LAKERS -vs- JAZZ - 10-4-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Aloha, Laker Basketball!… “It was a lot more energetic than any preseason game I can remember,” said Kobe of the packed crowd that turned out for the Lakers 90-71 preseason loss against the Jazz. It had been 7 years since the Lakers played in Hawaii, and fans weren’t going to miss a chance to see Kobe for possibly one last time.

The story lines in this preseason are many.

First, if this is his last season, how will Kobe look? Tonight, it was a poised, go-with-the-flow effort from Kobe. He looked smooth, but didn’t try to do too much this early in the preseason. How well he can play is still to be determined.

Second, how will the young studs look? Julius Randle, showed moments, but couldn’t really string a well-rounded offensive game together. He did pass the test of taking a hard fall on a dunk at full speed and bouncing back up. For his part, D’Angelo Russell showed flashes of the court vision and playmaking that make him special. It’s a first step for both. Jordan Clarkson looked like himself with explosive attacks, but also had moments on D.

Third, how will the new vets fit? Roy Hibbert made the Lakers D look respectable with strong challenges and a true presence. Lou Williams provided scoring spark off the bench and helped ignite a flat offensive team in the first half. Brandon Bass had a forgettable game like the rest of the Laker front court.

The Lakers offense ran their usual assortment of horns, chin series, floppy, triangle and pick and roll. I wouldn’t expect much depth to their sets yet, but once the roster gets narrowed down and roles and minutes are settled, we’ll see where they go with it all.

“There’s no way in the world we’re even close to where we want to be,” Coach Scott said.


Kobe -- -- Twenty years with a single franchise. Amazing. Kobe never seemed fully healthy last season, and then he shut things down on Jan. 21. He was in search for his all game last season, trying to figure out how and where he could make the biggest impact. It’s a different mix of players this season, and we’ll see what his game shapes up to be. He played just a single quarter tonight before they shut him down. The crowd brought the “Kobe…Kobe…” chants later in the game, but they are wisely easing Kobe into his minutes. He sank a three and made a couple of techs in his quarter of action, playing the SF spot. Clarkson and Russell ran the offense. That lineup will have to hit threes to space things out for each other, especially from the corners where Kobe and Clarkson found themselves quite a bit. Scott said he’ll probably play him a little more on Tuesday, but thought Kobe looked smooth. Asked how many minutes Scott will ramp Kobe up to, he refused to answer. “We’ll see,” he said. Kobe said he felt good and thought the starting lineup had a lot of upside. “It’s just a matter of kind of getting a rhythm,” Kobe said, mentioning he needed his timing to get in sync. He didn’t force anything or push it. He said his back felt tight from all the running. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting (1-3 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He hit the top of the backboard on a corner three on his first touch. He missed a wide open wing jumper when Russell drew the double. He made a tech FT. He sank a face up three on the right sideline. He missed a slightly more rushed three from the same spot next time down. He sank another tech FT. He missed a tough wing fallaway with the clock winding down. He had 5 points on 1-5 shooting in 12 minutes. Second Half: He did not play after the first quarter.

Clarkson -- -- I wanted him to work on two things this offseason -- three-point range and strength. The three range becomes more important with Russell, Kobe and Randle out there drawing crowds and willing passers. Jordan needs to help stretch the floor. The strength will help him finish, but more importantly, I think it should help him on the defensive end. He’s going to get big minutes this year and we’re going to lean on him as one of the key players who makes the engine go. We’ll depend a little less on his playmaking this year, which may allow him to be more aggressive scoring-wise. We’ll see where it all nets out. I’m loving that he and Russell are developing the off-court chemistry. The Lakers hope that manifests on court, as well. It should. They’ll learn where their strengths are and become more efficient. Tonight, was the first step in that direction. We didn’t see Clarkson and Williams play together, which could potentially be our closing duo along with Kobe. Both play with a lot of energy and impose their will on the game. The Lakers didn’t have enough of that on the court tonight as guys weren’t in that great of a rhythm. “We’re still learning each other,” Jordan said. Clarkson showed that excellent explosion around the rim and did a good job changing ends. He and Russell we’ll need to make sure they protect each other in transition, not getting caught with guys behind them as they crash glass or get into the heart of the D. “They got a lot of points, a lot of leak outs,” Clarkson said of the transition D. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-13 shooting (0-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover in 21 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a corner three. He missed another three on a kickout. He froze the D on a change-of-pace, inside-out dribble and scored. He then swiped a pass jumping a passing lane and took it for the dunk (we’ll see a lot of that this year, especially with Hibbert behind him anchoring). He missed an 18-footer off the chin two-man game. He missed a runner pushing it all the way up court against the shotclock. Second Half: He blocked a man from behind on help D, pushed it up court, spun and scored the layup. He took the pass in transition from Russell, stepped on the gas and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He missed the wing three in transition. He iso’d and forced an ugly airball on the baseline. He attacked, elevated and missed an easy layup. He missed a short one after grabbing a loose ball in the paint.

