Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:36 pm Post subject: BULLS -at- LAKERS - 1-29-15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings
Double Overtime Victory… It shouldn’t have been an OT game. The Lakers had a 9-point lead with less than 90 seconds left in regulation.
The Bulls tightened their grip defensively, put the pressure on and the Lakers coughed up the ball and went scoreless to close the game. In his return to L.A., Pau came up big on the final possession for the Bulls with a key tip in score to tie it up. Jordan Hill just missed a game winner on the other end at the buzzer.
The Bulls had their first lead of the game in overtime. It was Hill’s turn, however, to hit the clutch jumper and tie the game with 16 seconds left. “I thought it was a good shot for me, so I went for it,” he said he said of the big 20-footer. The Lakers would dig themselves out of a hole and push it to a double overtime.
The once sputtering offense, started to click again as they went to their split plays. The missing chemistry in the final minutes of regulation and the first OT came back. The Lakers took control of the game again and this time they didn’t cough it up. Big scores by Clarkson, Ellington and Hill and the Bulls finally gave up the ghost. The Lakers won 123-118.
“They kept that energy level for 58 minutes,” Byron Scott said of his team. In the last game, the guards came out strong, but had little support from their bigs outside of Ed Davis. Tonight, all the bigs showed up to balance out the Laker attack. Very strong team effort. “Just very resilient tonight,” Scott said.
Nice tribute to Pau before the game. Always good to see him in L.A.
“It was emotional,” Pau said, mentioning it was a great experience…but bummed that his team lost.
Hill -- -- A season-high scoring night for Hill. The Lakers have a big void to try to fill during crunch time and Hill was able to step into that a little tonight with some big plays. He should have had a game winner that rattled out in regulation. He also had both a big make with 1:29 left in regulation and a big turnover in the final minute. Pau nearly stole his thunder with a tip in to send it to overtime, but Hill responded in the OTs. He sank a huge jumper with 16 seconds left to send the game to double overtime. Hill had dominated the matchup with Pau early. He was attacking him with regularity in the first half for scores. Just better footspeed and a little more strength. He was equally aggressive against Noah in the second half. Good job keeping his energy up through the big minutes. Byron talking to Hill during a break in the second half, he asked him if he was tired. “Two reasons I ask a guy that,” he told Hill. “One is because he’s tired. The other is because I think he’s about to be tired.” With Hill, it does seem like you need to keep cracking that whip on him at times. That’s what Scott was doing. Phil used to do the same thing. Jordan kept the motor going and finished strong. “He just seemed to have that energy the whole game,” Scott said, mentioning he needed to find out what Hill did in the past 24 hours and repeat that. The Stats: He scored 26 points on 11-22 shooting (4-6 from the line) to go with 12 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 41 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He was stripped in the post. Soft finish around Pau and he was blocked. Quick attack from the high post to get to the low post and he hit a jumphook. He scooped up a loose ball and took it the distance to miss a layup (Boozer would tip it in later off an Ellington miss). He worked the post against Pau and scooped in a layup around him. He missed a long wing jumper in early offense. He hit a short one in the paint set up by Clarkson next time down. He blew past Gasol for a layup across the middle of the lane. He missed a wing jumper. Way short on a FT jumper, Sacre got it back, Hill cut, took the pass and threw down the And-1 slam, he made the FT. He had 11 points on 5-10 shooting to go with 6 boards. Second Half: He sank a 20-footer on the kickout from Clarkson. He couldn’t hit over Noah on iso. He missed a wing jumper on the inbounds. He attacked a crowd and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked Noah across the lane, stopped on a dime and scored the up and under. He missed a wing jumper on iso. He attacked, lost it briefly, got it back and hit the jumphook over Noah. He forced up an off-balance jumper and bricked. He hit Wes cutting baseline for the score. He drew FTs with 2:40 left and made one. He iso’d as the clock wound down, attacked to his left, stepped back and hit the big wing jumper with 1:29 left. He dribbled a ball off his foot with a minute left, turnover, and a Bulls three the other way. He attacked Pau and had his jumphook rattle out at the buzzer. Overtime: He missed a short one in the paint. He tied the game up with 20-footer with 16 seconds left. Double Overtime: He swatted Rose’s drive at the rim. On the other end, he sank a huge wing jumper with 1:53. He asked to shoot the tech with 4.9 left and missed, lol.
