SIXERS -at- LAKERS - 3-22-15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Letttttt’s Get Ready to Not Ruuuumbbbbllllle… Sixers vs. Lakers. Both teams had 17 wins heading into this one. All those lottery balls on the line.

After 5 minutes the Lakers held a commanding 6-4 lead. The game was off to awful start for both teams.

The Sixers have some elite suckage/tankage going on. In this one we saw three airballs from the Sixers. In the fourth, they held Ryan Kelly off ball to give up FTs, just a horrible foul. One Sixer rose up to shoot a three later that quarter, the ball slipped out of his hands and Wes snagged it right above his head to push out the break. The Sixers went 4-22 in the fourth quarter to close this game out. Awful ball.

Give Ed Davis some credit defensively for dominating the paint and Lin credit for dominating on the offensive end on his way to 29 points, 5 assists and 5 boards. Behind those two, especially in that fourth quarter, the Lakers won 101-87.

As badly as fans wanted this loss, you can’t blame the Laker players for playing hard. If you want the tank, have Vitti tell Lin to rest his back prior to this one. In the bigger picture, the Lakers still had a good week for the tank and are heading out on the road. No need to jump off the rooftops.

“I’m sure there are going to be a lot of people saying what the hell are doing? What’s wrong with you guys? But it is what it is,” Scott said. We’ll see exactly what it is come June.


Clarkson -- -- Not a good game from Clarkson with 3 assists and 4 turnovers. He got into foul trouble early. The refs were calling him for the push-off with the off arm tonight, a bad habit he needs to clean up, but Lin got called for one two…they were looking for it. He had a better second half, getting to the rim and drawing much-needed FTs or finishing. He minutes were cut short with Lin dominating the Sixers and Scott letting them play it out. Every Laker had a positive in the +/- tonight. Don’t see that very often this season. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-8 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed a wing three off a handoff. He passed up an open 17-footer so Black could brick one, very tanky decision. He was called for a push-off before elevating for a jumper. He cut off the Boozer post, took the pass, let the defender go by and scored the layup. He hit Boozer for the open FT jumper next time down. He attacked and picked up a second push-off foul as he went for the pull-up and had to sit. He missed the 18-footer working off the screen. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He attacked three defenders in early offense and threw it to a Sixer, bad decision. He missed a long wing jumper up against the shotclock. He had 2 points on 1-5 shooting, 1 assist and 3 turnovers. Second Half: Not close on a jumper from the top of the key. He Euro-stepped his way to a couple of FTs in the lane, he made both. He pushed out the break, no one stopped the ball and he scored a layup. He got worked over on the dribble by Smith and gave up an And-1 layup. He drew FTs on the break. He threw a pass away in transition. He missed a long jumper, skied for his miss, got away with a travel and hit Ed for the And-1.

Hill -- -- He was 6-6 in the first half, keeping the Lakers within striking distance. He banked in a couple jumphooks, faced up for a couple jumpers, scored on a drive and sank a long jumphook. It was a pretty well-rounded attacked, not just settling for 18-footers. He missed his one attempt in the second half and didn’t see action after that stint as Scott went with the bench, which was closing out the Sixers. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-7 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 3 assists and no fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He faced up and hit a jumper for the Lakers first score. He grabbed an offensive board and banked in a putback jumphook straight away. He faced up and sank the jumper. He attacked from the wing, took a couple long steps and scored the And-1 drive, he missed the FT. He iso’d and swished a lengthy jumphook. He backed his man down and banked in another jumphook straight away. He scored 12 points on 6-6 shooting to go with 5 boards. Second Half: He missed a Dirk fade up against the shotclock.

Black -- -- Quiet game from Black outside of a nice dunk off the two-man game and a couple of blocks. He worked the offensive glass well and led the team with 4. His replacement, Davis dominated the Sixers defensively. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting to go with 6 boards (4 offensive), 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Some good work on the offensive boards early. He missed a 17-footer. He dunked off the two-man game with Ellington. He couldn’t finish around defenders, hustled back and spiked a shot out of bounds. He missed a putback attempt. He had 5 boards (3 offensive). Second Half: He crossed over and was blocked, he got it back and was stripped.

