just couldn’t get a single stop. They gave up a 110 points after just three quarters before Scott emptied his bench for massive garbage time run. And then they gave up another 30 points in garbage time.

The Lakers shot 51% in the game. But on D they gave up three… after three… after three… (18 in total). I’m not sure at what point Scott will rethink his defensive schemes, but watching opponents draining wide open looks on threes all game…one would think even he’s not buying into his D.

“I just saw dumb plays. It wasn’t the effort, it was just doing stupid things,” Scott said of the D. Regardless of whether they are buying into the D or not playing smart, they are not even close to competing against top teams right now.

“We made so many mental mistakes it was unbelievable,” Scott said.

Kobe -- -- He was missing shots early. The Lakers remind me a little of the Sixers with Iverson who could feast off AI’s misses. Not a recipe for success, but Kobe has been more Iverson in that regard than the usual Kobe this season. Didn’t matter. We couldn’t get any stops. Everyone was deficient on that end of the court. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-22 shooting (1-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -29. The Action: He airballed an elbow jumper. He pushed out a turnover and missed a wing jumper. He hit Wes in transition for the dunk. He found Hill wide open for the jumper from the top of the key. He worked the post and drew FTs, he made both. He got tapped on a top-of-the-key jumper. He missed a turnaround. He later got it back and missed the putback under the hoop, he wanted the foul (no way he missed that bad on a layup without one). He attacked and drew a crowd, leading to a Davis score at the rim. He missed a face-up elbow jumper. He attacked and missed a reverse again, but Davis cleaned it up easily. He iso’d on the perimeter and drew FTs, he made both. He airballed a 35-footer, not sure why he took that when he had a little more time on the shotclock. He swished an easy wing jumper on iso. He attacked and scooped a layup in, no help D by the Mavs. He attacked and kicked to Young for three. Bad kickout between to men, turnover. He sank a wing catch and shoot off the Lin kickout. He missed a wing three. He had 11 points on 3-12 shooting, but 6 assists. Good balance. Second Half: He missed a good look from 18 feet out (Hill got it and we scored). Not close on a wing jumper. He then gave up a layup not recovering to his man after a closeout challenge to force a pass. He hit Boozer slipping a screen for a layup. He drained a baseline jumper when Lin found him. He was called for a push-off foul after making a pass and cutting. He missed a jumper and then a short one in the paint off an offensive board on the same possession. He missed another wing jumper, nothing going down, decent looks for him, too. He attacked, stopped on a dime and hit the short baseline jumper out of a timeout. He missed a pull-up elbow jumper, short. He sank a long jumper standing on the three line from the left side. He missed an open three, just not hitting anything.

Lin -- -- Good first half reading the D and taking what was available for the most part to score 12 points. There were still instances where he passed up a good shot to dump it to a teammate and we ended up with a worse shot. He needs to keep his foot on the gas. The Mavs took a timeout during one stretch when he was starting to feel it. A couple turnovers later and he was not the same threat any more. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 8-11 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -22. The Action: He missed a pull-up from about 8 feet in the lane, wide open, got to hit those (keep shooting, though). He sank a three off the split play. He airballed an open jumper off the split play. He attacked to his left and scored a layup. He passed up an open three, it led to a long contested chuck from Young, got to take those. He attacked baseline on a kickout and reversed. He swished an open wing jumper shedding his man on a screen and not hesitating on the shot. Next time down he pulled up behind a screen and swished a three to force a timeout. He attacked the lane and was somehow stripped. He threw a pass away, layup the other way. He attacked and kicked to Kobe for three. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting. Second Half: They called a horrible offensive foul on him when he pulled up and hit a jumper, calling him for the leg kickout, so weak. Good help D on Kobe’s man to draw a charge on the drive.He hit Kobe with the bounce pass for the open baseline jumper. He missed a wing three. He hit a short pull-up jumper from the left side. He sank a turnaround elbow jumper. He threw a pass away expecting a whistle. He took an inbounds, attacked a lane quickly and got a goaltend call on the layup.

