BLAZERS -at- LAKERS - 10-19-15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Redemption… With multiple turnovers and fouling a three-shooter in the final minute, the Lakers nearly gave it away.

The Blazers had tied the game up with a three moments earlier. After a timeout, the Lakers responded.

Ryan Kelly took an inbounds pass at the top of the arc with 4.8 left. He faked the handoff to a cutter, attacked an open lane, elevated and hammered down the game-winning dunk with 2 seconds left.

“Really, I had to just make it up to my teammates because I screwed up the out-of-bounds play the play before,” Kelly said of his redemption earning throwdown. His teammates exploded off the bench, and he stayed out of the doghouse with one of the plays of the preseason (if not the play).

The Lakers held on to the 104-102 victory over the visiting Blazers.

Scott mixed and matched a variety of different lineups to give everyone time on the court. Now the tough decisions have to be made. Who stays? Who goes?


Clarkson -- -- Another great scoring night to lead the team in limited minutes. The playmaking left a lot to be desired tonight. “I was being careless with it in the first quarter, so we just got to take care of the ball,” Clarkson said. Some very sloppy passes, including a couple in transition that blew good opportunities. The Clarkson/Young combo made for some choppy offensive flow in the third quarter, but Clarkson is a handful for defenders. So even if there isn’t great flow, he can get into the midrange for jumpers and floaters seemingly at will. Defensively, he had a tough cover in Lillard. He gave up a couple of straight-line drives you don’t want to see. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-9 shooting (1-3 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He threw a pass away after curling around a pick. He made a tech FT. He attacked right off a busted play, was smothered and rejected out of bounds. He missed a three on the subsequent inbounds. Sloppy pass in transition, turnover. He sank a three off the kickout from Randle. He spotted Randle in the mismatch with a small on him and it drew an illegal D, Clarkson made the tech. Another sloppy pass running the break, turnover. He bricked a wing three. Nice switch defending a horns sequence, he bounced out to a big, reached to swipe the dribble and took it for a layup. He probed off the two-man game on the wing and hit the floater. He had 9 points on 3-5 shooting in the first quarter. Second Half: He attacked and threw it out of bounds. He worked off the high screen and got his man to run into him from behind on the FT pull-up jumper, he made both. Weak D and he was called for a foul getting caught flat-footed. He sank a pull-up 19-footer off the Upshaw screen. After Upshaw blew a nice drive and dish from Clarkson, Jordan got it back, attacked off the screen and hit the pull-up at the FT line (looked like an And-1). He gave up a straight-line drive to Lillard for a layup. He iso’d and bricked badly. He pulled up his dribble in the lane and eventually hit a turnaround when the D messed up for him.

Randle -- -- You’ve got to string together these quarters to figure out what kind of game Randle would really put together. Right now, it feels like he’s playing near triple-double ball over these last two. His per 36 this preseason is 19.7 points, 9.6 boards, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals on 50% shooting over 7 games. That will get it done. A very playmaker-oriented start to this game from Randle, maybe to a fault on a play or two that he might have scored on. But he finished with 4 assists in that first quarter and 6 boards, still imposing his will on opponents. “The ball was a little stagnant, so I was just trying to make plays,” Randle said. The D sagged of him a little, but he was still able to make things happen. Scott played him just the one quarter. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 4 assists and no fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He missed a wing jumper when his man backed off. He attacked baseline from the right corner and drew FTs, he made both. He grabbed the board, pushed it up and hit Clarkson on a kickout for a three. He missed a reverse. He grabbed a board, pushed it out and missed the layup. He fought for another defensive board, pushed it up again and fed Russell cutting backdoor for a layup. He hit Hibbert on the duck-in for a dunk. He was 0-3 with 6 boards and 4 assists in the first quarter. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Russell -- -- He was looking like a closer when he came in for the final 5 minutes until Sacre and Kelly wanted to make things interesting. Russell was getting into the midrange, knocking down those 15-footers and looking automatic. Good job being able to do that after sitting since the first quarter off the screwy preseason rotations. “At this level you’ve got to be ready when you’re number’s called,” Russell said, mentioning he wasn’t use to that big of a break. A scoring night from Russell vs. a passing one. This team is going to have some great passing highlights this season between Huertas and Russell (and Randle!). Huertas is certainly going to rub off on Russell. “He’s a clever little dude,” Russell said. “He’s been playing for a little while. He likes to pass as much as I like to pass.” The Stats: He scored 12 points on 5-8 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He worked off the wing screen to start and swished the pull-up 17-footer. His pass was picked off on a deflection. He missed a leaning wing jumper off the screen. Nice switch on the perimeter with Clarkson and he swiped the handoff pass. He missed a pull-up three in transition. He missed a scoop in the lane. Good hands on a tricky Randle pass as Russell cut backdoor in transition to score a layup. Good D on Lillard to force the perimeter miss. He had 4 points on 2-5 shooting and 1 steal in the first quarter. Second Half: Looked like Jabari took his eye off a pass from Russell and lost it out of bounds. He hit Kelly with a great pass at the wing and he was fouled on a three. He worked off the Sacre screen and hit the pull-up 16-footer. He posted up and hit the step-back from the elbow. He sank a double-clutch elbow pull-up. He was fouled in the backcourt and sank both FTs.