Randle -- -- A scary moment in this one as Randle got undercut on a dunk on the break and went down hard. He bounced up and it didn’t seem to affect him physically or mentally. Laker fans are still suffering from a little PTSD. Glad he got that out of the way and now we can all move on. “A big thing for us is to head into the next game is transition defense. That and keeping them off the offensive glass,” Randle said. “Shot stuff I felt very, very comfortable out there even though I missed them.” He was shaking off the rust in summer league and limited by minutes. Scott has given him the green light to push the ball off rebounds like a beastly Lamar Odom. He’ll create offense that way, but his success will be determined by how automatic he can be on the jumper. That will open up everything for his face-up game. He looks like he’s in great shape. “He’s an animal,” Kobe said. Randle had a moment or two of knocking guys down, bodies flying. He and Russell worked a couple of highlight plays together for finishes at the rim. The more attention Russell can draw, the better Randle is going to be for it. Randle was playing about double-double ball tonight even though he wasn’t particularly effective offensively. When the shot drops, he’s going to have some big games. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-10 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul and 1 turnover in 21 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He slammed off the sweet pocket pass from Russell for the Lakers first score. He missed a 17-footer next time down. He missed a step-back elbow jumper. He missed a wing jumper to beat the shotclock. Second Half: He crossed over and missed a tough runner. He missed an open 19-footer next time down. He missed a short one in the middle of the paint. He attacked strong off the dump off in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a post turnaround jumper. He iso’d, knocked a man over, missed, got it back and scored over a pile of players. He was stripped in the paint after a nice setup from Russell. He got under cut on a dunk and went down awkwardly from behind, scary, but he bounced back up and made one of the FTs.

Russell – -- “Rookie, 19-years old. That’s pretty much to be expected,” Scott said of the ups and downs of D’Angelo’s overall game. He was getting his feet wet tonight and showed flashes in his minutes. The court vision was there and will only get better when the team gets more familiar with each other and the offense. “We didn’t look like that was our first time playing together,” Russell said. He pointed out the transition D with the guards needed to get better, particularly when they crash the glass. His favorite moment of the night “was finally putting the Laker uniform on,” he said. With his locker next to Kobe’s, he’s going to be in his ear all year. D’Angelo has already been getting lessons from master Kobe. Hopefully, young grasshopper learns well. So far he’s been a sponge and he’s putting in the work. That’s what’s impressed Kobe. Of course, the skills are also there. “His vision is astronomical, man,” Kobe said afterward, also mentioning he was a great shooter. He was my favorite college player last season and I caught most of his games because of that combination of court vision and scoring. He’ll need to get his legs under him after this camp and, hopefully, shrug off the bone bruise. He was short on his three’s early, the two-a-days coming into play with his legs. He later sank one in transition. He found Randle with a couple of sweet passes for finishes at the rim (a great look-off pass in transition and another pocket pass for a dunk earlier). We’ll be seeing a lot more of that. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-8 shooting (1-4 from three to go with 3 boards, 3 ssists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: Sweet bounce pass to Randle off the high split play for a slam and the Lakers first score. He missed a 16-footer out of the chin series. He missed a wing three, short next time down in transition. He scored a layup cutting off Hibbert’s post up. Short again on another three. He had 2 points, 2 boards and 1 assist. Second Half: He missed a three, took a return pass as he cut and couldn’t finish over the big. He threw a pass out of bounds expecting Hibbert to continue in that direction. He missed a pull-up jumper short, dunk the other way. He sank a wing three in transition. Sweet no-looker to Randle on the break (scary foul by the Jazz on Randle).