Clarkson -- -- This was a big game for Clarkson to get under his belt. Pressure D against him in the final two minutes of regulation. He didn’t handle it well. In OT the offense was stagnant. He didn’t orchestrate it well. In double OT, he and the Lakers seemed to break through in their execution running the split plays and Clarkson coming up with a few points in that last 5 minutes. “I got to take care of the ball at the end. Be stronger with it. Just finish the game. That was on me,” Clarkson said. Loved seeing him pumped with a huge And-1 with 2 minutes left in regulation and also double OT when he swished a big jumper. Defensively, he held his own. Late in the game he had some excellent recoveries and challenges (he didn’t get called for a foul in 43 minutes). He really battles on that end of the floor. Remember, this a rookie out there. We see the rookie mistakes offensively, but defensively, he holds his own pretty well. Very good minutes for him tonight. “It’s going to help him grow even faster,” Scott said. He has been happy with Clarkson’s progression. “The biggest thing with Jordan is that he cares. He wants to do well. He really does. So when he makes mistakes he really shows it sometimes.” Scott said he has to get to the point where he’s even keel. Confidence is key for him. A lot of that builds with repetition and experience. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-15 shooting (1-1 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and no fouls in 43 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He drained a wing three off the high screen up against the shotclock on our first possession. His pass to Sacre in the paint was knocked away. He turned up the speed off the high screen to score a layup. He couldn’t finish a long lob pass from Wes on the break (looked undercut a little with no call). He missed a long pull-up jumper at the buzzer. He pushed up the break with speed and found Hill in the lane for the short one. He missed a floater in the lane. He attacked the paint, drew a crowd and threw it behind him to Boozer for the open jumper. He had 5 points on 2-4 shooting and 3 assists. Second Half: Nice read on D to switch and challenge a layup to get a miss. He missed a floater, got it back and hit Hill for the jumper. He couldn’t finish a layup off the attack to his right. He grabbed an offensive board and reset the offense (it led to Hill FTs). He missed a wing pull-up working off the screen. He swiped a post entry, quick off his feet, he pushed it out and got a nice bounce on his floater to fall. He attacked past his man, hung and scooped in a layup. Another end of the quarter iso that he comes up empty on (got blocked in a crowd). He came up with the ball as Rose attacked on the break (hard to tell if he caused the turnover or not, but a big stop). The offense stalled, he attacked, drew a whistle on a slap and regained control to bank in an And-1 with 2 minutes left, he made the FT. He was double teamed and stripped for a score. He got tapped on a floater with 20 seconds left, a huge miss (that was down and out). Overtime: Too much dribbling and little out of it, he was eventually blocked on a turnaround jumper. He missed a pull-up jumper working off the screen. He attacked Brooks’s pressure on iso and drew FTs, he made both with 2 minutes left. Double Overtime: Great challenge on Brooks’s drive to force a brick. He took a handoff, iso’d and swished the wing jumper. He was fouled with 32 seconds left, Lakers up 5, he made both clutch ones.
Ellington -- -- When the game was on the line, we went to Wayne. We didn’t quite trust Clarkson. Lin was a more natural answer, but not in the game. So it was on Wayne to be the go to guy on a few key possessions. “They applied the pressure and they got us on our heels,” he said. Loved seeing that big drive and layup around Pau in OT working off the high screen. Very nice. He opened up the double OT with a couple of bigs scores. He had 10 points in the 10 minutes of OT action. “This is an opportunity for Wayne to get major minutes for pretty much the rest of the season,” Scott said. He led the team with 46 tonight and quietly worked his way to 23 points with all that OT scoring. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 9-19 shooting (1-6 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 46 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He missed a wing three. He lost his man off the dribble to his left and finished off glass over the D with his left. He missed a short jumper in the middle of the lane. Not close on a pull-up jumper. He probed off the dribble and hit the elbow jumper. He was trapped on the sideline screen-roll for a turnover and points the other way. He probed off the screen and swished the short leaning jumper. Second Half: He popped out free for an inbounds pass and hit the three. He missed a long three. He fumbled a dribble away, had it fumbled right back to him and he went to the floor to recover it. He pushed out the break and scored a layup. He missed a three trying to create against the shotclock out of a timeout. He curled down the lane, tucked the ball in and scooped it up over the help D. He missed a baseline pull-up jumper on a scrambled offensive sequence. He missed a pull up from three on another stalled offensive sequence. Overtime: He missed a big wing jumper. He attacked Pau off the high screen and scored a layup to cut it to 1. He was blocked out of bounds by Noah as he tried to attack again off a screen. He hit Hill for the 20-footer. Double Overtime: He worked off the screens, got a switch off ball and then hit the jumper to start the OT. He came off the split play, took a pass, spun around defenders and reversed, very nice. He got tapped on a kickout three trying to beat the shotclock. Intentionally fouled, he made both FTs. Fouled again with 5 seconds left, he made both.
Kelly -- -- The SF minutes are just not working for him. He hit a three early on, then was pretty much done for the night. He’s got to deal with faster players and is not sure where his spots are in the offense. Defensively, he had to be careful with some of the speedier SFs tonight. Wes was a better choice and finished the fourth and the OTs. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He swished a sideline three off the split play. He missed a runner but slapped it out to Boozer for the open jumper. Second Half: He missed a turnaround fade off the dribble. His man blew past him for an And-1 at the rim. He fouled off ball on the weakside of the offense to lose a possession.