Ellington -- -- Slow start missing his first five before sinking his next four. Ideally for the tankers, he should have been backup PG tonight with Lin resting his back. Even though he dialed it in as the game went along, Scott went with Brown to close because that unit had it going. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-9 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist and 1 foul in 19 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a layup against horrible D. He missed a three. He hit Tarik between defenders on the two-man game for a dunk. He missed an open three. He missed a floater. He missed the open wing jumper. He sank a 20-footer. He swished a wing three given space on a jab step. He had 5 points on 2-7 shooting. Second Half: He sank a wing jumper. He swished a wing three working off a screen.

Johnson -- -- “We just picked it up defensively. Everybody picked their energy level up. In the first half we were kind of lackadaisical,” Wes said. He led the team with 3 steals and had 1 block. If he’s ever going to make a name for himself in the league, he needs to have those games where he comes up with the big steal and block numbers with frequency. He hit some perimeter jumpers and teamed up with Lin for a nice throwdown. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 5-9 The Action: He missed a three on the first shot of the game. He swiped an awful post entry pass. He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He missed a long sideline jumper. He grabbed a rebound and hit the wing jumper. Touch foul on a three, tank you very much refs (little contact). Second Half: His pass to Black in the lane was easily picked off. He sank a step-back wing jumper to beat the shotclock. He scored a layup to force a timeout after coming up with a loose ball on the other end. He missed a pull-up 17-footer. He skied for a board and scored the putback. He slammed on the break off the great no-looker from Lin.

Lin -- -- “We needed this win,” Lin said. “On the road you never know what can happen, it’s tough.” He got better as the game went along. He had 8 points in the first half, 9 points in the third quarter, getting to the line and being aggressive. He threw the knockout punch in the fourth when he went off for 12 and led the charge against the lowly Sixers. All of his assists came in the second half, including a sweet no-looker to Wes for a dunk and a fastball off the dribble to Davis from about 35 feet out for a layup. He didn’t have that Steve Nash stiffness to him tonight, but had the game. Extremely well-rounded attack, hitting threes, step-backs in the lane, drives, drawing FTs. He got the 29 points in 29 minutes. “He looked pretty good and obviously he must have felt good,” he said, giving him praise for his play on both ends of the floor. The Stats: He scored 29 points on 10-16 shooting (2-2 from three, 7-8 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He wasn’t aware of the shotclock after entering the game and it expired with the ball in his hands and the D giving him room to shoot, tanksational. He attacked from the wing and scored a layup. He had a lob deflected (should have gone for a two-for one). He was called for a push-off with his off arm on a drive. He sank a three in early offense. He dribbled into a crowd and was tied up on the floor. We won the jump and he swished a three. He missed an elbow pull-up jumper. He had 8 points on 3-4 shooting, no assists and 2 turnovers. Second Half: Quick attack down the middle of the lane for a layup. He no-looked a sweet bounce pass between defenders on the break to Wes for the slam. He attacked the paint and drew contact trying to turn the corner, he made both. He attacked the paint and ran over a player, looked like possibly a charge but he got FTs, he made one. He drew a touch foul on the perimeter for more FTs, he made both. He stripped a man, pushed it up and hit Brown for the three. He swished a step-back wing jumper in early offense (possibly going for a two-for-one). He missed a wing pull-up to end the third. He sank an elbow jumper. Davis blocked a shot and Lin took it the distance for a layup. He pushed out the Davis block and hit Davis for the layup. He missed a floater. He probed the lane and swished the step-back 10-footer. He attacked and was blocked out of bounds. He attacked and hit the step-back wing jumper. He curled off a screen and hit a fading 16-footer. Nice challenge on the other end to get a stop. He was trapped and drew FTs, he made both. Wide open wing jumper and he missed. He pushed up the break, awkwardly scooped a shot around a defender and bricked badly. With trapping defenders trying to track him down, brilliant bullet baseball feed off the dribble from about 35 feet out to Davis for the layup.