Hibbert -- -- Amazing that we are starting a Randle, Brown, Russell, Clarkson unit. Hibbert with a bunch of kiddies. It felt like we leaned up him just a little more offensively in this one with that lineup. While he scored, we didn’t see the big rebounding numbers or a lot of great challenges. Loved seeing the duck-in for a dunk while the ball was in Randle’s hands. These two are going to start finding each other more and more as their chemistry builds. They are a very good passing duo. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 steal and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He swished a top-of-the-key jumper. Nice challenge on the other end to get a stop. He missed a 17-footer short. He worked the post and scored the layup on the up and under. Great weak-to-strong duck in and Randle hit him for the dunk. He missed a turnaround at the buzzer. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

A. Brown -- -- I’d like to see him a little bit more with Huertas to see if we can get him some open looks from three and space the floor for that pick and roll game. They ran a little tonight, but with Sacre in the middle, which isn’t great for the PnR. Scoreless night and little notes. He had some moments defensively and does a good job recovering. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-4 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 offensive board and 1 turnover in 19 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He erased his own made three by standing on the sideline on the catch. He missed a wing three. He missed a wide open wing three. He got backdoored on a brush screen for a lob dunk. He missed a baseline jumper on a kickout. He sank a 21-footer on a kickout after his man rushed out to challenge. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Young -- -- We saw the good and the bad from Nick tonight. When it was him and Clarkson out there, the game resembled a little of last year’s ball. When he was on court with Huertas again, the two had the crowd going and Nick’s game was made much simpler. A lot of three ball. A couple were up against the clock, so we’ll give him a pass on those. He did have a drive and miss that allowed Nance to clean up the dribble penetration. His highlight, however, was finishing the trailing three off Huertas’s between-the-legs pass. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 4-13 shooting (3-10 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 18 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: Not close on a wing three trying to draw contact. He drained the three trailing Huertas, who went between his legs right behind him to Nick. He made a tech FT. He missed a wing jumper trying to create on iso. He missed a wing three. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He airballed a corner three after fumbling a kickout and was forced to chuck against the shotclock. Weak inbounds and it was picked off. He measured and swished a three (should have been an And-1). He iso’d and hit the pull-up 17-footer from the wing after attacking to his left. He missed a wing three, we got it back and he missed a drive. He iso’d and swished the wing three with the shotclock low. He missed a chuck from three next time down trying to create.