Hibbert -- -- Offensively, he always seemed to knock down that midrange jumper against the Lakers. Now he’ll be doing that for us. The hook shot is one of the most efficient in the league. But that, of course, is not what his game is about. He’s going to be the heart and soul of the team’s D. “He’s always talking, letting us know where cutters are and where our men are,” Clarkson said. Last year, the Lakers desperately needed an anchor. Hibbert and his ability to alter shots with vertically is a great one. You could see the difference when he was on the floor and when he was off it tonight. He made things difficult in the paint with the challenges. The team D looked much better with a lot more length and movement. He wants the team to get better in transition D and included himself in that, mentioning maybe he shouldn’t go after as many offensive boards (he had 5). This is a new beginning for him and he will instantly be respected here as a vet leader. You can already see that. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed a putback. He altered on shot, Randle blocked the next, then Roy fouled. He roofed Gobert to get a stop. He drew an illegal D on his first post touch. He posted up and hit Russell cutting for the layup. Great help D to alter a shot by Russell’s man and we got the stop. Turnover trying to force a high-low. He missed a jumphook in transition, got it back and scored (should have been an And-1). He got tapped on a turnaround jumper. He went after a Clarkson miss and drew FTs on the jumphook, he made one.

Williams -- -- Lou is probably a little more efficient than people realize because of his ability to draw fouls. Both he and Nick are always in search of that contact on their jumpers. That made for a few off balance misses tonight where he was expecting for a whistle. It will be interesting to see how they blend together. Lou was huge for the Raptors last year averaging 15.5 and winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Toronto fans really took to him. Hopefully, he makes a big impact here, and it’s the same in L.A. The lineups he was running with in the second half were pretty ugly. That made for some ugly ball as we got the deep bench some long run. We’ll see if Huertas can make it look a little more cohesive. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 4-12 shooting (1-4 from three, 5-7 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -12. The Action: He sank a wing three shortly after entering. He missed a rushed one up against the shotclock. He missed an open wing three. He pushed it up in transition, attacked the paint and went behind his back to Bass for the score. He attacked off the high double screen, tried to shield the defender with his body but couldn’t finish. He took contact off the dribble, elevated and swished the baseline 17-foot, one-footer (he made the FT). He drew another foul on the sideline jumper for FTs, he made both. He split a double and swished the floater over Gobert. He drew a moving screen to get a stop on the other end. He missed a two-for-one, long three, getting knocked down. He had 10 points on 3-7 shooting. Second Half: Wild running bank that he missed long when the whistle didn’t come. He manufactured more FTs on a lean-in off the dribble, he made one. He attacked the paint and kicked to A. Brown for the three. He was blocked on a drive. He blocked a jumper on iso to get a stop. He attacked on iso and hit a floater in the middle of the lane. He attacked from the wing, hung, took contact and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a wing pull-up on iso. His pass was swiped trying to hit Kelly for the three. He took contact with no call and missed the running fade.

Bass -- -- He has a strong midrange game, but you wouldn’t have known it tonight where he was mostly a non-factor in this one. Very flat game from him, but I expect that will pick up. He may be tired like the rest of the guys. He had some nice moments under the hoop. He needs to get into his comfort zone on his jumpshot and that will make a big impact for the team. The bigs were not that big of a threat in this one and that hurt a ton offensively. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-9 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 turnovers and 6 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He took his eye off a pass and lost it out of bounds. He gathered a behind-the-back pass from Williams on the break and scored. He missed a 17-footer from the wing. He backed his man under the hoop and scored the up-and-under And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He attacked to his left and couldn’t power in a layup. He missed a short jumper cutting off the triangle screen, weak to strong (more please). Second Half: Not close on a pull-up on iso up against the shotclock. Sloppy pass in the backcourt to turn it over. He missed a wing jumper. He missed a 15-footer.

Black -- -- When Sacre was in, you wanted Black. When Black was in, you wanted Upshaw.The battle for the backup C spot will be an interesting one in camp. Black needs playmaking around him to look effective offensively. That isn’t a strength of the second unit at the moment, so he’s going to have to win the garbage man battles and manufacture points. Not a lot of successful work in that regard in this one. He had some near putbacks he needed to finish. That might have helped him stand out a little more. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 13 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Nice challenge on the post D to get a stop. He gathered a lob when the pass was a little short, elevated and hit he lefty jumphook. He tapped a missed FT out to regain a possession. He couldn’t finish a putback jam. He missed another putback. Second Half: He drew FTs crashing the glass, he missed both. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a hook across the middle of the lane. He missed a tip-in attempt.

