LAKERS -vs- KINGS -- 10-13-15 -- PRESEASON GAME 5 -- 7PM PT

[Nightwalker]

[Judah]

I don't have the patience to sift through all of this stuff and see what's been said about Russell, but it's completely unwarranted to single him out about ANYTHING tonight. The entire team played like they were in a mental funk from the very start. That's why the game was so boring. No one was into it. Zero effort on both ends. For whatever reason there was zero focus from the entire group. I don't know how anyone could possibly watch that entire game and make an easy target out of Russell. If anything he may have had the strongest game overall on the stat sheet. Bass and Kelly weren't even trying to rebound and Russell actually started to do it FOR them. Point is, something was just completely off about this team mentally tonight. The vibe just wasn't there from the beginning.

[Lakers95]

[Practice]

Our starting backcourt combined for one assist in indicative of the type of game they played tonight and two certain other players on our bench had the exact same issue.

[Nightwalker]

[Drifts]

lol at posters deflecting... this is a game thread, not an Okafor thread.
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"Now, if life is coffee, then the jobs, money & position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold & contain life, but the quality of life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

[Worthy42]

The only things I took away from this game was;

1. need to improve that perimeter defense. its just awful at this point.

2. defensive rotations are not crisp or evident at all.

3. defensive rebounding. the kings have athletic bigs but our front court needs to battle and go for the boards with more urgency.

4. offensively ball needs to move. too many iso one on ones and ball sticking for bad shots (nick/lou).

5. bigs need to set better picks in the half court set and roll with more purpose. just lazy out there on the night.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

There are a lot of players and coaching decisions to complain about in this game, I find it ridiculous to carp on Russell when you've got Byron insisting all game long that Bass is a small ball center while it works miserably and Upshaw sits on the bench, you've got Kobe reverting to iso ball Kobe and unable to make up for his misses on defense, Nick getting incredibly selfish and Williams following in his footsteps, no organized offense just a streetball setup from Byron Scott, no further looking at Nance or seeing if Black could be more energetic out there than Bass at C, but yeah DeAngelo Russell came in with the game out of hand and somehow blew it.

Kinda weird how that works...

[Ziggy]

This is a motion offense, meaning every player on the floor needs to know how to read the defense. If one guy decides to play hero ball (Lou) then guys just stand around and watch.

To me it looks like Russell is just out there thinking too much. He's trying to read things while everyone else is just playing on instinct. That's normal for rookies.

Once the game was almost over you could see the switch flip, as if he said "eff this I'm lettin it fly", and the shots went down effortlessly. I'm glad he ended the game on that note. The kid's just trying to make the right play every possession down and he's overthinking it. He's going to be fine.

[BigBoi]

C'mon guys posters should be able to post their concerns without us being overly defensive. I think the worries about Russell's game is legit. I'm not calling him a bust, and I damn sure don't want Okafor but aren't you guys seeing what we're seeing? It doesn't mean you should get upset, constructive criticism is good.

Russell grabbed 7 rebounds, I'd like to see him push the ball off those boards and try to get to the rack. I'd like to see him come off screens and shoot the ball with no hesitation. I'd like to see him try to break down the defense with dribble moves and penetration, I'd like to see him be more aggressive offensively and defensively, the team needs more energy from him, I think they'll feed off it. Those are areas of his game he should work on. He definitely didn't look like a starting point guard out there, I don't think he will be starting anytime soon
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#mamba4ever!

[Worthy42]

[LakeShow06]

[Worthy42]

[MJST]

fyi Kobe's fine. Sat out just as a precaution. Gonna play Saturday unless they decide to rest him.

[Practice]

[KindCrippler2000]

[Rivershow]

[LakeShow06]

Why no Black, Sacre or Upshaw though? Is BScott going to cut all 3 ffs?

I don't really see Brandon Bass playing back-up C all the time. Neither he or Kelly are really bangers. I know people hate on Tarik Black for his Defense, but the dude just hustles the whole time and is not afraid to put a body on someone
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"We might have had the worst season ever or could have the worst season ever for a Lakers team, but now let's have the greatest comeback that the league has ever seen." - Kobe Bryant

[JoJo Dancer]

SlowAngelo Russell

[lounger]

Ssssshhhhhh... don't worry guys.... Worthy said that Byron Scott preaches defense.....

[Yong]

[defense]

More Kelly and Bass. That will improve our defense and offense

[fiendishoc]

It was pretty clear what was going on- Russell running the offense, expecting others to do the same. After chucks, chucks and more chucks, he decided screw this, I'll just get some 3's. Not much you can read from that other than looks like someone is asleep at the helm.

[Dave20]

Ways for the Lakers to win.

1. Run more P&R with Randle, Clarkson, and Russell

2. Less Iso Kobe, only spot up shots. When he iso the ball stops, needs to pass the torch.

3. Defensive rotations have to get better.

4. If Randle and Clarkson aren't leading the team and shot attempts that's a problem. Both are efficient, need more touches.

5. Lou and Young can't be on the court together for long periods of time. One chucker is enough but two is just taking shot attempts away from the young trio.

[Practice]