Huertas -- -- He led the team in assists with 8 and between-the-leg passes with two. His shot/scoring was a little shaky at times, but the 8 assists with 1 turnover was once again impressive. He had some messy shots around the hoop on a couple of drives, but also hit one of those one-footed banks. Good chemistry with Black and a good job in the fourth making with some tricky lineups to play with (Metta, Sacre). I think we probably need to keep him on the bench to help keep those units flowing, but also to keep his minutes down. One thing I worry about is the wear and tear of this long season. This is a step up in physicality and endurance. With the hamstring issues, you don’t want to push the minutes early on in the season. “It’s getting better. It’s not there yet, still not 100 percent,” Huertas said of the hamstring prior to the game. Afterward, they wrapped ice around his leg to help. In 31 minutes so far, he’s scored 12 points on 5-11 shooting to go with 14 assists and 2 turnovers. Excellent debut. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-9 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 8 assists, 1 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed a layup in transition. He probed off the high screen, hung and hit the one-footed bank shot. He lobbed to Black in transition for the slam. He faked behind his back but had his shot deflected or airballed. He missed a leaner at the FT line. Not close on a layup attempt that hit the side of the board. He found Tarik for the 18-footer. He pushed it up, spotted Nick right behind him and went between his legs backwards to him for the three. He missed the fading bank from the left side. He no-looked to Bass for the open baseline jumper after working the two-man game with Black. Lob to Black, shallow enough to get there fast and Tarik scored. He attacked the paint and drew FTs, he made both. He worked the shotclock down, attacked off the screen and hit the elbow pull-up jumper (he then gave up a coast-to-coast drive for a layup on the other end). He had 6 points on 2-7 shooting and 5 assists in the second quarter. Second Half: He baseballed a pass to Metta in the post (nearly stolen), but that left Metta with the open layup. His between-the-legs pass to Sacre in the paint was picked off. Another great 45-foot baseball pass to Metta in transition, but MWP blew the layup. He sank a baseline pull-up working off the screen. He faked a post entry and whipped it over to Sacre instead for the FT jumper. He worked the two-man game to Kelly for the three. He bricked a bank badly and smiled about it.

Kelly -- -- He’s having a strong preseason. The game winner tonight was the exclamation point on all that. Great read by Kelly. It seemed like he was planning on attacking anyway with how the D had been playing him in the game. The D bit hard on Jabari’s cut (if that was Kobe or Clarkson…they’d bite just as hard). Kelly showed the mobility down the open lane and hammered. “Mine kept us out of overtime in a preseason game, so I know my teammates appreciate that,” Kelly said when asked to compare his dunk with Nance’s. BScott: “I was thinking he’s trying to compete with Larry.” That saved Kelly from a bad inbounds pass on the other end that the Blazers stole to hit a game tying three. It’s all good now. He scored all 9 of his points in that fourth. Putting him on the floor with Huertas/Russell, and he’s going to get some good looks. Hopefully, he has a breakout season and leaves last year long behind him. I always say you have to give late first round and second round picks a full 3 years to develop if they show you flashes of skills. Hopefully, that’s the case for Kelly. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was blocked in the paint off an interior feed. He gave up an offensive board and score to Davis. He sank the wing three off the two-man game with Huertas. He got a switch with Huertas’s man, attacked across the paint and drew FTs, he made one. Russell kicked to him and he was fouled on a three, he made all three FTs. He missed a wing three in transition. Horrible inbounds pass and it was swiped, the Blazers hit a three and tied it. Kelly made up for it, taking an inbounds pass, faking the handoff, attacking down the middle of the lane and hammering down a dunk with 2 seconds left.

Nance -- -- “If you are going to leave me open and in a sense disrespect me from three-point line and midrange, I have no problem knocking that down,” Nance said. He thought guys were aware of his dunk the other night with how they played him in this one. His last two full quarters worth of ball have been impressive. Tonight, he sank a three and another 18-footer to go along with a follow jam. And again, he had a couple of steals. He’s balling out there. It’s interesting with the minutes at PF with Randle, Kelly, Bass and Nance. How will Scott handle it? The Lakers had Larry come in at SF briefly when Holmes went down, maybe we’ll see a little of that. Glad to see him playing with a lot of confidence right now as that will help him impose his strengths on opponents instead of second guessing. Asked whose was better, Nance said Kelly’s jam. “He won the game and we don’t have to go home so late,” Nance said. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-1 from three) to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals and no fouls in 16 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He swiped a pass with that long reach in the passing lane, he pushed it up and hit Jabari for FTs. He intercepted another ill-advised pass at halfcourt. Second Half: His man sagged off him and he swished another wing three. He swished an 18-footer. He missed a jumphook on a drive. He follow slammed down a missed drive by Nick. He missed a baseline jumper. He climbed the stairs to get up high for an offensive board and reset the offense.

