Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 8:15 pm Post subject: LAKERS -vs- MAVS - 7-15-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings
”This Loss Was On Me”… “Bad play. Bad play…I drew up a bad play,” Madsen said after the Lakers fell 88-86 to the Mavs.
Well, he at least owns up. I appreciate that, but the inexperience and ill-conceived planning by our coaching is trickling down everywhere.
“This loss was on the head coach,” he said. “This loss was on me.”
At least the Laker offense didn’t get as bogged down as the last game. Last game you saw them run through the motions, then become forced to create up against the shotclock. Tonight, the ball moved a little more freely, instead of one-pass-and-attack sequences. Players looked for each other a bit more and the spacing opened up. For the first time, the Randle, Clarkson, Russell trio showed a pulse of chemistry out there…even if it was faint. Along with Jabari Brown, they nearly willed their way to a win after a poor first half.
Back to Madsen. The team took two timeouts to draw up really nothing for the final shot to tie or win the game. The team ended up with Randle trying to heave a contested 35-footer on what looked like a play of guys just barely moving to try to get open. Madsen took the blame for that. He took the blame for letting the guys have a day off in Vegas. His overly diverse and confusing play calling in the last game was a disaster. This has been a very bad summer league for the coaching staff.
Clarkson -- -- He’s been the most consistent threat on the team. His mix of athleticism, shooting and handles has already proven effective at the next level. He’s averaging 18 points in the summer league, and the ability to score consistently is a sign of growth. Clarkson said he wanted to build chemistry with his teammates this summer league. There were a couple of moments where the trio of Randle, Russell and Clarkson combined in the same play to be effective. He and Russell looked more seamless in this game and once Russell’s shot and the rest of his game catch up, they’ll be an interesting duo. It’s going to be fun to watch them grow. Both he and Russell had missed three’s and miscues on drives down the stretch. You can’t replicate those kinds of moments in the gym, so again, valuable minutes for him. He’s planning more workouts with Nash and believes D’Angelo Russell will be part of those. If I was the Lakers, I’d hire Nash right now for player development (if not a bench job). The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-13 shooting (1-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He missed a long three on a kickout. He muscled his way to the front of the rim for a layup (he wanted the And-1). He attacked and powered in a short one. He missed a wing three on a swing pass. He split the D on an inside-out dribble and scored a layup. He missed a forced turnaround jumper (looked like a travel, too). Second Half: He attacked from the wing, split the D and scored a layup. He attacked off the two-man game with Randle and scored the pretty over-the-head layup. He swished a sideline three off the Randle kickout. He attacked in early offense and was body slammed for FTs, he made both. He lost the handle on the drive. He attacked with speed, took contact and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a reverse. He missed an open three. Wild drive against the shotclock and he missed.
Russell -- -- “I don’t really care about the expectations as long as we get better as a team,” he said. The Lakers simplified the game a bit more and had better floor spacing. This helped clear up Madsen’s cluster%$&@! play calling and mass confusion offense. Russell started to get more comfortable as a result. I said last game I didn’t think his NBA three range was there yet. It looked like it in this game again. He had some good looks from beyond the arc but couldn’t connect (he did sink a 65-footer after the clock expired). But the range at the top of the arc is a little farther and those misses trickle down to affect confidence everywhere. That will come with work and I’m guessing it will probably be respectable before the season begins. Sink a couple of open ones and this is more of the kind of outing expected of the 19-year-old. He said he just needs to stay in the gym and put in the work. The passing game was on display mostly in the second half. Some glimpses of what he showed in college. Given repetition in sets with teammates, this will become more and more effective. He’s pushing the game too much to his strong hand. Again, something he can work on, but it will be scouted heavily until he remedies that. On that sweet bounce pass to Tarik, he worked the ball to his right, drew the D and hit him with the pass for the dunk. He just needs to get a little more balance in doing that. For a hard working guard, I have little concern about that. It’s easy to fix as a pro. “I still cost us turnovers and it cost us at the end of the game,” Russell said. He mentioned a lot of the turnovers were from risk taking and needing to be more patient. “We get our chemistry right in practice a little more it will be a fun sight to see.” I agree. Love the rebounding from him. He and Clarkson help their bigs a ton, and that will get you one-and-out possessions. They don’t turn and watch, they have a nose for the ball. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-11 shooting (0-5 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed an open sideline catch-and-shoot three. He grabbed an offensive board and banked in a short jumper. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. His bounce pass on the break was picked off. He missed a baseline fade. He got backdoored for a dunk. He hit Upshaw on the screen-roll for FTs. He missed a tech FT. He crossed over and scored a layup over a big. He swished a 65-footer just after the shotclock. He attacked from the wing and drew FTs with the reach and flail, he made both. He missed a three in transition. He missed another open three in transition. He attacked, spun to lose his man but missed the finish. Sloppy pocket pass, turnover, layup the other way. He attacked and kicked out to Brown for the jumper. Second Half: He missed a long wing three. He worked off the screen in early offense, drew the D and hit Black with the bounce pass for the dunk. He hit Mitchell on the kickout for a three. H broke down the D on the high screen, then spun a bounce pass to a cutting Mitchell for the layup. Quick attack past his man and he scored a layup. He missed an open sideline three. He drew the D and hit Randle, who attacked for the layup. He went to the floor to tie up a man with a minute left. He lost the ball trying to split the D with 24 seconds left.