Young -- -- Stronger start of the season from Nick. He had a team-high +4. In the first half he came off the bench at the SF. In the second half, he started for Kobe at the SF. Hayward is a tough cover but Nick put in a good effort. There has been a lot of talk of how Nick and Lou would fit together. Those two led the team in scoring tonight with about a point per shot attempt. Scott and the organization really made a point in the offseason about Nick needing to buckle down and play the game the right way. I think ultimately where Nick gets into trouble is when the team is bad. He gets too loose defensively and that doesn’t sit well. Stay focused, Nick. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-10 shooting (2-5 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He sank the elbow jumper off the floppy sequence. He missed a three pulling up off a high screen. Nice help D to knock a pass loose in the lane. He missed an open three. He attacked the paint and missed a layup. He missed a wing pull-up jumper out of the horns. He swished a pull-up three just before the halftime buzzer. Second Half: He sank a pull-up at the right elbow. He drew an offensive foul staying tight on Hayward. He sank a pull-up jumper working off the high screen out of the horns. He missed a three off the post kickout.

Kelly -- -- It’s probably make or break time for Ryan. From the clips so far in training camp, I thought he’s looked good. He came in at SF again in this one, but was aggressive and somewhat effective in his limited minutes. He wasn’t able to spot up from three, but he did a good job attacking from the left wing to his strong hand and blowing past the D. One of his better games at that SF spot. With Randle, Bass and even Nance, I’m not sure how much PF time he’ll get. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-3 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 block and 1 foul in just 9 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He did not play in the half. Second Half: He blocked a man from behind on help D. He missed a layup on a drive to his right. He attacked strong to his right and scored the layup. Quick first step again to attack from the wing and draw FTs, he made one. He grabbed a missed FT and powered it in.

J. Brown -- -- Some good moments defensively early on with some good hustle and nice reads. Then he got benched in his second stint for several minutes of train wreck ball. The Jazz took things from there. Playing with Williams, you can see how Huertas would look much more comfortable initiating the offense than Jabari. We had him play this role some last year when we were searching for healthy guards. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-3 from three) to go with 1 board, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: Quick first step from the wing, he absorbed contact and scored off the glass. Nice help D in transition to knock a pass loose, dive to keep it in play and ignite a break the other way. He drew a moving screen call getting knocked on his backside. He was stripped as he rose up for a shot. Nice lateral movement to cut off a lane and help get a stop. He was called for a charge in transition with a shove off. He iso’d too long without success and missed a wing three. He attacked in transition and missed a layup he should have had. Good foul on Gobert to prevent a dunk and save a FT. Second Half: He threw a pass away. He missed a corner three wide right. He was picked trying to bring it up court. He then airballed a corner three from the other side.

Sacre -- -- He was the first big off the bench tonight, and he played a pretty typical Sacre game. Nothing flashy, steady but not sensational on anything. Upshaw didn’t get any minutes tonight and none of the backup bigs made a case in their minutes. Hopefully, we see the other Robert in the next one to see what he has to offer. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steal and 1 foul in 15 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He gave up an offensive board but helped deflect a pass shortly later to get a stop. He hit a jumphook backing his man down in the post. He missed a face-up wing jumper from the right side. Second Half: He missed a one-hander in the lane. He airballed a baseline jumper.

A. Brown -- -- He needs simple catch-and-shoot looks from distance. He sank his lone look like that in the game. Anything else was on the move and not close. Defensively, despite the 5 fouls he was solid enough playing at both the SF and SG when Kelly came in later for Jabari. He’ll be one of those players that you can judge how well the system is working. If it’s flowing, he’ll be able to get sniper work in from beyond the arc. If not, he better make things happen on the other end of the court. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 1 board and 5 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -21. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He sank a wing three on a kickout from Lou. He missed a baseline drive in transition. He missed a runner attacking right.

Scott -- -- He said he thought about the starters tonight for a month. (Haven’t we all?) Hibbert, Randle, Kobe, Clarkson, Russell to start. Who knows if that’s how it will be opening day, but that’s where we start at. (Last year’s most-used lineup was Hill, Boozer, Wes, Kobe and Lin used 19 times.)… Lakers trailed 14-6 after a 3-13 shooting start… They cut the lead back, but were still 1-7 from three, down by 4 with 3 minutes left… First subs shortly later, Lou, Jabari, Sacre, Bass to go with Kobe… The Lakers trailed 18-16 after the first quarter… Nick in for Kobe to start the second quarter, so Lou and Jabari as the backcourt… The Lakers forced a timeout after taking a 24-21 lead… Up 2, he brought in Black for Sacre… Lou looking great in the purple and gold… Scott ran basically two lineups in the half, with a swap of Sacre/Black as the only changeup between the two lineups. The second unit got more run than the starters… The Lakers took a 38-33 lead at the half. They shot 33% and just 3-16 from three (but note the high number of three attempts). The Jazz shot 31% and were 0-5 from three… They started Nick in the second half for Kobe… Randle struggling a bit to get anything easy… The Lakers led 59-57 heading into the fourth… He went with Sacre, Bass, A. Brown, J. Brown and Williams… Jabari looking like a train wreck the first few minutes and the Jazz pulled out to 7-point lead… He brought in Kelly for Jabari shortly later… Down 7 and he sat Sacre for Black… The Lakers went dry with just 12 points in the fourth quarter. The Jazz were getting easy buckets…