Bass -- -- He sank a short baseline jumper, but missed his other attempts. Seems like his shot isn’t quite there yet because he was getting wide open looks that he’s usually been pretty automatic on over his career. We didn’t run him at the backup C this time and the D was much better for it. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 assist and no fouls in 12 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He missed a 16-footer. He missed an open elbow jumper. He grabbed a miss but was blocked trying to power up under the hoop. He sank the baseline jumper off the no-looker from Huertas. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Black -- -- You could see the difference between Sacre vs. Black running with Huertas. Black has better mobility, which makes him a better target for Huertas. They teamed up a couple of times, Huertas looking for him on the lob. Black also hit a deep perimeter jumper. “I’m going to take it every time I’m open,” Black said, mentioning he put in a lot of work on his perimeter shot. He was playing double-double ball. He clearly out-played both Sacre and Upshaw tonight. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 4-4 shooting (0-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Good hustle in transition to clean up a missed Huertas layup. He stepped around his man to swipe the pass, gave it up to Huertas, got it back on the lob and slammed. He crashed the glass and drew FTs, he missed both. He sank an 18-footer off the two-man game. He was called for three seconds expecting a shot instead of a pass. He gathered a lob and powered up for a score. He had 8 points on 4-4 shooting and 6 boards. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Upshaw -- -- He was out setting screens for Clarkson and Young throughout the third quarter. You aren’t going to see the ball much in those situations. Tough lineup for him to run with. He did sink a long jumper. Defensively, he did a good job on the boards, but was a little foul prone and late to react at times to dribble penetration. Had Sacre not screwed up so badly in the last minute, Upshaw probably would have ended up with the weakest game of the three tonight. Still, some very good moments for a rookie. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 6 boards, 1 assist and 4 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a turnaround in the post. He sank an 18-footer on the wing, left alone. A guard reversed around him for a score. He missed a tip attempt, then fouled. He couldn’t finish a slam off the drive and dish from Clarkson (got to put those down).

J. Brown -- -- That strong cut after the inbounds pass definitely helped sell the D on a handoff and open the lane for Kelly on the final play. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big play happen. An efficient 10 points from Jabari, again getting to the line with consistency. The fact that Scott trusted him to be one of the main options on that last play says a lot. It’s going to be a tough decision for the front office. Good to see the 3 assists, on the downside of this one he had a couple drives where he was a little out of control. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-3 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He attacked strong in transition and hit the floor hard on a foul, he made both FTs. He was called for a charge on a drive from the wing. He attacked in transition and drew FTs, he made both. He attacked, spun and missed the tough one in the lane. Second Half: He got a switch and hit the sideline jumper over a big. Looked like he took his eye off a kickout pass and lost it. He was fouled intentionally with 17 seconds left, he made both FTs.

World Peace -- -- He’s still strong as an ox out there, able to muscle his way to the rim. Good intensity on D again. It was interesting seeing Huertas zipping fastballs and Metta playing catcher. If they do keep Metta, it’s really hard to predict if he’ll be part of the rotation or not. I could see him inserted to provide that defensive intensity and spark, which Scott favors. Offensively, it might be best to play him with Kelly or a big that spaces the floor. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 1 board and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a +4 The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He scored a layup when Huertas threw a fastball to him and Metta’s man gambled and lost. He blew a layup on the break when Huertas zipped another transition fastball to him (should have had that one). He iso’d and wasn’t close in the post. He attacked from the corner and muscled in an And-1 over his man (very nice), he missed the FT.

Holmes -- -- Just a minute in this game before he hurt himself. Holmes deflected a pass, stretched out on the dive for the ball at midcourt and dislocated his shoulder. He passed the ball off to teammates for a score but was done for the night. The slippery floor in the last game and now the injury in this one, his action has been cut short. Unfortunate. “Just bad luck on his part,” Scott said of the last two games. The Stats: He had 1 steal in 1 minute. He was a -1. The Action: Great layout and dive at midcourt after tipping a pass, dislocating his shoulder in the process, he then fed Huertas who attacked the rim and missed (but Black scored off that). Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Sacre -- -- Nearly a good game from Sacre … until the final minute when he tried to give it away. He made a bad pass on the perimeter for a score the other way, then fouled a three shooter. “I was thinking about killing Robert Sacre for fouling them on a three-point shot,” Scott said. That ruined what was turning into one of Sacre’s better games when he really needed to step up. He had a great block in this game and also took a charge to erase hoops. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He nearly lost the ball, gathered it and hit the jumphook up against the shotclock. Nice help D to reject a layup and save Kelly from embarrassment. He sank the FT jumper when Huertas found him. He missed a 16-footer straight away. He grabbed and offensive board and drew FTs, he made one. Very nice screen on the perimeter that opened up Russell for the pull-up at the wing. He stood in and took a charge to save Russell from giving up penetration. He got tapped on a jumphook in the paint. Weak pass/handoff to Metta and the Blazers took it for a score to make things close. He then fouled a three shooter with 21 seconds left.