Sacre -- -- Feisty game from Rob tonight with a near double-double. There was a 6-minute stretch to open the third quarter where Sacre drew three fouls on Pau as well as scored a few points on him. The Lakers were doing a very good job with Pau on both ends of the floor. Later in the fourth, Sacre had a big putback to push the lead to 9. Defensively, he had a couple blocks and several shot disruptions. He eventually fouled out in overtime. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 9 boards (4 offensive), 2 blocks and 6 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a turnaround in the post up against the shotclock. He sank a 17-footer on the two-man game. He grabbed the Hill miss, spotted Hill cutting and hit him for the And-1 dunk. Second Half: He attacked Pau in the post for FTs on our first possession of the half, he made one. He drew a charge on Pau in early offense. He grabbed an offensive board and missed a turnaround. Another foul on Pau as they battled for boards. He faced up on Pau and hit the jumper over him. Back in and he grabbed a Lin missed layup and put it back in to force a timeout. He missed an open look at a wing jumper. He rejected Gibson at the rim on help D. Good challenge on Rose to force a tough one and a miss. Overtime: He grabbed a Hill miss and drew FTs, he made both (to end a 12-0 Bulls run). Double Overtime: Nice job in the high post finding Ellington for a score. He fouled out on the defensive glass.
Lin -- -- “We gave great effort and the team really pulled together,” Lin said. Very nice mix of his game in the first half. He worked the two-man game with Davis to set up scores for the two of them. He hit jumpers and got to the rim for scores. Well-rounded and finding opportunities within the system or in transition. In the second half, he couldn’t finish the layups and jumpers. He also had a big turnover, as well. We were probably better off if he was orchestrating the offense down the stretch and in overtime as we struggled to close. He didn’t play in the OTs. It was a good learning experience for Clarkson, however, and the Lakers eventually got over the hump against a team. “We just did a good job with everyone doing their role,” Lin said. Very true. In that first half, where we scored 59 points, it wasn’t just a couple Lakers, it was the entire team. A lot of credit there to both Clarkson and Lin orchestrating that. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-11 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 5 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 27 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He was stripped on a drive, turnover (I think he wanted a foul). He curled down the lane off the screens but couldn’t finish, getting blocked or stripped out of bounds. He sank a step-back elbow jumper on that same possession shortly later. Quick attack off a dribble handoff up top and he scored a layup. He hit Ed with low position for the layup. He blew past his man on one end for a layup, then got the same treatment on the other to give up a layup. He sank a 17-footer taking the return handoff from Davis off the two-man game. Nice no-looker to Wes on the break but he couldn’t finish it (Boozer tipped it in). He hit Davis for the layup on the two-man game. Way short on a turnaround jumper on the break. He had 8 points on 4-6 shooting and 3 assists. Second Half: He probed around a screen and drew FTs on a layup attempt around Rose, he made one. He missed a layup on a drive. Another missed layup on a drive. He missed a high-arching wing jumper working off the screen. He probed, picked up his dribble and threw it away for a breakaway dunk, ugly play (he had a midrange jumper available before picking up his dribble). He attacked the lane, hung and banked high off the glass over Noah. He attacked the lane again, missed again, but Sacre cleaned it up with ease.
Boozer -- -- Great first half against his former team, scoring 14 points to lead the Lakers. He was hitting jumpers and getting to the offensive glass for easy ones. He would score 14 of his 16 points in the first half. This team needs more of that from him with consistency again. Not a lot of action in that second half. He came in for Sacre in that double OT when Rob fouled out and the Lakers held the line defensively. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 8-14 shooting to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He swished a jumper from the FT line. He stripped a man to ignite a break, and a good job crashing the glass to tip in a missed jumper on that break. He missed a wing jumper out of a timeout. He attacked Pau and hit the midrange pull-up off glass. He missed a layup on the break, but Davis tipped it in. He scored a layup off the high-low feed. He tipped in a miss by Wes on the break. He got a very kind bounce to drop on a driving baseline jumper. He choked a layup set up by Ellington, wow, he just short armed that. He grabbed a board, then threw it away a second later to ignite a Bull break. He sank an open jumper on the drive and dish from Clarkson. He scored 14 points on 7-10 shooting to go with 4 boards (3 offensive) and 2 blocks. Second Half: He missed a wing jumper on iso. He missed a layup on a drive but Davis cleaned it up. He missed another short one in a crowd. He attacked with the shotclock low, spun and hit a jumphook just before the buzzer. Overtime: He did not play. Double Overtime: Nothing to report.
Davis -- -- Once again, some good work early on in this one working the two-man game with Lin. He would score 8 of his 10 in that first half. He led the Lakers with 5 offensive boards. The Lakers had an 18-17 advantage in that stat as both teams were going at it. Limited minutes for Ed with 16, but he nearly pulled off a double-double with some excellent activity. All of our bigs tonight were bringing it. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 9 boards (5 offensive), 2 assists and 2 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He tipped in a Boozer miss on the break. Low position and Lin found him for the layup. He finished a layup over Noah working the two-man game with Lin. He drew FTs on the jumphook in the post, he made both. He had 8 points on 3-3 shooting and 4 boards. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumphook. He put back in a missed Boozer layup. He got to another Boozer miss and regained a possession. He missed a short one a few seconds later.