Hill -- -- Hill was super efficient offensively. He was hitting the jumper, but also cleaning up the glass for scores. Others can dominate the ball and he can still be effective. I’ve always liked that about him. That’s the perfect kind of player when you have guys who are ball dominant. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-7 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He cleaned up a missed Kobe jumper in transition. He ball-faked and drained an 18-footer straight away. He drained an open 20-footer left alone off the Kobe drive. He scored a layup off the interior feed from Boozer. He ball-faked, attacked, pumped and hit the short jumphook. Quick spin on the post attack and he drew FTs. He had 12 points on 5-5 shooting and 9 boards in the half. Second Half: He grabbed a Kobe miss and fed Wes for the dunk. He scooped up a loose ball and scored a layup. He sank an open 17-footer off the Lin pass.

Boozer -- -- You’d like to see Dirk at least shooting those tough jumpers with men on him versus wide open jumpers with Boozer on him. Dirk, like too many other Mavs, had some wide open looks. Just one rebound for Boozer with Dirk more of a perimeter big and Boozer not putting a lot of effort on that end of the court. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-11 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He drained a face-up sideline jumper in the Lakers first attempt. He bounced in an open FT jumper on a kickout. He missed a short one in the paint off the interior feed. He posted up, attacked baseline and fed Hill for the layup. He attacked and missed a drive. He swished a face-up wing jumper. He missed a layup working the post. Second Half: He sank a baseline jumper. He missed a rainbow turnaround jumper. He scored a layup off the slip screen working with Kobe. He attacked down the lane for FTs. He faked a handoff, attacked and scored a layup. Not close on an elbow jumper.

Johnson -- -- Quiet game. Still not liking the rotations where we bring him back with the second units. We saw he and Boozer arguing about how they botched a two-man defensive sequence. Hard to say who was at fault (I think it was Wes), but they looked like quite the defensive clowns right there. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: Huge slam in transition off the Kobe dish. He hit an And-1 pull-up wing jumper, he made the FT. He missed a wide open corner three. Second Half: He missed a drive, we got it back and fed him for the slam.

Young -- -- The Mav bench beat us 61-36. SwaggyP wasn’t a threat tonight. He and Kobe were both missing midrange jumper on iso. Meanwhile, the Mavs worked the ball for wide open looks. First loss in the Swaggy return. Good roadtrip, however. You’ll take the 2-1 result…but giving up 140 leaves a bad taste in your mouth. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-7 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 2 assists, 1 block and 3 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -22. The Action: He missed a long contested chuck (Lin should have taken an open jumper earlier). He missed an elbow jumper. He missed an open wing three. He missed a wide open three setting up all possession long and finally getting the pass. Nice challenge in transition on the other end under the hoop. He drained a wing three on a Kobe kickout. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup. He had 5 points on 2-6 shooting in the half. Second Half: He missed a challenged elbow jumper.

Davis -- -- Probably one of his weakest games this season. He was pretty much invisible. He’s been steady all season so we’ll give him a pass. He was a -22 in just 12 minutes. That’s hard to do. The Stats: The Action: He tipped in a missed Kobe drive. He tipped in another missed Kobe reverse. Bad off-ball foul to give up FTs to Dirk with 6 seconds left in the quarter. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Price -- -- Nothing game from him. Dallas is a good team and good teams are making us look silly this year. Seeing Price with some of the other low-talent players we have out there at times sure looks like we are going to take an ass whooping against these teams. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-4 shooting to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -19. The Action: Wow, called for a weak clear-out foul bringing the ball up to midcourt. Nice recovery on his man under the hoop to challenge the layup. Second Half: He missed a long jumper. Bad lob pass to Clarkson who was covered. He crossed over and missed the runner. He missed a jumper from the top of the key.

Clarkson -- -- The Lakers were so far out of this one that Scott went to his deep bench and Clarkson got some much-needed run. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and no fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a step-back jumper up against the shotclock. He attacked, spun in the middle of the lane and earned FTs, he made both. He attacked baseline and was blocked from behind. He spotted Ellington free under the hoop for a layup. He couldn’t tip in a very tough lob pass. He iso’d and drained the pull-up jumper after getting a switch. He slammed on the last possession of the game.