Randle -- -- He had his 17 points and 4 boards in just 21 minutes. A much more well-rounded game from him compared to the last one. The first half of the last game was just driving. The second half was driving and kicking. This game was the combination of jumper, attacking and making the passes. That well-rounded attack is where he will be trouble for defenses in the half court. (Full court, he’s a load when he has the Freight Train going.) Randle was very frustrated again with the time limitations and the mistakes, but it was a much, much more Randle-like game from him. “I trusted myself to do what I’ve been working on and just didn’t press,” he said. We saw him let the jumper fly a little more right from that start. That helped open up the floor. “It has to be a consistent part of my game,” he said. He had a stretch in this game where he was just taking over. Unfortunately, the strict minutes sent him to the bench. Defensively, he had to switch on the last defensive play and the man got by him. That forced help and no one helped the helper. I think we’re going to appreciate Hibbert anchoring. (As good a potential as Okafor’s offensive game showed, he and Randle look like they would have been a poor combo defensively.) Clarkson said at some point in time it’s just going to click for both Randle and Russell and they will bring their games with consistency. Randle looks like he’s starting to shake the rust off. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-11 shooting (0-1 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He posted up, spun and muscled his way to FTs, he made both. He picked a man on help D and took it for a dunk. He sank a wing 18-footer off the dribble. He swished a step-back wing jumper on iso (tough to defend). He pulled down the board, iso’d, spun left and scored the layup over his man. He missed a 20-footer on iso. He missed a three trailing the break. Second Half: He looked hacked as he was going up to throwdown and couldn’t convert. He attacked and kicked to Clarkson for the three. He lost his man on an inside-out dribble and got tapped on the And-1 layup attempt, he made one FT. He shed his man on a rim run and got tapped again on an And-1 layup, he made both. He blew past his man to his right and scored the uncontested layup. He airballed a short, off-balance turnaround. He took the bounce pass from Russell and scored a layup. He attacked and couldn’t power in a layup.
Black -- -- The foul issues still puzzle me considering he was such a consistent defender in the NBA as a rookie last year. It feels like his D is starting to come around. Our guards did a pretty good job in games last year working the pick and roll to him. That feels like it’s starting to warm up a little. He got rejected on a massive throwdown on one of those sequences, though. (Great play by a great defender.) The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 block ,1 turnover and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: Nice reach on the perimeter to knock a ball off a guard. He dunked off the drive and dish from Nance. Second Half: He dunked off the bounce pass from Russell working the two-man game. He was blocked on a big throwdown attempt by Anderson (man, I wanted him in the draft).
J. Brown -- -- “I’m just trying to show that what I did at the end of the year wasn’t a fluke,” Jabari said. He did a good job imposing his will on the game. That’s miles away from where he was a year ago. Just goes to show you a poor summer league or a poor preseason isn’t the end of the world. He disappeared last year, getting a little overwhelmed by the speed of the game and everything else. He caught up and is turning the corner, for sure. Good job driving into traffic and getting to the line. Combine that with hitting a couple of threes and you end up with a game-high 19 points on just 11 shots. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 6-11 shooting (2-4 from three, 5-5 the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He lost the handle in the lane for a turnover. He missed a long jumper straight away. He popped out and sank a wing catch-and-shoot three. He missed an open sideline jumper. He airballed a pull-up jumper. He sank an open three off the swing pass. He sank a sideline jumper on the Russell kickout. Second Half: He reversed off the bounce pass from Clarkson. He crossed over, attacked and drew FTs at the rim, he made both. He called for the screen, attacked, drew the D and fed Upshaw for the dunk. He attacked off the three line and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He missed a three, tracked down the board, attacked, missed after taking contact, got it back and scored the layup. He pushed out the board with speed and bullied his way to FTs on the attack, he made both.