Johnson -- -- Was the James Harden or Jimmy Butler getting the whistles out there? I do like Butler, but man he was at the line a lot (he made 16-18 FTs). He brought the Bulls back in that fourth quarter and just kept being a thorn in the side all game long. Wes, for his part, countered Butler’s 35 points with 7 points. Uggh. We was pretty quiet throughout most of the fourth and first OT. He had some impact in the second one. The Bulls ran some small lineups with Brooks and Rose both out there. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He ripped the ball away from his man on a drive and ignited a break. He threw a pass to where Boozer should have been rolling, turnover. He missed a layup in transition but Boozer cleaned it up. He missed a pull-up wing jumper on a busted play. He got backdoored for a layup. He sank a fading baseline jumper. Second Half: Hill found him cutting baseline for the layup. He missed a wing three. He missed a short fade across the lane. He missed a step-back chuck from the wing. Overtime: Nothing to report. Double Overtime: He won a jumpball after a battle on the defensive glass. He was tripped off a split play, got it back and hit the jumphook with 1:32 left. He missed a flat 18-footer after losing his man. Intentionally fouled, he made one FT.
Scott -- -- Sacre picked up two fouls after 5 minutes so Boozer came in for him. Lakers up 10-6… The Lakers led 16-8 when the timeout came a minute later… He brought in Lin for Ellington out of that timeout… Up 6, he brought in Davis and Johnson for Hill and Kelly… The Lakers led 28-19 after the first quarter… He started the Davis, Boozer, Johnson, Ellington, Lin lineup… Lin warming up with a drive, jumper and a couple of nice passes for scores to open the quarter… He sat Boozer for Sacre up 13 with 7 minutes left… He brought in Hill and Clarkson with 5 minutes left up 9… They pushed the lead back up to 13 again to force a timeout… He sat Wes for Kelly a few seconds later, same score… With the lead at 14, he subbed in Boozer for Sacre, who picked up another foul… The Lakers led 59-48 at the half, shooting 59%… They edged the lead up to 15… He sat Ellington for Lin midway through the quarter, Lakers up 11… He brought in Boozer for Sacre and Johnson for Kelly, Bulls chipping away at the Laker lead… The Lakers went cold. Brooks hit a couple threes on an 8-0 run and the lead was now just 2… The Lakers led 80-76 heading into the fourth… He started the Davis, Boozer, Wes, Ellington, Lin unit… The lead was cut to 1, but the Lakers pushed it back up to 7 when Sacre came in for Davis with 6 minutes left… Sacre scored a putback to push the lead to 9 and the Bulls called timeout… Hill in for Boozer… Up 5, he brought in Clarkson for Lin with 4 minutes left… So starters with Wes in instead of Kelly… Big And-1 by Clarkson to go up by 9 with 2 minutes left… After Hill dribbled a ball off his foot and Butler hit a three, the lead was suddenly just 4 with a minute left… Tie game 98-98 on a 9-0 Bulls run. Lakers not handling the pressure well… Laker ball with 11 seconds left. What’s the call? Ellington off a screen, back to Hill who got tapped on a jumphook over Pau. Pretty good look… In overtime, the offense continued to stall out. A lot of iso ball… Down 3 with a minute left in OT and he called a timeout. Ellington attacked Pau off the screen for a layup. Good call… With 35 seconds, we trailed by 2. Ellington off the screen again, but he was blocked out of bounds. Timeout Lakers with 9 on the shotclock and 20 in the game. (Team could really use Lin here.)... Out of that timeout, Hill hit a clutch 20-footer to tie it up… They got a stop on Ellington on Rose on iso. Double OT… Lakers running more of their split plays and the offense started to flow more… Sacre fouled out with 2:56 left on a defensive board, Lakers up 4. Boozer in… Lakers go up by 5 on a Hill jumper from the wing. Timeout Bulls…
Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 6054 Location: My own little piece of reality
Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:38 pm Post subject:
Lakers win
So rarely get to break out the dancing veggies and fruits
Thx DB! _________________ “There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman
Great that the team made DB's breakdowns more enjoyable to do cause he deserves it.
Team showed that they have the talent to win games. Acquiring the discipline to produce consistency and have the mental toughness to close games are their missing elements. Losing a 9 point lead in 71 seconds is what young and inexperienced teams do often.
During this stretch of 15 to 20 games that BScott will give players/combinations to work, it was Clarkson's turn to learn and grow - which he did
JLin had a nice game but seemingly his efficiency at closing at the hoop (2nd best behind Lebron last year) has gone away, especially in the 2nd half. His last TO was very predictable that I knew was going to happen 5+ seconds before it happened. It was a rookie mistake dribbling into a doinleteam and pick up one's dribble, especially in the fourth quarter.
Wes (Devean George/Glen Rice) Johnson has been consistent in disappearing for stretches of time
Sacre totally battled Aalst night long and was aggressive, as noted by the fouls he received
Since Davis and JLin are playing together, as the fans have been clamoring for, he has been productive in limited PT
BScott running curl sets/plays seemed to be consistently effective against their D
Can JHill be consistent in his effort level, playing D and scoring in every game?