Frazier -- -- Quiet minutes from him. Too quiet at this stage of the game when roster spots are up for grabs. He missed a couple of shots and didn’t do anything else noteworthy. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-2 shooting and had no other stats. He was a -2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a wing jumper.

Scott -- -- No Kobe or Williams again in this one… Some sloppy passing in transition (Clarkson causing 3 turnovers) and the Lakers blew some easy opportunities early on… The Lakers trailed 14-11 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… The Lakers trailed 25-21 after the first quarter… Wholesale change to start the fourth with Black, Bass, Holmes, J. Brown and Huertas. No Young… Holmes made a great play, diving at midcourt for a loose ball and pass off, but wrecked his shoulder in the process. Nance in for him… He sat Nance for Young down 3 midway through the quarter… They tied it up 36-36 forcing a timeout… Huertas and Black looking pretty good together… The Lakers were tied 47-47 at the half. The Lakers were 2-10 from three, the Blazers were 4-12. The Lakers had 7 turnovers, the Blazers 11… Coaches liked the ball movement in the second quarter… He started an Upshaw, Nance, Young, Frazier and Clarkson unit… The Lakers fell back quickly as this lineup had little chemistry and a lot of individual play… The Lakers trailed 74-72 heading into the fourth… He started a Sacre, Kelly, Peace, Brown, Huertas lineup... With 5 minutes left up 3, he sat Huertas for Russell and one Brown for the other Brown… The Lakers built then choked away a lead in the final minute with knucklehead plays by Sacre (bad pass for a score, foul on a three) and Kelly (horrible inbounds pass, followed by a Blazer three). Scott called a timeout… Great play call as Kelly fake like he was going to hand off the ball on an inbounds, he then attacked straight down the lane and hammered a dunk with 2 seconds left. Timeout Blazers… Nice switching on D by the Lakers and they forced a brick to hold onto the win…

[ChefLinda]

First.

[Omar Little]

Damn you linda...

[SweetP]

First.
Nice game, even with the wild ending.

Darn, 24 scooped me again!

Ha ha, CL scooped him!
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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

[lounger]

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB.

[lakersfreak]

Thx DB

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[MedRomLaker]

thanks db. Huertas is a joy to watch, really thinks the game. Rewatched the game and his bbiq is outstanding, dlo could really learn a thing or two from him. Great pick up by the FO.
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11/9/12 the day the brown was flushed down!!!!!!

4/30/14 the day the ant left the building!!!!!!

[A Mad Chinaman]

Players Cut (Projected)
Frazier - Victim of a numbers game
Holmes - Victim of an injury, though will take care of his injury and allow him to workout at the facilities (like X who just signed with the Warriors)
J. Brown - Victim of a numbers game
Sacre - Had numerous opportunities into something more than a third-string center and this nice guy who won't lose games (won't win games) and provide consistent sub-par play is not what the Lakers need at the end of the bench

[DShotMaker1824]

Thanks DB!
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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..."

[jjangx27]

i really love huertas out there. definitely looks nash-esque

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[GoldenThroat]

Very curious to see what the guard rotation ends up being. We have 4 guys (Russell, Clarkson, Williams, Huertas) that deserve minutes, and all of them are unlikely to ever get run at SF.

[LakerDYnasty72]

Thanks DB. Hey, did anyone hear of the rule that mods can't be first? Thought I read that somewhere. Maybe not. Oh well.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! Great recap as always to an entertaining game.

I hope the FO makes the right cuts - I have my ideas as to who they should be but who knows if they're right.... Sacre, Holmes, Frazier and JBrown. MWP on the bubble.

[madd_game08]

[Tanlentueux]

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS