PACERS -at- LAKERS - 1-4-15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Payback… Last time these two teams met, the Lakers were annihilated. Their worst shooting game of the season and it was over quickly.

Tonight, they fell behind 28-15 as the Pacers closed the first quarter with a series of threes on loose perimeter D. The Lakers rallied in the second quarter to trim the lead to just 7 by halftime. Much better than the ridiculous 60-27 halftime in Indiana.

Nick Young had a series of plays that helped push the momentum in the Lakers favor. He stole the ball and hit a three at the halftime buzzer. He opened the fourth with a three off a behind-the-back cross-over. He then made a circus shot with an over-his-head layup to take the lead. On the other end of the floor, he tightened up his defense.

As Kobe orchestrated the offense down the stretch (split plays to find Nick, then attacking off the high screens to get into the paint), the teams traded leads.

“We kept attacking the basket, moving without the basketball being aggressive on our cuts,” Kobe said.

The Lakers made 28-30 from the FT line, Nick Young going 12-12. Meanwhile, the Pacers killed the Lakers on second chance points with a 26-2 advantage.

It would come down to a final possession and a final stop.

Trailing by 1, Kobe backed his man into the paint and hit a jumphook with 12 seconds left against single coverage. On the defensive end, Nick smothered his man to bust the Pacers final play, forcing a pass and the Pacers into a prayer at the buzzer. The Lakers held on 88-87 for an entertaining win.


Kobe -- -- Some great looks for Kobe to close the game. He was surprised that they were playing him to pass so much and he made the Pacers pay in the final couple of minutes. That game winning jumphook was a thing of beauty, just overpowering his man and hitting an easy one. He came out moving the ball and hitting the boards again early, but was also scoring quite a bit in the first quarter, as well. The scoring would slow down the next two quarters before he picked it up late again. The Pacers played Kobe straight up for the most part. He started making them pay late, as mentioned. He was working the split play passes to Nick in crunch time for FTs. Then Kobe started probing off the high screens from Boozer for scores. No reason to pass when you’ve got some pretty good looks in the paint. So much better to see than long contested jumpers on tired legs to close games. This Kobe is much tougher to beat than the one we saw searching for his game prior to his first rest. Kobe won’t go on the trip to Portland, resting a game once again. “It’s a game by game thing. We just kind of measure it,” Kobe said. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-14 shooting (2-3 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He hit Hill for the layup off the screen-roll for the Lakers first score. He hit the 10-footer off the Hill screen after pushing up a rebound. He swiped a pass on help D. He pulled up at the three line and swished the wing three. He probed to his left when the play busted and he hit the lefty jumphook over his man. He missed an odd looking one-hander working off the Davis screen. He dunked off the split play (great screen by Price). He missed a jumper from the top of the key. He threaded a needle to Davis off an inbounds for a score. He posted up strong side, spotted Ronnie cutting to the corner weakside and he slipped a bounce pass past the defender for a sideline three. He and Hill knocked a defensive board away from each other. He threw a pass away, layup the other way. He missed a corner three. He had 9 points on 4-7 shooing, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals in the half. Second Half: He posted up, no double and he got tapped on the short turnaround. He tried to whip a pass in the corner and it was picked off. He backed his man down again and hit a short elbow turnaround. He whipped a pass to Hill in the paint for FTs. He stripped his man on the perimeter. He missed a wing jumper in early offense. He drew the D on the two-man game and bounced to Davis for the slam down the middle of the lane. He hit Nick cutting backdoor for FTs off the split play. He found him again (lucky that one wasn’t stolen), more FTs for Nick. He hit the side of the backboard on a fading jumper up against the shotclock. He probed off the high screen out of a timeout and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked, lost it, got it back and pulled it out to the corner, then quickly squared up and swished the three with 2 minutes left to give the Lakers a 2-point lead (he thought that was short and was following it up). He sagged off and gave up a three on the other end to lose the lead. He probed the lane off the screen, got the defender on his hip and drew FTs getting undercut, he made both. He missed an open 8 footer that he should have had (prior seasons these are automatic). He backed his man down into the paint and hit the jumphook with 12.4 seconds left to give the Lakers a 1-point lead. That would be the game winner.

Hill -- -- Not much of a game from Hill. He struggled with his perimeter shot, getting his 1-7 mark all in the first half. He stopped shooting in the second half and took some ribbing from Nick in the postgame interview. The Pacers beat our garbage men tonight (26-2 advantage on second chance points). Hill should take that stat personally. Hill didn’t get back in the game after his third quarter stint. He’s got to get that energy going in the next one and do a better job rolling strong and handling passes. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-7 shooting to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a short one in the paint coming off the Kobe screen. He rejected a drive out of bounds to help Wes on the other end. He worked the screen-roll with Kobe and scored a layup between defenders. He fumbled an interior pass away he should have finished, then threw it away after recovering it. He missed a 15-footer, a little short. He missed a 12-footer. He missed a baseline jumper. Nice job erasing a drive, blocking a shot off a Pacer to get the stop. He missed an 18-footer straight away. Just 2 points on 1-7 shooting. Second Half: He drew FTs off the bullet feed from Kobe in the paint, he made both. Nice read to intercept a pass in the paint.

Davis -- -- The Lakers had just 2 missed FTs tonight, Davis had one. But he’s been looking a lot better from the line lately, despite the clutch miss the other night. Notice, though, that Scott went with Boozer and Kelly down the stretch in this game. We did, smartly, put Davis back in for that last defensive stand and he forced Hibbert into the desperation brick. So helped get a close in the final seconds of this one. He got the most minutes of any big. We need his presence out there defensively. We struggled, though, tonight on the defensive glass. Kobe and Ed had game highs in boards with just 6 in this one. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He scored off the glass attacking from the elbow. He knocked a defensive board away from Wes, not sure why he was going after it when it looked clear Wes had it. He was stripped in the paint. He regained a possession drawing a foul on the offensive glass. He sank a rare jumper from the elbow when left open on a two-man sequence. He missed a tough layup off the behind-the-back feed from Ronnie. He swished a baseline one-hander off the inbounds pass. He drew FTs on the interior feed from Price, he made both. He couldn’t finish in the paint. He had 8 points on 3-5 shooting in the half. Second Half: He missed a short one off glass. He took a bounce pass from Ellington as he rolled to the hoop and drew FTs on the throwdown attempt, he made one. He grabbed another bounce pass from Kobe and threw down with both hands.

Johnson -- -- Strained right hip flexor for Wes, and that ended his game late in the first half. Scott moved Ellington into the starting lineup and Kobe up to SF. Not much of a game for Wes prior to that. He missed a couple shots from long distance and was invisible for the most part. No Kobe and Wes in the next game should provide some interesting lineup changes for Scott. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting from three to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 12 minutes. He had a +/0 of 0. The Action: He missed a sideline three off a swing pass. He airballed an open corner three up against the shotclock, but still wide open. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Price -- -- Glad we didn’t lose the game by a bucket when Price gave one away on an uncontested breakaway trying to go for a highlight one-handed slam. Instead he made the lowlight reel. He’d later get another opportunity on a steal and he flushed it with both hands. He and Wes combined for 1-6 shooting from three. The rest of the Lakers made 5-12. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-7 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: Nice screen off the split play to free up Kobe for the dunk. He hit Davis for the open elbow jumper off a two-man sequence. He missed a corner three, left alone. He drained a sideline three off a cross-court bounce pass from Kobe past a defender. He hit Davis with an interior feed for FTs. Second Half: Short on an open three on the Kobe kickout. He sank a sideline jumper off the two-man game with Hill. He swiped a pass and tried a highlight one-handed dunk (uncontested) and lost control of it, arggh. He missed a wide open corner three. He picked his man in the backcourt with a great reach and this time threw down with both hands.