Is RKelly quick enough to get open shots on P&Rs?
Was Black a DNPREST?
Has the team learn how to play winnimg basketball and not take the Knicks for granted?
Great that the team made DB's breakdowns more enjoyable to do cause he deserves it.
Team showed that they have the talent to win games. Acquiring the discipline to produce consistency and have the mental toughness to close games are their missing elements. Losing a 9 point lead in 71 seconds is what young and inexperienced teams do often.
During this stretch of 15 to 20 games that BScott will give players/combinations to work, it was Clarkson's turn to learn and grow - which he did
JLin had a nice game but seemingly his efficiency at closing at the hoop (2nd best behind Lebron last year) has gone away, especially in the 2nd half. His last TO was very predictable that I knew was going to happen 5+ seconds before it happened. It was a rookie mistake dribbling into a doinleteam and pick up one's dribble, especially in the fourth quarter.
Wes (Devean George/Glen Rice) Johnson has been consistent in disappearing for stretches of time
Sacre totally battled Aalst night long and was aggressive, as noted by the fouls he received
Since Davis and JLin are playing together, as the fans have been clamoring for, he has been productive in limited PT
BScott running curl sets/plays seemed to be consistently effective against their D
Can JHill be consistent in his effort level, playing D and scoring in every game?
Is RKelly quick enough to get open shots on P&Rs?
Was Black a DNPREST?
Has the team learn how to play winnimg basketball and not take the Knicks for granted?
My head still explodes when Hill sits at the top of the key even when he makes the shots as he did at crunch time. If only BS could just bench him if he doesn't work aounnd the basket more. Also his inside game seemed to make him better at his old outside game.
I still think JLin on the floor with Clarkson is a better idea than BS's no PG offense. Clearly there was way too much ISO when he was on the bench.
Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 8488 Location: The (real) short corner
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 6:05 am Post subject:
- I was really impressed with Clarkson's D as well. He stepped it up big time, especially in isolation situations.
- Good to know that J Hill still has an inside game. Where has it been all this time? You could tell he really wanted to take it to Pau.
- Brent Barry (probably auditioning for a asst coaching job) was really taking it to Byron indirectly during the telecast
- "Experimenting" is the new buzz word for team tank but it backfired tonight
- Help a guy out when he's getting trapped will you, and don't pass into the corner.
- Nice to see more high pnr with one of the bigs on the baseline. Although they need to be on the side where the ball handler is headed, not away. If they start on the wrong side, they can cut under the basket during the move to create space.
- But still too many pnr's with guys standing in the way.
- As AMC mentioned, I did like the tight curls that Ellington was killing them with.
- Want to see more Black, but I'm sure he'll get his time.
lol i went to bed 5 minutes left in the game. thought it was in the bag.
thanks db! _________________ Jeremy Lin: "In terms of my career, the only thing that's really been consistent is the amount of inconsistency that I've had in my life."
Thanks DB. Ellington is a good player, he can handle the ball pretty well and even facilitates a bit. Hill was big, played well.
I was saying during the OT Scott is tanking the game. He had Clarkson playing 10 straight minutes in OT plus the 4 or so from regulation. Ellington, Hill, too yet productive players like Davis, Lin and Boozer were on the bench. Boozer came in only because Sacre fouled out. That's not playing to win, Byron got lucky. Ellington and Hill had a we'll do everything in our power to win, and they pulled it off. Clarkson had some nice moments, looks like an SG to me. It is nice to see two penetrating guards.
Game shows Lin and Davis should play together as much as possible, but most of us knew that. Wes is still not someone to count on unfortunately. And I hope when Swaggy gets back he sees how Ellington plays and works at more than dribble/scoring.
Also, not fair to just sit Price now. I thought he played too much before but he should play some now to keep him in rhythm and involved. I hope Black is still not there physically because I don't understand him getting no minutes at all.
Thanks DB. Ellington is a good player, he can handle the ball pretty well and even facilitates a bit. Hill was big, played well.
I was saying during the OT Scott is tanking the game. He had Clarkson playing 10 straight minutes in OT plus the 4 or so from regulation. Ellington, Hill, too yet productive players like Davis, Lin and Boozer were on the bench. Boozer came in only because Sacre fouled out. That's not playing to win, Byron got lucky. Ellington and Hill had a we'll do everything in our power to win, and they pulled it off. Clarkson had some nice moments, looks like an SG to me. It is nice to see two penetrating guards.
Game shows Lin and Davis should play together as much as possible, but most of us knew that. Wes is still not someone to count on unfortunately. And I hope when Swaggy gets back he sees how Ellington plays and works at more than dribble/scoring.
Also, not fair to just sit Price now. I thought he played too much before but he should play some now to keep him in rhythm and involved. I hope Black is still not there physically because I don't understand him getting no minutes at all.
Clarkson is very promising. Lin has had enough time in the league to show he's more than a very good backup. Davis is a great backup at two positions. And Ellington looks like a pro, more varied and versatile than Meeks. Not much else on the team for the long-term (other than Randle.)
