NETS -at- LAKERS - 2-20-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Tank Rolls On… The Lakers dropped their seventh game in a row tonight, starting the post All Star break with a loss against the visiting Nets.

Both teams were scoring with relative ease in the first half, trading leads and hoops (10 lead changes and 8 times they were tied).

The dreaded third quarter started with a Nets dunk, then some threes and then more threes (6-7 for the quarter). They were outscored 40-20 in the third as the Nets shot 71%.

Just like that, the tank rolls on.

They would nearly make a game of it in the fourth quarter with a late rally behind Jeremy Lin, who led all Laker scorers with 18 points off the bench. But the team went cold, missing several attempts in crunch-time stretch to keep the game just out of reach. They Lakers fell 114-105.

With a win by the Timberwolves, the Lakers pull a game closer to the bottom three. The TWolves are 5-5 in their last 10 games and about to fly right by the Lakers.


Clarkson -- -- He worked with Nash over the break. They worked on playing low, seeing the floor and playing slow. Love to hear that. He had some very nice control in this game, very balanced with his scoring and passing. He had 5 assists without a turnover. “Just trying to make good decisions with the ball,” Clarkson said. There were moments when he’d really slow it down and then go from first to third to get the D off balance. That seemed a little more apparent in this one. Wish he could have seen minutes in the fourth, but Scott rewarded that bench unit once they had it rolling. Great to have him working on his game during the break. Hope we get Kobe in his ear on how to workout in the offseason. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 5 assists, no turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He missed a wing three. He sank a three, running the two-man game at the top of the arc. He crossed over, lost his man, stopped to lose him again and hit the wing pull-up jumper. He attacked off the split handoff and hit the And-1 floater in the middle of the lane, he made the FT. He missed a wing three when his man fell. He hit Hill under the hoop for a dunk. He kicked out to Kelly for the open three. He had 8 points on 3-5 shooting and 4 assists without a turnover. Second Half: He airballed a corner jumper up against the shotclock. He pounded the dribble, watched the offense create nothing off the screens, then attacked and hit the baseline jumper. He crashed the glass and cleaned up a Hill miss.

Black -- -- Quiet game. I feel like if Scott is going to shake up the starting lineup that Black might get to play at the C instead of running with Sacre. I hope, anyway. That should allow him to be more effective like we saw when he first joined the team. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a short one in the paint in early offense. He hit a jumphook in the middle of the lane. He couldn’t finish a drive at the rim. He got muscled under the hoop and gave up a putback. He attacked the lane on the other end and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a cram attempt over a defender (got forearmed backward a bit). He had 3 points and 5 boards in 13 minutes. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Ellington -- -- He was clanking from three all game, he missed all seven he took. He made the other three shots he attempted from the floor. Had he made three of those, who knows where this game ends up. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-10 shooting (0-7 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He badly missed a step-back three, poor shot selection as he was very off-balance. He missed a corner three. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup in early offense. He missed a wing three. He scooped up a loose ball and pushed it out for a layup around a defender. He missed a three out of the timeout. He missed a wing three at the end of the half. Second Half: He missed an open wing three. He drew FTs trying to score a layup around his man. He crossed over, attacked baseline, stopped and hit he turnaround.

Kelly -- -- Aggressive first quarter for him. Again, he started the game taking the first shot, which seems to be by plan to get him playing with the right mindset. He led the Lakers with 12 points in the first half. And that was that. Nothing in the second half. The Lakers subsequently got killed in that third quarter. Scott wasn’t too thrilled with Kelly disappearing or any of the starters after that third quarter. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting (1-3 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a wing three to start the game. He was hit on a three for FTs, he made all three. He pumped faked, dribbled in, missed a leaner, but followed the shot quickly for the one-handed putback. He sank a pull-up 17-footer. He banked in a floater nicely. He blocked a man on the other end. Then made a three in transition a few seconds later. He threw a bad pass to Sacre under the hoop when the two weren’t on the same page. He missed a wing jumper. He had 12 points on 4-7 shooting. Second Half: He missed a wing three.

Sacre -- -- Good first half (9 points), out-muscling his defenders for putbacks or short attempts around the rim after working the post. At one point in the second half, he was the leading scorer. He didn’t play in the fourth, otherwise he might have gone for a career high. The offense looked a lot more fluid with him out there tonight. “Just me staying active is the key for me being successful,” Sacre said. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He grabbed a board behind a man and hit the jumphook for the Lakers first score. Great early position to seal his man under the hoop, he then drop-stepped and scored easily. He was stripped on an offensive board but drew FTs, he made one. He missed a jumphook. He was stripped at the three line. He grabbed a missed three and hit the jumphook. He backed his man down and hit the jumphook. He scored 9 points on 4-5 shooting to go with 5 boards (3 offensive). Second Half: He missed a jumphook but got it back. He faced up, spun to the middle and drew FTs on the strip attempt. He swished a 17-footer. He missed a baseline jumper. He was blocked by a guard from behind to erase a sure layup or dunk.