[Omar Little]

First

(Haha, it has begun)

[SweetP]

Yay, DB's T&R is back!
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“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[lakersfreak]

Thx DB

[lakeshowtacular]

Thank you DB!!
Welcome Lakers Season
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Magic*Kobe*LBJ*AD*Cap

[TDRock]

YAY!! The return of Thoughts and Ratings!

[Kenji]

Thanks DB! I always look forward to your analysis after the game!

[Shaber]

Thanks, DB! First T&R of the season and already at its best!

[DShotMaker1824]

Thanks DB, It seems like I'm going to need these for a few seasons.
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"Through the legs to the left, through the legs to the right, we don't run them Laker plays, we just Kobe fadeaway..."

[Laker's Fan]

Lots of new faces. Limited NBA experience. Some experimental lineups. This preseason is going to be different for the Lakers than a team like the Clippers, who return a playoff starting five and only have to work in bench players with significant NBA reps. Goes a long way to show why a marquee free agent would have concerns about jumping in at this part in the song. Still a lot for Laker fans to enjoy.

Was especially impressed with Hibbert and Lou.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB

Not a great game but we knew this one would be sloppy.

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[pjiddy]

Awesome! Thank you, DB!!

[cdg]

Thanks DB.... I dont get a good feeling.... Russell is good but he is only 19.... Too much pressure and expectations on one so young.

[Arbitrary]

A bright new season! Thanks, DB.

[Sina]

Thank you DB. Great analysis!

[Chronicle]

That booker should have gotten a flagrant foul
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Kobe

[sonic the laker]

Thanks for the usual great breakdown of the Lakers first pre season game, DB! I feel exciting things ahead!

We shouldn't feel bad about a loss in pre season. It is pre season, after all. Byron shouldn't be focused on winning meaningless games. That's not what pre season is for. It's for acclimation and experimentation. Let's keep everything in proper perspective.

LAKERS!!!!


ZOOM!!!!!

[yinoma2001]

Few observations:

1. I don't understand the hockey substitutions. Preseason is a great time to experiment with lineups and mix/match starters/core bench guys. I get that it's the 1st preseason game, but why not start experiment now?

2. Clarkson looked incredible. So much bounce in his step and he was so aggressive attacking the rim. I also very much enjoyed Lou and once he gets to mix/match with either DLO/Clarkson and not have to play PG, he will be more effective. But he showed that he's a playmaker and shot creator.

3. I'm done with Sacre. Nothing to see here. Hard worker, great guy, but he offers little. Let's see what Upshaw has in the tank.

4. Our PFs look pretty small. Randle/Bass look pretty small (height wise) against the towering Favors. They will be undersized every night so it's important to get good position for rebounds.

5. Not much to analyze from Kobe. His legs looked a bit weak, but could be due to Camp Byron.

6. The Kelly at SF experiment needs to stop. It puts him at a disadvantage and is a bit unfair to him.

7. I'm still very hopeful for DLO. Saw some tremendous passing today. It's clear to me he's deferring to Kobe, Clarkson and Randle and trying to set the table for these guys. I know we have grown accustomed to Kobe's style of aggressive play at the guard position but DLO isn't that kind of player. I think he's more concerned right now with setting guys up; the scoring/shooting will come once he gets the pulse of the team.
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals

[Cutheon]

And so it begins

[trmiv]

[yinoma2001]

[yinoma2001]

Gordan Hayward is a free agent...in what 2017? Dude looks much more improved, even posting up Kobe a few times. Def put on some muscle and will be much improved this year.
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From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals

[marga86]

I don't know about you guys, but physically, randle is a monster. The dude is ready.

Hopefully he can find some offensive consistency and we will be looking at a very good player.. I'd expect him to improve throughout the season. Super stoked.

[yinoma2001]