Henry -- -- Garbage time action for Xavier. His ability to draw FTs was in play. So was his inability to knock them down. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 0-1 shooting (3-6 from the line) to go with no other stats. He was a -7. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He drew FTs and made one. He missed a baseline jumper. He drew FTs on a layup attempt in transition, he made one. He drew more FTs in transition, he made one.

Ellington -- -- After taking time off to deal with the murder of his father, Wayne Ellington returned to the court. Scott threw him out there only for garbage time. Good minutes from him regardless. He was able to hit some perimeter shots. Defensively, the game was already over so they weren’t normally meaningful minutes…but they probably were for him. Welcome back, Wayne. Hopefully, they can integrate him back in the offense by keeping Young at SF instead of Wes like we do with our rotations now. That should be what we see. That unit will have a little more floor spacing. The Stats: The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He swished a wing jumper coming off the screens. He missed a wing jumper, but Clarkson found him a few seconds later under the hoop for a layup. He missed a baseline jumper (dunk the other way with poor Laker team D). He sank a three working behind a screen. He drew FTs and made one.

Sacre -- -- Very soft touch tonight on his jumper. He was hitting a lot of rim, but they were still dripping. He led the bench with the 10 points, not missing a single shot from the floor (he missed both FTs). I wish he had about 3 more inches on his standing reach so he could have more of a defensive presence. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-5 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: Horrible inbounds pass with 7 seconds left right to the Mavs and then he fouled to give up an And-1, ouch…the Mavs would miss a FT and hit a three at the buzzer…a 7-point possession, crazy. He bounced in a 17-footer straight away. He bounced in a wing jumper (maybe four bounces on that). Second Half: He sank a baseline turnaround working the post. He was hit on a 19-footer trying to beat the shotclock. He bounced in a turnaround jumper from the right block. He sank an open 18-footer off the two-man game.

Scott -- -- Tied 19-19, the brought in Davis and Young for Wes and Boozer midway through the quarter… Down 4, Lin out for Price, Lakers go to zone briefly… Sacre in for Hill, Lakers down 2… The Mavs scored, we threw an inbounds away, and fouled, then didn’t get the FT miss and gave up a three at the end of the first quarter. A 7-point possession. Wow. That went south fast, about 8 seconds worth of horrible ball… The Lakers trailed 38-27 after the first quarter… He went with a Sacre, Boozer (in for Davis), Johnson, Young, Price lineup… Hill in shortly later for Sacre… Down 9 when the starters returned with about 7 minutes left… Lin got aggressive and started to hit, forcing a Mav timeout after trimming a 13-point lead to 7 with 4 minutes left… Small lineup now with Wes at PF and Young at SF… The Lakers trailed 68-59. Another poor defensive first half that makes it hard to stay with an opponent despite the Lakers scoring well… Lakers down 13 when the timeout came midway through the quarter. Just can’t make a run if they can’t get stops… Horrible zone D giving up such easy looks from three and they fell back by 19… He brought in Davis, Young and Price for Sacre, Johnson and Boozer… Lakers down 100-77 with 2:30 left to play. No D at all… The Lakers trailed 110-83 heading into the fourth quarter… Scott subbed everyone out and went with Sacre, Henry, Ellington, Clarkson and Price… Lakers went to a zone to mix things up. That zone looked awful… The Mavs made 18-35 from three. Ouch… “You can’t rest at that end of the floor,” Scott said...

[Omar Little]

140th?
_________________
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB. Missed this game and glad I did.

[fiendishoc]

I don't even get upset anymore. You pretty much know whats going to happen before the game (other than how much fuel is in Kobe's tank on a particular night), and then the first quarter confirms it.

The defensive holes they had tonight were the same holes they had in their last two wins, due to an ineffective defensive scheme that magnifies instead of reduces the players individual shortcomings on defense. Just had a better opponent to capitalize on them.

Zone was a desperation move, for when you have no answers. And it backfired.

[LakerLanny]

The Iverson comparison hurts DB...

The shooting percentages can be a little difficult to stomach, but when you are giving up 140 it doesn't really matter.
_________________
Love, Laker Lanny

[PLATNUM]

I really don't get why Kobe isn't more efficient. Especially at this stage in his career and with the injuries. I wonder if he's just trying to prove to himself (and others) That he's still 'got it'. All this talk of footwork and outsmarting his opponent because he knows he's not as quick as he used to be, had me excited for his offensive output. But he's still trying to triple pump fade away from 35 feet out with 2 guys on him. No discipline in that regard.

He needs to pick his spots better and balance his game out. A few seasons ago he did an excellent job playing a balanced game with multiple triple doubles for a good stretch of games. Where'd that guy go?
_________________
"Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same."

[fiendishoc]

[jlinfan]

[Drifts]

this game and in the Rockets game, we essentially did the same defensively... give up open 3s one after another... luckily in the Rockets game, Houston just did not hit enough 3s... if they did, they also win that game handily...

Dallas was lights out, but we can't expect them to miss too many open 3s... I don't know what Scott is preaching defensively... but he keeps leaving the 3s WIDE OPEN!
_________________
"Now, if life is coffee, then the jobs, money & position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold & contain life, but the quality of life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

[Honeybadger81]

[seanz8]

Great analysis!

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS...

[mhan00]

Our defense is depressing. Mavs got whatever they wanted, and it seemed like the only stops we got were when the Mavs overpassed and instead of taking the layup they anticipated a challenge that wasn't coming and threw the ball away.

I've been impressed with Kobe's ability to out points on the board and his ability to generate offense for both himself and others, but his defense has been complete ass and his shooting percentage leaves a lot to be desired. We need some more bad teams to beat up on.

[lakerpr]

This one is the coach. What is the defense scheme here? Let them shoot and hope it won't fall? The defense switching and rotation so bad look like they have no clue what they should be doing.

[Laker_Town]

Wow... Iverson is actually a great comparison.

I'm still getting flashbacks of swaggy putting his hands up in the air, signaling he's wide open, only to have Kobe ignore him and force yet another shot.

Positives was hills game. He's been good lately

[K28]

If you give up 18 threes, chances are good you aren't winning.

I think the turning point came in the third quarter when Byron went to a zone. Really bad idea.

The Lakers need to play man to man, rotate and communicate on D.

[calistrtballr]

kobes been garbage all year. the shots he took tonight
He needs to pass the freakin ball, and take better shots. win or lose, atleast play as a team with ball movement. constant isos everytime with 2 defenders on him, missing wide open teammates ugh

[Lakerscode]

I love Kobe and all but he needs to pick his shots at this stage of his career for the team to be efficient.I hope he understand that he has nothing to prove anymore.

[bws94]

giving up 42 points in the 3rd should make them mad. Kobe seemed impressed with them in his post game. Lin seemed far less accepting of the defensive meltdown saying while the Mavs shot well, his team has to play the 3 better. Byron did his usual they didn't do what we talked about. The game was competitive by the half, a shootout won't work but the team was not out of the game by half so some attention to defense and a lot to scoring would have given the team a better chance.

The zone didn't work at all. At all.

Lin's offensive approach should be used in all of his games from here on in. Use the pick and pop, use the mid-range, drive when it is there, shoot 12 shots minimum and he would have had it not been a blowout. And I agree, he passed up a few shots he should have taken, especially because he had it going. Kobe's minutes need reducing. Scott brought in Lin way too late in the 2nd and leaves Kobe in too long, constantly playing full first quarters. What's up with that? Too much Price too, especially when he's not doing much. Too little Davis who didn't have his usual impact in last night's game. Too much Sacre, another jump shooting big man.

Byron's defensive schemes really aren't working. He may need to go back to the drawing board or make huge revisions. And I'm not sure Byron can make effective tactical half-time adjustments. He sure hasn't shown it yet.

It was a disgraceful showing really.

[markjay]

[Lakers#1Team]

[K28]

[trunkz08]

The only problem I have with Kobe is his shot selection, it's not how many shots he takes. For god sakes, can he just take betters shots? He had 7 assists, why didn't he just continue to be a facilitator instead of jacking up 22 shots when he wasn't feeling it? He was so successful being a facilitator...and defense...well Kobe played 0 defense...laugable

[KobesRevenge]

[Kobeling]

Great job again... specially with the knucklebucket.