Young -- -- He was a one-man momentum shifter tonight. He swiped a ball and hit a three to end the half to give the Lakers a little momentum at halftime. He hit a huge three off a behind-the-back cross-over early in the fourth to get some more momentum going. He tied up the game on a circus shot in the lane over his head a little later. Staples was going nuts for him. He didn’t have his shot dropping, but he found a way to manufacture FTs and points. But this was also a two-way game. Defensively, he got caught holding Miles a couple of times trying to stay with him off screens in the second half. But he was smothering him in the final couple of minutes. On that last play, Nick was all over his man and it completely disrupted what the Pacers wanted (a great reach on tight D, too) and this forced Hibbert into that bad shot. He also had that steal at the end of the first half and another defensive stand on iso where he forced his man into a travel. Seemed like a more mature game from him since it was a gritty game and things weren’t always going right. “Nick played extremely well,” Kobe said. Kobe was looking for him in crunch time off the ball for FTs. The Stats: He scored 22 points on 4-12 shooting (2-5 from three, 12-12 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed a wing three. He blew a layup after attacking off the three line. He pumpfaked his man in the air and drew FTs standing on the three line, he made both. He attacked the paint and hit Boozer who scored a layup. He swished a wing jumper on iso. He missed a wing three. He missed a pull-up from 17 feet. He drew FTs on a bustout, he made both. He was hit on another three, this time getting three FTs and making all of them. He missed a wing jumper off the pindown. In for a defensive sequence, he jumped the passing lane to swipe the ball, pushed it out and hit the three at the buzzer. He led the Lakers with 12 points on 2-7 shooting (7-7 from the line). Second Half: He threw a bounce pass away when Boozer didn’t roll. He lost his man on a behind-the-back cross-over and hit the three, getting the bench and Staples to their feet and forcing a timeout. He missed a pull-up three straight away, too long. He attacked the paint, got smothered by the help D, spun in the air and flipped in the layup over his head before going down, tied up the game on that one. He missed a corner three after tapping out an offensive board. He forced his man into a travel on iso D. He missed a wing step-back jumper on the other end. He drew FTs when Kobe found him cutting backdoor off the split play, he made both. More FTs cutting off Kobe into the lane, he was getting some M-V-P chants at the line for these, he made both.

Lin -- -- Not as aggressive to start this one, deferring to Nick in the first half. Late in the third quarter, he helped spark the Lakers with a couple of scores. That was a pretty key stretch where you were looking for someone to spark the Lakers. Neither PG played particularly well, but Lin looked better and late in the game, he should space the floor better for the team. He looked open on maybe a couple of occasions, but they were largely going single coverage on Kobe. “They didn’t want to leave the shooters,” Lin said. Typically, the Young, Kobe, Lin trio should finish games. They run those split plays on the sidelines as one of our go-to sequences. No Kobe in the next game, I hope the Lakers can keep it close and Lin is in there at the end orchestrating the offense. It will be interesting to see if the pace changes at all with Kobe out. The bench for sure likes to throttle it up a bit. “When he puts us in we try to run around with as much energy as we can,” Lin said. When told of the Pacers 26-2 advantage on second chance points, Jeremy joked, “Maybe we were hitting our first shots so they didn’t have a chance at the second ones.” The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-6 shooting (1-2 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He scooped up a loose ball and was called for the clear-out foul using his off arm on the break. He missed a tough turnaround from the three line to end the quarter. He hit Boozer rolling for FTs. He got tapped on a wing jumper working off the screen. Good hustle diving to the floor to help the Lakers recover a loose ball on D. He attacked the paint for FTs, he made one. Second Half: He attacked across the lane and drew FTs, he made both. He sank a two-for-one wing three on a quick rush up court. He scooped up a loose ball on the D end, pushed it up with speed and drew FTs on the drive, he made both. Nice reach on help D to knock the ball off the defender. He barely hit rim on a wing pull-up jumper. A couple feet too short on a long outlet to Young on the break, turnover. He probed, got a switch and swished the step-back baseline jumper. He missed an open wing three.

Boozer -- -- Hibbert looked like he maybe oversold that push from Boozer going flying to the floor, but he bounced up and tried to go after Boozer. Boozer got called for flagrant-1, very weak. “I just wonder what the league’s coming to if that’s a flagrant foul,” Kobe said. From Boozer’s explanations to the refs it almost looked like he was talking about Hibbert flopping or exaggerating the contact (possibly on some previous plays, too). The Lakers survived that in the fourth by making their tech and getting a stop after Hibbert’s FTs. Down the stretch, we used Boozer as the screen setter for Kobe off the two-man game. They stuck with Boozer quite a bit on those plays. He’s got to prefer coming off the bench but finishing games versus starting and not closing them. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-9 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He hit Kobe backdoor off the split play for a dunk. He missed a face-up wing jumper. He attacked off the Lin pass and drew FTs on the layup attempt, he made both. He attacked for a layup off Young’s drive and dish. He hit the floor trying to get a steal off a strip on the perimeter. Quick attack from the wing on a change of speed for a layup. Nice help D to force a prayer and brick on a layup attempt. He attacked baseline and was stripped. Second Half: He hit a wing jumper. He threw a pass out of bounds instead of taking the open jumper. He sank a 17-footer straight away. He was called for an offensive foul, lowering his shoulder on a drive. He sank a wide-open 17-footer, holding the pose afterward. He missed a 17-footer. He was blocked by Hibbert trying to score a layup on the roll.

Ellington -- -- He got the start at the SG in the second half as we slid Kobe to the SF with the Wes injury. It will be interesting to see how Scott sets things up tomorrow with no Kobe and Wes. Ellington would likely start and that means we will have Clarkson filling Ellington’s role off the bench. Not a great game from Wayne tonight. He did have a nice two-handed slam off a baseline drive in the second half, but that was about it. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a wing jumper off the pindowns. He missed a three off the split play. Second Half: He missed a wing three. Rare pass on the pindown sequence and he threw it out of bounds because Hill wasn’t expecting it (not sure if Wayne’s ever jump passed on that play, maybe once). He attacked baseline on the split play and threw it down with both hands. He hit Davis rolling to the hoop for FTS on a throwdown attempt.

Kelly -- -- Interesting to see Scott go with Kelly down the stretch at the PF with Boozer. This was purely and offensive lineup to space the floor. I anticipate us doing more of that with whichever big is playing best at the C spot. Kelly didn’t do much in this game. He never shot the ball or was really involved offensively. We used him as a backup SF, as well, with Wes’s injury. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 2 boards to go with 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He got over powered on a drive for an And-1.

Sacre -- -- Better job on the boards and in the paint in this one. He didn’t score and took just one shot, but he was playing big defensively. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 assists, 1 blocks and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: Sloppy job on the defensive glass and he was called for a holding foul. Good battle on the offensive glass and it led to Lin FTs. Second Half: He blocked a reverse on help D and controlled it. He bricked a wide open baseline jumper off the kickout.

Scott -- -- He sat Hill who missed several shots for Boozer and Johnson for Young with under 4 minutes left, Lakers down 1… Lakers defense on the three line was getting sloppy and they quickly trailed 23-15 less than 2 minutes later. Poor defensive stretch going under screens or just not playing tight… He sat Kobe, Davis and Lin for Sacre, Ellington and Lin… The Pacers went on a 14-0 run to close the first quarter… The Lakers trailed 28-15 after the first. Usual unit to start the second quarter… Hill in for Sacre, Lakers down 12 with 7:30… Kobe and Price in for Lin and Ellington, Lakers down 10… Boozer out for Davis shortly later… Wes back in for Young… Neither team with a fastbreak point until the Pacers got one with a minute left in the half and Nick got a three at the buzzer… Better second quarter offensively and the Lakers cut the lead down to 7… They trailed 48-41 at the half. Miles had 17 points in the first half for the Pacers. The Lakers shot 34% in the half (3-10 from three)… Ellington started the second half for Wes… Boozer in for Hill, Young in for Ellington with 5 minutes left, Lakers down 13… Lin and Kelly in for Kobe and Price, Lakers down 8… Second chances killing the Lakers right now… Lin giving the Lakers a little life at the end of the quarter to cut the lead… The Lakers trailed 69-63 heading into the fourth… He started the Sacre, Boozer, Kelly, Young, Lin unit… They cut it to 1 shortly later on a Young three that got the crowd to their feet and forced a timeout… Lakers down 3 when Boozer picked up a flagrant-1 while Hibbert a tech… He brought in Davis for Sacre and Kobe for Kelly… Timeout with 2:38 left, Lakers down 3. He sat Davis for Kelly… So 47 seconds left, Lakers down by 1 and on D when the timeout came. They kept Kelly in the game. They got a stop. Kobe probed and hit the jumphook in the paint with 12 seconds left to give the Lakers a 1-point lead. Timeout again... Davis in for Hill and Price in this time. Davis all over Hibbert to get the stop at the buzzer (Nick was also key on that stop)... The Lakers were outrebounded 16-5 on the offensive glass…

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[SweetP]

Great win!
_________________
“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[KobeBryantCliffordBrown]

Third!
_________________
“It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed, before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.”
― James Baldwin, Collected Essays

[fafan]

Thanks, Bench saved the game again!
_________________
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." --Sarah Cook.

[Shaber]

Whateverth. Thanks, DB!
_________________
.

Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[Charisma]

Thanks DB!

I'll be at the Portland game tomorrow. Hopefully there'll be lots of happy emoticons. It's going to be tough though.

[Gwyn]

That one three point shot after Kobe's near turnover, reminded me of the kind of shots he was hitting during his prime. Love it.
_________________
Lakers win record when Kobe goes for 40+ points

God bless Kobe Bean Bryant and Gianna Maria Onore Bryant.

[Phillycheese]

Bench certainly got the team and fans energised.

[summerly]

Thanks DB!

Young had a great game.
Tomorrow I'd love to see Hill, Swaggy, Ed Davis, Lin and Ellington in the starting lineup

[fafan]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[fiendishoc]

WHAT I LIKED

Swaggy D
Nick Young played inspired defense at the end of the game, as DB noted. The the last possession was a pindown for Miles, and he played it perfectly, forcing him to give it up to Hibbert for the rushed shot.

Although it sucks to see the injury to Wes, it may have actually improved the Lakers D. First, it keeps Kobe engaged at that end, as he was sort of viewing Wes as his security blanket. Second, Swaggy has been playing solid D all year, and he and Ellington don't have quite as many brain cramps off the ball at that end as Wes does.

It will be interesting to see what the lineup is if Wes can't go tomorrow. Hopefully, Byron doesn't do something stupid like start Kelly at the three just to keep Swaggy coming off the bench.

EDIT: Shortly after I typed that, 'Ryan Kelly may start at small forward' popped up on my Twitter feed


Byron D'Antoni
While I don't 100% agree with benching Davis for Kelly (some hairy moments on D against West, and on the defensive glass), you can't argue with the results. Byron left Kelly in as the stretch four and had him stand in the corner while the crunchtime offense was Kobe in the high pick and roll with Boozer, and two other shooters spotting up for 3. Sound familiar? This gave Kobe the space he needed to get closer to the basket, as the Pacers tend to stay at home on the shooters (part of what makes them a good defense).

It's a lot easier to make those crunch time shots from less than 10 feet with rested legs from fewer minutes, than from 20 feet with tired legs.

[Honeybadger81]

with this lineup, you'd expect the bench outperforms the starting lineup every night...the opposite would be surprising...

[jormungand]

*Sigh* Lin led the exciting comeback, only to not get to touch the ball in the last 5 minutes. And then he gets subbed out in the last 12 seconds.

I don't get it - if you don't let him touch the ball, then clearly you don't think he offers anything offensively.

If you sub him out at the last second and the guy who replaces him is not intended to take the last shot, then clearly it's a defensive sub, which clearly means you think he doesn't offer anything defensively.

So why leave him in there at all during those last 5 minutes?

[fiendishoc]

[Omar Little]

[catman2u]

[Dr. Jez]

[ADA32]

[K28]

[Unstable]

Thanks db,

Having got a chance to watch the game rerun on tv, thought that the flagrant on boozer wasn't suitable. It certainly was a technical foul but not of a flagrant type.

Game wise it wouldn't have been so close if we hadnt given them so many second chances....
_________________
Calling another person idiotic does not necessarily mean you are less idiotic than that person. The best way to improve oneself is to focus on the positive things in life and build on them.

[K28]

[bws94]

[bws94]

Thanks, DB. FTs are very important. That's why Young had a good game as he drew them and made them. He didn't shoot well 4-12, but he made timely shots. Kobe made his FTs late in the game. Lin had a good enough 2nd half with a big 7 point momentum shift.

There was late-game execution, Kobe looked for Nick and Nick delivered. There was a lot of Lin to Kobe to Nick and it worked out fine and later Kobe making good decisions and mostly good shots, an incredible 3 where he almost lost the ball and the nice jump hook, he only missed a bunny but that happens. Sloan and Stuckey were producing for Indiana, but they didn't take the last shot, Hibbert did and it was a terrible one. Game ends in a stop.