Hill -- -- He looked rusty coming off the bench after so many missed games and the break in action. He took Boozer’s spot in the rotations as Carlos didn’t see any time tonight. The tank appreciates the abundance of jumpshots from Hill. He did mix in some good work on the boards, but he was very inefficient offensively. Defensively, Lopez had his way with him. He said he felt winded and is a bit sore. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-15 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 10 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a long wing jumper. Lopez drove right by him for a layup. Hill tried to return the favor on the other end and missed. Lopez again scored a layup on the other end. He scored a layup on the break when Davis hit him with an extra pass. He missed a step-back jumper in the lane. He missed a long jumper out of a timeout while up against the shotclock. Not close on a jumphook in the middle of the paint. Good job running the floor to get fouled at the rim by his man, he missed both FTs, however. He dunked when Clarkson found him under the hoop. He had 4 points on 2-7 shooting. Second Half: He missed a jumphook in the middle of the paint. He sank a 21-footer from the right wing. He hit another from the other side next time down. He missed a face-up wing jumper. He fumbled away a pass in the high post. He was blocked on a putback attempt. He was stripped after getting an offensive board and trying to power up. He hit a jumper from the top of the arc. He grabbed an offensive board and missed the jumper. He drew FTs getting hit on the defensive glass, he made both. He missed a big open baseline jumper with 3 minutes left.

Lin -- -- He came in with Ronnie in both halves at the SG spot. Ronnie would take the lead guard role at first, but they would share duties with some nice chemistry as the game went along. Lin liked what he saw from how they ran things and communicated. Aside from missing a few too many FTs tonight, good game from Lin. He helped the Lakers dig out of the huge fourth quarter hole they were in. Had he sunk a sideline three with 3 minutes left, they would have cut it to 6 with plenty of time left. That would have made things interesting. Loved seeing him yap at the Nets for a late basket that the Nets could have run out the clock at end the game. Really want him to play with more of that chip on his shoulder. DFish was a nice guy off the court, but played with a chippy abrasiveness on the court that I wish Lin added to his mental game. Good job tonight. Glad Scott sat Wes instead of Lin to get Ronnie minutes, instead of getting Lin a DNP like he did last time. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-9 shooting (1-4 from three, 5-8 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He swished a wing jumper on the Price kickout. He was picked on the perimeter for a breakaway. He sank a wide open corner three. He attacked and fed Davis for the layup. Second Half: He took a kickout, attacked off the three line and scored a layup. He attacked the lane and dumped it off to Ed for the easy layup. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked later on the same possession and drew FTs getting knocked in the head, he made one. He blew past his man who tried to pressure him and drew more FTs next time down, he made just one again. He drew more FTs in transition (lucky it wasn’t a charge) and made both. He sank a step-back wing jumper. He probed baseline and then hit the turnaround jumper. He scored a bustout layup a few seconds later on the outlet from Price. He missed a three out of a timeout. He missed a big sideline three that could have cut it to 6 with 3 minutes left. He attacked quickly off the inbounds and missed the easy And-1 layup, he made just one FT.

Young -- -- Nick picked up where he left off before the All Star break. He clanked long jumpers and didn’t attack the rim. No injury issues as the time off appears to have helped whatever his issue was with his wheel. The Lakers shot 4-23 from three, Nick was 1-5. “They came out and put it on us,” he said. Nick hasn’t taking it to anyone on court lately. He smiled when it was mentioned that Scott might put him in the starting lineup to see if that helps. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-9 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He got tapped on a wing three. He missed a step-back wing jumper, we got it back to him and he threw it away. He missed an open 18-footer. Second Half: He iso’d and missed a tough, long chuck. He missed a three in transition. He brought the ball up, crossed over and hit the wing jumper (first time he was allowed to bring it up). He brought it up against but missed the long three (too far out). He swished a step-back three straight away on iso. He missed a three.

Davis -- -- Like seeing him come off the bench for us. He did get starters minutes tonight with Hill as that unit had a strong fourth quarter, but he brings a strong effort every night. It will be interesting to see what his kind of contract he works himself into. The guards did a good job setting him up for scores off the two-man game or drives and dishes. He crashed the glass, as well to manufacture some points. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 8-10 shooting to go with 14 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 3 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He slipped a screen and scored a layup. He dunked off the two-man game with Price. He crashed the glass, pulled down the board and scored. He blocked Young in the paint. He missed a jumphook. He scored a layup off the drive and dish from Lin. He had 8 points on 4-5 shooting and 5 boards in 10 minutes. Second Half: He scored an easy layup off the drive and dish from Lin. He couldn’t finish a layup off the two-man game. He scored a layup against a fronting guard. He grabbed an offensive board and was fouled on the putback attempt, he missed both FTs. He filled the lane on the break and scored the And-1 layup, he missed the big FT that could have cut it to 7. He follow jammed a missed Price layup.