Nance -- -- Not a good game from Larry. He had a nice little interior dish to Black for a dunk, but really nothing else in this one. Would love to see them work on some backdoor lob plays for him, but our set plays appear to have yet to be developed. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He missed an 18-footer. He attacked, drew the D and hit Black for the dunk. Second Half: He missed a step-back 19-footer up against the shotclock. He lost the ball against the press. He was hit on a jumper at the buzzer with no call and missed.
Upshaw -- -- He’s really got to work on getting into game shape and working on that foot speed. He also looks winded easily, and the Lakers are keeping him to short stints. He’s a willing screen setter out there, but was a bit sloppy in this one. Defensively, teaming up with Hibbert, if that happens, to master verticality should be interesting to see. His instincts on D are strong, and if his head is ever on straight he could make a lot of money for himself and his family. Just stay away from the bad apples. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 9 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He drew FTs on the screen-roll with Russell, he made one. He iso’d and sank a turnaround on the baseline. Nice screen to free up Brown for the three. Second Half: Off the ball offensive fouls in back-to-back possessions. He dunked off the drive and dish from Jabari. Big time wrap up as a man blew past him for the foul. Not close on a bank in the post.
A. Brown -- -- Not a lot to write about here. Wish he could get more simple catch and shoot opportunities from beyond the arc. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 4 boards and 2 fouls in 15 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He missed a wing three on a kickout. He missed a 20-footer after dropping his man to the ground on a move. He missed a drive in transition. No challenge on a drive. Second Half: He ball-faked and sank the wing three.
Last edited by DancingBarry on Wed Jul 15, 2015 9:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
Nance is definitely the one I want to see more from. I know he's just expected to be an energy guy, boarding machine, occassional mid range shot. But I want to see more of the tenacity out there.
Maybe my expectations were off, but I thought he'd be more of a guy who would get under the opponents skin. Something of a Tyler Hansborough. Aside from some spectacular weakside blocks and a few clean up dunks. Not seeing those other facets just yet.
Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 6054 Location: My own little piece of reality
Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 8:34 pm Post subject:
Thanks
They are slowly improving. I expect much better production from all the kids once they get in a full training camp and start working with the vets some. _________________ “There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman
ABrown was not utilized correctly so far. Run him off some Reggie miller type double screens. Make sure he's always on strong side when Russell drives. Also run some PnR with DLo and Randle with AB strong side and JC slashing. AB also needs to study his idol Ariza on how to slash properly. _________________ Alltime lineup: Magic | Kobe | MJ | Hakeem | KAJ
Excellent analysis. Couldn't agree more on your take on coaching. Mark is a nice guy I'm sure. But a good basketball mind he is not. At some point I had to question if the Lakers priority was developing the young guys or developing Madsen as a coach. I don't know what he did to earn a coaching gig besides being a favorite of Jim Buss. He has absolutely no business being in any NBA coaching staff. The young guys could use more games in the SL to get acclimated to the NBA game. Unfortunately Friday is our last SL game. That's on the Lakers front office allowing Madsen to act as head coach of SL and not taking the development of the young guys a priority. _________________ The road back to the top...
Last edited by kentu_tiro on Wed Jul 15, 2015 11:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
ABrown was not utilized correctly so far. Run him off some Reggie miller type double screens. Make sure he's always on strong side when Russell drives. Also run some PnR with DLo and Randle with AB strong side and JC slashing. AB also needs to study his idol Ariza on how to slash properly.
Hopefully they'll incorporate those double screens in the future, but I doubt that's a priority for the coaching staff right now. Maybe they'll run a similar play for Kobe, and then AB can kind of understudy it.
To Mark's credit though, he had them working the drive kick extra pass early on, which is better than anything else we've seen from this coaching regime so far.
Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Posts: 6400 Location: Past left field
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:36 am Post subject:
Nance and AB were disappointments to me. Nance had that one nice game then disappeared these last two. AB shot has been off and that seems like his only game. I really hope they improve during training camp. _________________ Darvin Ham is an idiot!
To Mark's credit though, he had them working the drive kick extra pass early on, which is better than anything else we've seen from this coaching regime so far.
I'd like to think that Madsen drew up something that actually involved someone going somewhere, so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that there was a miscommunication on that play. However, I have no idea what Tarik Black was doing on the court with 1.4 seconds left. To a lesser extent, I'm not sure what you even expect Randle to be doing on that play.
If that's me, I have Randle inbounding the ball with Russell, Clarkson, Jabari, & Anthony Brown on the court. There's not much more you can do but catch & shoot with 1.4 seconds left. The misuse of personnel is more concerning to me than what was likely a botched play.
Joined: 23 Jun 2005 Posts: 8488 Location: The (real) short corner
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:57 am Post subject:
^ From the horse's mouth:
"I was trying to get a deep pindown, get the ball to Julius and with 1.4 have him make a play... Julius did everything he was supposed to do.. I drew up a bad play"
Last edited by fiendishoc on Thu Jul 16, 2015 8:08 am; edited 1 time in total
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-- He’s been the most consistent threat on the team. His mix of athleticism, shooting and handles has already proven effective at the next level. He’s averaging 18 points in the summer league, and the ability to score consistently is a sign of growth. Clarkson said he wanted to build chemistry with his teammates this summer league. There were a couple of moments where the trio of Randle, Russell and Clarkson combined in the same play to be effective. He and Russell looked more seamless in this game and once Russell’s shot and the rest of his game catch up, they’ll be an interesting duo. It’s going to be fun to watch them grow. Both he and Russell had missed three’s and miscues on drives down the stretch. You can’t replicate those kinds of moments in the gym, so again, valuable minutes for him. He’s planning more workouts with Nash and believes D’Angelo Russell will be part of those. If I was the Lakers, I’d hire Nash right now for player development (if not a bench job). 
-- “I don’t really care about the expectations as long as we get better as a team,” he said. The Lakers simplified the game a bit more and had better floor spacing. This helped clear up Madsen’s cluster%$&@! play calling and mass confusion offense. Russell started to get more comfortable as a result. I said last game I didn’t think his NBA three range was there yet. It looked like it in this game again. He had some good looks from beyond the arc but couldn’t connect (he did sink a 65-footer after the clock expired). But the range at the top of the arc is a little farther and those misses trickle down to affect confidence everywhere. That will come with work and I’m guessing it will probably be respectable before the season begins. Sink a couple of open ones and this is more of the kind of outing expected of the 19-year-old. He said he just needs to stay in the gym and put in the work. The passing game was on display mostly in the second half. Some glimpses of what he showed in college. Given repetition in sets with teammates, this will become more and more effective. He’s pushing the game too much to his strong hand. Again, something he can work on, but it will be scouted heavily until he remedies that. On that sweet bounce pass to Tarik, he worked the ball to his right, drew the D and hit him with the pass for the dunk. He just needs to get a little more balance in doing that. For a hard working guard, I have little concern about that. It’s easy to fix as a pro. “I still cost us turnovers and it cost us at the end of the game,” Russell said. He mentioned a lot of the turnovers were from risk taking and needing to be more patient. “We get our chemistry right in practice a little more it will be a fun sight to see.” I agree. Love the rebounding from him. He and Clarkson help their bigs a ton, and that will get you one-and-out possessions. They don’t turn and watch, they have a nose for the ball. 
-- The foul issues still puzzle me considering he was such a consistent defender in the NBA as a rookie last year. It feels like his D is starting to come around. Our guards did a pretty good job in games last year working the pick and roll to him. That feels like it’s starting to warm up a little. He got rejected on a massive throwdown on one of those sequences, though. (Great play by a great defender.) 
-- “I’m just trying to show that what I did at the end of the year wasn’t a fluke,” Jabari said. He did a good job imposing his will on the game. That’s miles away from where he was a year ago. Just goes to show you a poor summer league or a poor preseason isn’t the end of the world. He disappeared last year, getting a little overwhelmed by the speed of the game and everything else. He caught up and is turning the corner, for sure. Good job driving into traffic and getting to the line. Combine that with hitting a couple of threes and you end up with a game-high 19 points on just 11 shots. 
-- Not a good game from Larry. He had a nice little interior dish to Black for a dunk, but really nothing else in this one. Would love to see them work on some backdoor lob plays for him, but our set plays appear to have yet to be developed. 
-- He’s really got to work on getting into game shape and working on that foot speed. He also looks winded easily, and the Lakers are keeping him to short stints. He’s a willing screen setter out there, but was a bit sloppy in this one. Defensively, teaming up with Hibbert, if that happens, to master verticality should be interesting to see. His instincts on D are strong, and if his head is ever on straight he could make a lot of money for himself and his family. Just stay away from the bad apples. 
-- Not a lot to write about here. Wish he could get more simple catch and shoot opportunities from beyond the arc. 