"JLin had a nice game but seemingly his efficiency at closing at the hoop (2nd best behind Lebron last year) has gone away, especially in the 2nd half"
If I had to guess, I would say reason is that defense tightens up against Lin after he has success in first half, and then the clear openings to rim he had in first half aren't quite there in second half (i. e. he is forcing the action a bit and is being contested at rim then).
Lin has great full body agility (his Knicks pre-draft whole body agility test were off the charts, and his average BAM score was the same as Derrick Rose: http://thebamboxscore.com/category/sport/basketball/nba/ ), but he doesn't have elite hops like a Monta Ellis, who can just jump and hang in air and wait for his defender to fall away and get clean look at basket. Lin has to be crafty and use rim to help hold off a shot blocker.
Lin started off last year in Houston almost shooting 50 40 90, and that was because Harden draws so much attention on defense and created openings in defense for him to attack. He would always get all the way to the rim for a layup, and it was just a question of whether or not there was also an and 1 free throw, too. And those numbers didn't even start to fall off until Harden started sitting out games completely (I think Sixers game and afterwards), then a few injuries also came into play (back spasms Warriors game, knee bruise Grizzlies game, possibly a dislocated shoulder Knicks game), and then the marginalization of his role on team going into All Star Break (Beverley returning to lineup after being out for about 5 weeks with fractured hand), and in particular right at beginning of March (say 15 - 20 minutes per game; perhaps 1 shot attempt per quarter).
It's why Lin has to be hidden among the starters and best weapons any team has to deploy; not showcased on second unit.
Lin has a deceptively long and explosive first step, and a world class burst of acceleration from a standstill ( & ) that can get him to the rim very quickly, if there is space to attack.
Few summers ago he also worked on a triple threat stance above three point line to freeze his defender before he attacked, too:
I go back to the unexpected or deliberately conceded pull up jumper (which Lin has always been good at; he used to take these wild pull up jumpers off dribble in D-League and was still often nothing but net) which Rockets and Lakers don't seem to want him to take (it was significant part of his offense under Eric Musselman, and I think Mike D'Antoni also let him fire away freely off pull up jumper), and am also reminded of this "open ice" comment from an article talking about court vision:
Quote:
"Hockey great, Wayne Gretsky had more things to say about his own particular way of seeing when he was on the rink. He prefaced them by pointing out that among all his teammates he always tested out worst in strength, flexibility and, interestingly, peripheral vision.
"It's funny, but when I'm on the ice, I can barely see the goalie. It's an attitude. If you ask a fifty-goal scorer what the goalie looks like, he'll say the goalie's just a blur. But if you ask a five-goal scorer, he'll say the goalie looks like a huge glob of pads. A five-goal scorer can tell you the brand name of the pad of every goalie in the league. I'm seeing the net, he's seeing the pad."
"That's all hockey is: open ice. That's my whole strategy: Find Open Ice. Chicago's coach Mike Keenan said it best: "There's a spot on the ice that's no-man's land, and all the good goal scorers find it." It's a piece of frozen real estate that's just in between the defense and the forward. For a defenseman, it's hell because he doesn't want to commit too far out and leave other people open. And yet, if he leaves you alone, you get a great shot."
Joined: 28 Nov 2007 Posts: 11277 Location: Bay Area
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:05 am Post subject:
Excellent Recap as always DB, Thanks!
What stood out to most this game was Sacre, for the first time in his career imho he looked like a real NBA player. Maybe it was the matchup vs. his old sparring pal Gasol?
Thanks DB. Ellington is a good player, he can handle the ball pretty well and even facilitates a bit. Hill was big, played well.
I was saying during the OT Scott is tanking the game. He had Clarkson playing 10 straight minutes in OT plus the 4 or so from regulation. Ellington, Hill, too yet productive players like Davis, Lin and Boozer were on the bench. Boozer came in only because Sacre fouled out. That's not playing to win, Byron got lucky. Ellington and Hill had a we'll do everything in our power to win, and they pulled it off. Clarkson had some nice moments, looks like an SG to me. It is nice to see two penetrating guards.
Game shows Lin and Davis should play together as much as possible, but most of us knew that. Wes is still not someone to count on unfortunately. And I hope when Swaggy gets back he sees how Ellington plays and works at more than dribble/scoring.
Also, not fair to just sit Price now. I thought he played too much before but he should play some now to keep him in rhythm and involved. I hope Black is still not there physically because I don't understand him getting no minutes at all.
You point out so many ways, strategy, player development, rotations that BS is a bad coach. DNP for Lin and now for Price. Its hard for me to believe the team has any confidence in BS. Besides Lin-Davis how obvious has it been that Hill hanging out at the top of the key is not a winning strategy? We are just lucky that Rose play soooo badly and shot horrendously from 3. I hope it doesn't give BS new ideas of how a team can win in the NBA without the 3. Also keeping the only facilitator on the bench seemed to encourage ISO play. Another Laker losing strategy this year.
Thanks DB. Ellington is a good player, he can handle the ball pretty well and even facilitates a bit. Hill was big, played well.