Price -- -- Scott got his head of the snake back in the rotation by sitting Wes and running Nick at the SF. Good job by Ronnie finding guys for easy scores or open looks to start the game. He had a sweet between-the-legs split of a double team that he took for a layup. He led the team with 3 steals, although we didn’t defend much of anything. He also led with 8 assists, some good looks to his bigs rolling down the lane and he also found open shooters. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 8 assists, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He hit Davis slipping the screen for a layup. He kicked to Lin for the long jumper. He bounced to Davis again rolling for a dunk. He split a couple defenders and finished over the help D at the rim. He swiped a ball at midcourt, pushed it out and dunked with both hands. He had 4 assists and 2 steals in the half. Second Half: Way off on a pull-up jumper from 18 feet. He missed an awkward high-arching pull-up in the lane. He swiped a ball and quickly outlet to Lin for the score. He missed a big three with 2 minutes left. He pushed it out and missed a layup but Davis cleaned it up. He dribbled a ball off Hills foot. He was fouled with a couple seconds left for FTs.

Scott -- -- The Lakers youngsters got them off to a good start, leading by 4 by the time Davis and Hill came in for Sacre and Black… Scott brought in Lin, Young and Price for the rest of the starters, Lakers down 1… Lopez scoring with ease against Hill… The Lakers trailed 34-32 after the first quarter… Same unit to start the second quarter. Johnson and Boozer are the odd men out in this rotation… He brought in Sacre, Ellington, Kelly and Clarkson midway through the quarter… Black in for Hill with 5:30 left… The Lakers led 57-56 at the half. L.A. shooting 51%. The Nets had 9 offensive boards... Coaches weren’t happy with the offensive boards they gave up… The Nets started hitting threes and the Lakers quickly trailed by their largest margin, 8 points in the first 2:22 of the half. Scott called a timeout… The Lakers trailed by 9 when the Davis/Hill duo replaced Sacre/Black midway through the quarter… Price in for Ellington… Young in shortly later, Lakers down 8 still… Lin in for Clarkson with 3:26 left, Lakers down 83-73… A 13-2 run in the last couple of minutes for the Nets… The Lakers trailed 96-77 heading into the fourth… The Lakers trimmed the lead down to 12 when the timeout came midway through the quarter. Lin scoring efficiently… Scott stayed with this unit… A 14-2 run to cut it to 10… After a Davis And-1 layup on the break, the lead was just 8 with 2:29 left… The Lakers couldn’t quite get into striking distance… It wouldn’t surprise me if the tank was put on hold next game. That’s a rivalry game that will have Scott primed for battle…

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Honeybadger81]

thanks, DB... i hope it is not too hard for you to analyze the game with Byron jerking around lineups

[fafan]

Thanks, just enjoy the game now since the result has been fixed already.
_________________
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." --Sarah Cook.

[tlim]

This year, I wonder if the losses should be happy faces instead of frowns.

It's seriously brutal this year.

[purple.23]

[xiaozhugong]

Boozer choose to stay with the Lakers may earned him a DNP-CD?

http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/lakersnow/la-sp-ln-carlos-boozer-wont-request-buyout-20150220-story.html

[mhan00]

I'm really glad to see Clarkson looking better and better game after game. Very nice.

[tyusedney1]

Swaggy SUUUUCCKKKS

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[A Mad Chinaman]

Noting BScott's post-game interview, does he have to insult the players to get them to play hard?

[tyusedney1]

[cdg]

Thanks DB.

There was doubt in my head initially but I've now accepted that
the tanking is real.

Which is understandable. Why start winning now when there
is much much much more to gain from losing.

[deal]

[fiendishoc]

I really liked what I saw from Clarkson this game. Under control and patient, often keeping his defender on his hip while he looked for openings. Looks like he's turning into a true PG.

The team defense was comically bad though, even more than usual. They keep going back to the soft show on picks and occasional zone even though it never works. The transition D was soft and the help rotation was horrible. There was a sequence when Lopez and Hill took turns beating each other down the floor in transition, which sums up their mentalities perfectly.

[xiaozhugong]

[fafan]

[KLS]

Nice game from our 3 guards. May be they have learned from the Suns how to play with 3 guards all the time. LOL. Swaggy better has more impressive games to win the starting role as sg or sf. He has been so inefficient like we are seeing another Kobe earlier in the season.

[Reflexx]

Boozer is way better than Hill. But I guess there's. A merry-go-round of DNPs, and Hill was already out a few games due to injury.

[Type Raba]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[Richmond]

Watched the NBATV recap. Showed exactly 1 Laker offensive possession..Swaggy's 3 near the end of the game. Way to tell the story of what happened NBA.

[sf2099]

thank you db!

[EddieJonesss]

Thanks DB.