Boozer -- -- Steady game from Boozer. He scratched out a few points and boards, but wasn’t really a focal point for any stretch of time. He and Clarkson showed a little bit of chemistry in the first half, finding each other for scores. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-8 shooting to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: He hit Clarkson diving for the layup. He swished an FT jumper when Clarkson returned the favor. He missed a chippy under the hoop. He traveled before putting down the dribble. He was rejected on a layup, we got it back to him and he scored over a defender. He was called for a moving screen. He iso’d and powered through the defender for a layup. Second Half: He swished a baseline turnaround. He missed a short one in the lane.

Davis -- -- “In a lot of ways, he was the most valuable player,” Lin said of Davis. Some sensational defense at times tonight, particularly in the fourth quarter to ignite breakaway scores. The Sixers were trying to attack our soft spots and Davis was there to erase shots in the paint. This ignited breaks and easy scores. Good job by Davis running the floor, as well. After one block, he finished on the break on the other end. He also had one of the highlight plays of the game where we broke the press by giving him the ball just before half court. He pushed it up, through the D and threw down the monster dunk. That got his bench out of their seats. He and Lin showed some great chemistry again in this one. Wish the Lakers would set up more lob plays for Davis, the Sixers much have had 5 or 6 dunks off that in this one. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-8 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 11 boards (3 offensive), 1 assist, 4 blocks and 3 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He gave up a soft And-1 at the rim. Second Half: He scored an And-1 layup off the interior feed from Clarkson, he missed the FT. He choked a layup off the feed from Lin. We broke the press, getting it to Davis, he took it 50 feet on the dribble and hammered to start the fourth. He was blocked out of bounds. He swatted a drive and Lin took it for a layup. He rejected a drive on help D on one end, then scored a layup on the break on the other. He blocked another shot, saving his guys again on the next defensive stand. He roofed a man on a drive to force a jumpball, which he won. Wild drive when his man reached and he attacked. He scored a layup off the bullet feet from Lin.

Brown -- -- Back for his second 10-day. Scott liked the unit he had in there to start the fourth and gave them some extra run as they had pulled away from the Sixers. Brown said he just wants to bring energy to the second unit. Quietly, he had a solid game with the 10 points and 4 assists. The Lakers went 18-21 from the line in the second half after going 0-1 in the first half. Brown got there 6 times. He came down hard getting challenged and fouled at the rim, but he said he was fine after the game. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-6 shooting (1-2 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He attacked, put on the brakes, spun and swished the short wing jumper. He was blocked from behind on a jumper. He missed a wing three. He led all Lakers with 3 assists in the half. Second Half: He swished a wing three in transition. He missed a floater. He missed a jumper from the top of the key. He turned the corner and attacked baseline with speed for FTs. Fouled on the break, he made one. He attacked, went up high and landed hard on the floor after the foul for FTs.

Kelly -- -- He had some wide open three’s in this game and clanked away. For tankers, it was like “more cowbell, please”… he was his awful self. He didn’t rush the shots, just missed. The Sixers tried to attack him, even out of timeouts, but Ed Davis had his back big time. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-5 shooting (0-4 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He sank a wide open baseline jumper after we broke the press (under control, not rushing the shot). He missed a three at the buzzer badly. He missed a wing three, then got scored on in the post on the other end. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He missed a wide open wing three. The Sixers held Kelly off ball for FTs late in the fourth, clutch tankage move, he made both. He attacked and had the ball stripped off him.

Scott -- -- He brought a gun to a tank battle and got out-tanked. … The Sixers called a quick timeout, down 4-0 as we were killing them early on the offensive glass… By the time the timeout came midway through the first quarter, the Lakers had a mighty 8-4 lead… He brought in Boozer and Lin for Ellington and Hill… Clarkson picked up his second foul and had to sit for Brown, Lakers up 4 with 4 minutes left… An 11-2 run for the Sixers during this stretch… Davis in for Black, Lakers up 14-13 with 2 minutes left… He sat Wes for Kelly with 1:25 left, score tied… The Lakers trailed 20-18 after the first quarter… We started the Davis, Boozer, Kelly, Brown, Lin lineup… The Sixers pulled out to an 8-point lead on a 12-0 run, Scott called a timeout after 2 minutes… Lakers went to a zone briefly… Down 5, he sat Boozer and Davis for Hill and Black… Ellington and Clarkson back in with 6 minutes left, Lakers down 3… Zone again out of the timeout and we gave up an open three… Wes in for Kelly, Lakers down 8… The Lakers trailed 47-41 at the half. The Sixers were 7-10 from the line, the Lakers 0-1. The Lakers had 9 turnovers, the Sixers just 3… Scott wanted them to be more aggressive and get to the line… The Lakers quickly recaptured the lead, up by 3 as they outscored the Sixers 10-1. Timeout… The Lakers trailed by 3 when a timeout came… Lin and Boozer in for Hill and Ellington… He sat Black for Davis, Lakers up 2… Tied up, he sat Clarkson for Brown… Lin heating up… The Lakers trailed 75-74 heading into the fourth… Same unit to start the fourth that started the second… The Lakers (Lin especially) had the Sixers on their heels, leading by 5. Timeout after 3 minutes… The Lakers pushed out to an 11-point lead when the timeout came with 5:45… After going 0-1 from the line in the first half, the Lakers finished 18-22, dominating that category in the second half. That’s what the coaches stressed at halftime… “My job is to coach the guys to the best of my ability and that’s what I’m going to do,” Scott said…

[kobe209]

I have never been so bummed to see a smiley face in my life we needed to lose this game
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IG: wywsabaywb

[Charisma]

Thanks DB. The fans at Staples cared more about tacos than tank, and they're the ones who paid for tickets. Happy for them.

RIP Mrs. Scott .

[Inigo Montoya]

Losing to the sixers was just not in the cards. The players aren't going to play to lose, and we don't have 5 players bad enough to make it happen. So we may as well enjoy the win.

[fafan]

Thanks, DB.
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"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." --Sarah Cook.

[Megaton]

Did Lin actually say "We needed this win"?

Makes me want to punch him so bad lol.

[Honeybadger81]

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Honeybadger81]

byron on lin:
"I thought he was great," Scott said. "He made great decisions. On the offensive end, he got guys involved. Defensively, he was where he was supposed to be and he did a lot of good things at that end of the floor as well."


Brett on lin:
"We tried to double-team Lin with about seven minutes left, and he still found ways to score," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "We tried multiple people on him and tried to get length on him with Jerami Grant. We tried to blitz him and searched to try to find ways to defend him, but we struggled all night."

Lin on ED:
"I thought Ed did an unbelievable job of protecting the rim. In a lot of ways, he was the most valuable player in this game and played the best," Lin said. "He got a bunch of rebounds, and that's what started our break."

Brett on Lakers:
"I give the Lakers credit. I thought their length and their defense hurt us," Brown said. "Our point guards struggled tonight. I think they ended up 4 for 26 from that position. As a team, we got selfish in the second half and we didn't move the ball like we did in the first half. We were too ball-dominant with our point guards."

[cdg]

[Captain America]

[incontrol__]

A meaningless win brought to you by a guy who won't be here next year (Lin) and another guy who probably won't either (Davis). Oh well, can't lose 'em all.

[Wilt]

I didn't even know we had a game.
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¡Hala Madrid!

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[LakerEric]

[Lorenzomax]

[ADA32]

Thanks DB, I missed the Tacos and the game!

Watched too many basketball games last four days!

[bws94]

Thanks, DB. Linsanity sure but Davis was the co player of the game. Canaan threw up the attempted 3 that Wes caught and ran with. Shaqtin a Fool moment for sure.

[Lakerbull]

Thanks DB!

We're still in the bottom 5 so just enjoy it.

gotta love Lin when he's in his elements.
_________________
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."

[yinoma2001]

[bws94]

You know, maybe the players wanted the win for coach.

[fafan]

[bws94]

[Honeybadger81]