I was saying during the OT Scott is tanking the game. He had Clarkson playing 10 straight minutes in OT plus the 4 or so from regulation. Ellington, Hill, too yet productive players like Davis, Lin and Boozer were on the bench. Boozer came in only because Sacre fouled out. That's not playing to win, Byron got lucky. Ellington and Hill had a we'll do everything in our power to win, and they pulled it off. Clarkson had some nice moments, looks like an SG to me. It is nice to see two penetrating guards.
Game shows Lin and Davis should play together as much as possible, but most of us knew that. Wes is still not someone to count on unfortunately. And I hope when Swaggy gets back he sees how Ellington plays and works at more than dribble/scoring.
Also, not fair to just sit Price now. I thought he played too much before but he should play some now to keep him in rhythm and involved. I hope Black is still not there physically because I don't understand him getting no minutes at all.
Clarkson is very promising. Lin has had enough time in the league to show he's more than a very good backup. Davis is a great backup at two positions. And Ellington looks like a pro, more varied and versatile than Meeks. Not much else on the team for the long-term (other than Randle.)
Thanks DB. Agreed, this should be a easy finish since 9 pts. lead in 90 seconds. No subs in 2 OTs except Sacre failed out. BS tried his best to tank, just Bulls too suck! _________________ "Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." --Sarah Cook.
Great that the team made DB's breakdowns more enjoyable to do cause he deserves it.
Team showed that they have the talent to win games. Acquiring the discipline to produce consistency and have the mental toughness to close games are their missing elements. Losing a 9 point lead in 71 seconds is what young and inexperienced teams do often.
During this stretch of 15 to 20 games that BScott will give players/combinations to work, it was Clarkson's turn to learn and grow - which he did
JLin had a nice game but seemingly his efficiency at closing at the hoop (2nd best behind Lebron last year) has gone away, especially in the 2nd half. His last TO was very predictable that I knew was going to happen 5+ seconds before it happened. It was a rookie mistake dribbling into a doinleteam and pick up one's dribble, especially in the fourth quarter.
Wes (Devean George/Glen Rice) Johnson has been consistent in disappearing for stretches of time
Sacre totally battled Aalst night long and was aggressive, as noted by the fouls he received
Since Davis and JLin are playing together, as the fans have been clamoring for, he has been productive in limited PT
BScott running curl sets/plays seemed to be consistently effective against their D
Can JHill be consistent in his effort level, playing D and scoring in every game?
Is RKelly quick enough to get open shots on P&Rs?
Was Black a DNPREST?
Has the team learn how to play winnimg basketball and not take the Knicks for granted?
jhill can certainly be consistent in his effort and playing D but i won't expect the scoring to be there most of the time.
and this is the problem i have with this offense. we're way too dependent on hill hitting his midrange to win games. it's fine if he's LMA or duncan but he's not and has never been known to be a mid range shooter.
now one can argue that winning isn't a priority this year and that developing players is. if that's the case then i can see why we keep sticking with this to give hill a chance to develop in this area. but even if he doesn't become a decent shooter in that area, this is still a pretty inefficient, archaic offense.
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-- This was a big game for Clarkson to get under his belt. Pressure D against him in the final two minutes of regulation. He didn’t handle it well. In OT the offense was stagnant. He didn’t orchestrate it well. In double OT, he and the Lakers seemed to break through in their execution running the split plays and Clarkson coming up with a few points in that last 5 minutes. “I got to take care of the ball at the end. Be stronger with it. Just finish the game. That was on me,” Clarkson said. Loved seeing him pumped with a huge And-1 with 2 minutes left in regulation and also double OT when he swished a big jumper. Defensively, he held his own. Late in the game he had some excellent recoveries and challenges (he didn’t get called for a foul in 43 minutes). He really battles on that end of the floor. Remember, this a rookie out there. We see the rookie mistakes offensively, but defensively, he holds his own pretty well. Very good minutes for him tonight. “It’s going to help him grow even faster,” Scott said. He has been happy with Clarkson’s progression. “The biggest thing with Jordan is that he cares. He wants to do well. He really does. So when he makes mistakes he really shows it sometimes.” Scott said he has to get to the point where he’s even keel. Confidence is key for him. A lot of that builds with repetition and experience. 
-- When the game was on the line, we went to Wayne. We didn’t quite trust Clarkson. Lin was a more natural answer, but not in the game. So it was on Wayne to be the go to guy on a few key possessions. “They applied the pressure and they got us on our heels,” he said. Loved seeing that big drive and layup around Pau in OT working off the high screen. Very nice. He opened up the double OT with a couple of bigs scores. He had 10 points in the 10 minutes of OT action. “This is an opportunity for Wayne to get major minutes for pretty much the rest of the season,” Scott said. He led the team with 46 tonight and quietly worked his way to 23 points with all that OT scoring. 
-- The SF minutes are just not working for him. He hit a three early on, then was pretty much done for the night. He’s got to deal with faster players and is not sure where his spots are in the offense. Defensively, he had to be careful with some of the speedier SFs tonight. Wes was a better choice and finished the fourth and the OTs. 
-- Feisty game from Rob tonight with a near double-double. There was a 6-minute stretch to open the third quarter where Sacre drew three fouls on Pau as well as scored a few points on him. The Lakers were doing a very good job with Pau on both ends of the floor. Later in the fourth, Sacre had a big putback to push the lead to 9. Defensively, he had a couple blocks and several shot disruptions. He eventually fouled out in overtime. 
-- “We gave great effort and the team really pulled together,” Lin said. Very nice mix of his game in the first half. He worked the two-man game with Davis to set up scores for the two of them. He hit jumpers and got to the rim for scores. Well-rounded and finding opportunities within the system or in transition. In the second half, he couldn’t finish the layups and jumpers. He also had a big turnover, as well. We were probably better off if he was orchestrating the offense down the stretch and in overtime as we struggled to close. He didn’t play in the OTs. It was a good learning experience for Clarkson, however, and the Lakers eventually got over the hump against a team. “We just did a good job with everyone doing their role,” Lin said. Very true. In that first half, where we scored 59 points, it wasn’t just a couple Lakers, it was the entire team. A lot of credit there to both Clarkson and Lin orchestrating that. 
-- Great first half against his former team, scoring 14 points to lead the Lakers. He was hitting jumpers and getting to the offensive glass for easy ones. He would score 14 of his 16 points in the first half. This team needs more of that from him with consistency again. Not a lot of action in that second half. He came in for Sacre in that double OT when Rob fouled out and the Lakers held the line defensively. 
-- Once again, some good work early on in this one working the two-man game with Lin. He would score 8 of his 10 in that first half. He led the Lakers with 5 offensive boards. The Lakers had an 18-17 advantage in that stat as both teams were going at it. Limited minutes for Ed with 16, but he nearly pulled off a double-double with some excellent activity. All of our bigs tonight were bringing it. 
-- Was the James Harden or Jimmy Butler getting the whistles out there? I do like Butler, but man he was at the line a lot (he made 16-18 FTs). He brought the Bulls back in that fourth quarter and just kept being a thorn in the side all game long. Wes, for his part, countered Butler’s 35 points with 7 points. Uggh. We was pretty quiet throughout most of the fourth and first OT. He had some impact in the second one. The Bulls ran some small lineups with Brooks and Rose both out there. 
-- Sacre picked up two fouls after 5 minutes so Boozer came in for him. Lakers up 10-6… The Lakers led 16-8 when the timeout came a minute later… He brought in Lin for Ellington out of that timeout… Up 6, he brought in Davis and Johnson for Hill and Kelly… The Lakers led 28-19 after the first quarter… He started the Davis, Boozer, Johnson, Ellington, Lin lineup… Lin warming up with a drive, jumper and a couple of nice passes for scores to open the quarter… He sat Boozer for Sacre up 13 with 7 minutes left… He brought in Hill and Clarkson with 5 minutes left up 9… They pushed the lead back up to 13 again to force a timeout… He sat Wes for Kelly a few seconds later, same score… With the lead at 14, he subbed in Boozer for Sacre, who picked up another foul… The Lakers led 59-48 at the half, shooting 59%… They edged the lead up to 15… He sat Ellington for Lin midway through the quarter, Lakers up 11… He brought in Boozer for Sacre and Johnson for Kelly, Bulls chipping away at the Laker lead… The Lakers went cold. Brooks hit a couple threes on an 8-0 run and the lead was now just 2… The Lakers led 80-76 heading into the fourth… He started the Davis, Boozer, Wes, Ellington, Lin unit… The lead was cut to 1, but the Lakers pushed it back up to 7 when Sacre came in for Davis with 6 minutes left… Sacre scored a putback to push the lead to 9 and the Bulls called timeout… Hill in for Boozer… Up 5, he brought in Clarkson for Lin with 4 minutes left… So starters with Wes in instead of Kelly… Big And-1 by Clarkson to go up by 9 with 2 minutes left… After Hill dribbled a ball off his foot and Butler hit a three, the lead was suddenly just 4 with a minute left… Tie game 98-98 on a 9-0 Bulls run. Lakers not handling the pressure well… Laker ball with 11 seconds left. What’s the call? Ellington off a screen, back to Hill who got tapped on a jumphook over Pau. Pretty good look… In overtime, the offense continued to stall out. A lot of iso ball… Down 3 with a minute left in OT and he called a timeout. Ellington attacked Pau off the screen for a layup. Good call… With 35 seconds, we trailed by 2. Ellington off the screen again, but he was blocked out of bounds. Timeout Lakers with 9 on the shotclock and 20 in the game. (Team could really use Lin here.)... Out of that timeout, Hill hit a clutch 20-footer to tie it up… They got a stop on Ellington on Rose on iso. Double OT… Lakers running more of their split plays and the offense started to flow more… Sacre fouled out with 2:56 left on a defensive board, Lakers up 4. Boozer in… Lakers go up by 5 on a Hill jumper from the wing. Timeout Bulls…
Lakers win 
