LAKERS -vs- WARRIORS - 10-22-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Torched… Nothing like getting smoked badly in the last preseason game to get you ready for the start of the season.

The Warriors moved the ball and rained threes all over the weak Laker defense. They hit 16-31 from behind the arc. A lot of good looks on their way to blowing out the Lakers 136-97.

Hard to criticize anything other than defense after giving up 136 points, but the Lakers looked very predictable offensively. There was little space as both Randle and Huertas found out, combining for 13 turnovers between them.

“We had an opportunity tonight to show if we’ve grown as a team. I told them we fell flat on our face,” Scott said. No one probably fell harder than Scott himself, to be honest. Fans were booing already.

“I was very disappointed the way we reacted as a team,” Scott said. “When we start to get down, guys seem to go their separate ways. We weren’t together as a group.”

The offense certainly ended up into a late-clock, iso-fest at times. Was that the players or the sets? Defensively, however, the Lakers needed to show more fight.

“You have to foul somebody hard, put them on their ass,” Roy Hibbert said. “Take a foul. It might be a technical. You can’t let somebody slice you up like that.”

He’s going to be our defensive leader this year. Hopefully, he can get the guys to respond. Next game counts.


Clarkson -- -- He sprained his right shoulder and was done for the game after just 12 minutes. He said it’s been bothering him this week prior to the game, but started to bother him after a collision. Clarkson thought it was minor. I really wanted him to orchestrate the offense more. He looked sloppy in the last one, but was figuring it out last year. He needs to find that balance. Plus, Russell really needs to just play mostly as the SG right now to keep things simpler for him. Hopefully, it’s something Clarkson can quickly bounce back from. We need his consistency as we don’t have too many consistent players on the team. “It’s pretty frustrating because that kid has done so well for us this preseason. He’s played so hard,” Scott said. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting (1-3 from three) to go with 1 steal and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -21. The Action: He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He missed an open wing three. He sank a three off a quick pass from Russell. He passed up a good look from distance for a much tougher one a few seconds later when his probe went nowhere, he clanked. He missed a floater on the break. Not close on a wing jumper behind a screen. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Randle -- -- He took it to Draymond for 14 points in the last quarter they played. You can bet Draymond would try to step it up more in this one. Both were getting into it a little early. I don’t mind seeing Randle go at it right now, even if it ball stops some. Seeing him take a challenge and try to step up to it is a learning experience for him (plus, it’s good to see he has that fire in him). So, he floundered a bit in this one and will, hopefully, take a lot away from that. He was very turnover prone (unforced travels, lost handles for 6 turnovers). He had a couple moments, but the offense had no flow or spacing and that made it as if he was swimming against the current. “I thought tonight he may have tried to force the issue just a little too much,” Worthy said, mentioning he’s getting scouted and needs to hit the jumper and finish with the right hand. “I’m not going to dwell on this. It’s preseason. I’m going to head into the season with an upbeat spirit. Head into these next practices upbeat and get ready for Minnesota,” Randle said. He said there’s a lot he can improve on, but he feels good about heading into the season. I agree on both accounts for him. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-10 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 block, 6 turnovers and 5 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -25. The Action: He attacked from the wing, muscled through a reach and hit the And-1 in the middle of the paint, he made the FT. He attacked the paint and missed the short one. Nice challenge on Green on one end, he went immediately to the post on the other, faced up, attacked and scored the layup after losing Green on some nice footwork (he motioned to Green to bring it right after that). He missed a turnaround on iso. He was called for a travel on iso after ball stopping. He was called for a travel again next time down on a kickout. He battled for an offensive board and powered it in. He lost the dribble on iso. Second Half: He attacked on iso and lost the dribble. He missed a 19-footer straight away. He pushed out the dribble and had it poked away, turnover. He missed a fade in the lane working the lost post. He swatted a drive. He missed a pull-up from the wing. He knocked a man over (probably should have been a charge), then absolutely bricked the point-blank layup. He got it back and hit a jumphook across the lane.

Russell -- -- Asked about what adjustments he would have to make if Clarkson wasn’t available, D’Angelo said, “I’ve got to mature very fast. Got to stay in the film room. Just keep chipping away at being the best I can possibly be so early.” For sure there is a lot of pressure on him, but he seems to have the right attitude. Work, work and more work. He sank his first jumper, then missed a couple after that and you could see the confidence fade just a bit. The shot will dictate everything for him. If teams can go under the screen of both him and Huertas without paying a price, they’ll have their work cut out for them. Russell never really found his shot, even missing several from the FT line. He once again showed some nice ability on cuts off the ball to get open. Some good moments from Russell defensively using that length of his (that recovery to block Barbosa was particularly nice). None of our guards defended particularly well, and Russell should know he can’t go under screens against certain players, but overall he’s doing much better than you’d expect from a rookie on this end of the floor. The hair has to go, though. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-12 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-5 from the line) to go with 1 board, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 25 minutes. He was a -23. The Action: He sank a 22-footer for the Lakers first score. He lost Curry behind a screen and missed the three. He missed a wing jumper, short. He rejected Barbosa from behind on a great recovery. He then hit Brown in the corner for the open three in transition. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He went under a screen on Klay and gave up a three. He missed a pull-up on the wing. Second Half: He threw a pass out of bounds when he tried to hit Hibbert down low. His pass was picked off, but he stole it right back from Curry and was fouled. He missed a long rushed three trying to get it off before the shotclock expired. He swished the wing catch-and-shoot off Jabari’s kickout. Nice help D challenge with Hibbert on the other end. A little change of direction on the dribble and he drew FTs on Curry (after Curry had scored a scoop drive on the other end on him), he made a tech, then one of his two FTs. Nice cut down the middle of the lane and Lou found him for the layup next time down. He missed a wide open three in transition. Sloppy pass and it was nearly picked off. He drew FTs working off the screen and getting hit from behind on the pull-up, he missed both, uggh. He attacked off the screen and hit the floater. He kicked out to Brown for the open three. He missed an elbow pull-up jumper.

Hibbert -- -- The lack of notes in this one is not a good sign, neither was the team low -32. He started of the preseason with energy. Maybe he was just holding it back for the regular season grind, but he didn’t really bring it early on. It looked like when he came back late in the fourth, he was a little ticked. He tried to step it up more and you could see the impact when he doesn’t coast. I was hoping he got vocal about getting our butts kicked this badly. The defense was torched. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 10 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a -32. The Action: He got tapped on a hook across the lane to start the game. He missed a hook across the lane. He deflected a pass on the perimeter to get a stop. He sank an 18-footer when the D sagged off. Second Half: Not close on a baseline jumper. He drew FTs on the perimeter, he made one. He sank that awkward looking hook from the right side. He swatted a drive nicely.

A. Brown -- -- I’m assuming when Kobe returns, Brown drops back to the bench, but who knows? He had his best game of the preseason, knocking down shots from the perimeter with ease. He was the only one that could match the Warriors perimeter shooting. Actually, throwing him in the Warriors lineup and he would probably kill it. His best game of the preseason shooting wise, but I’d like to see more of the little things out there. Some boards, steals, etc. He had none of that. “I was just trying to be consistent with my shot and take my open looks. Tonight, they fell,” Brown said. He said the team did a poor job contesting shots early on and they let the Warriors get hot. They’re the champs. They’re always hot. He thought they should be able to compensate with their youth and energy and play with better pace. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-6 shooting (3-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -25. The Action: He missed a baseline pull-up jumper. He drained an open corner three in transition when Russell found him. Second Half: He took the pinch post handoff, attacked baseline and scored the And-1 4-footer with his left, he made the FT. He sank a corner three on the quick push and kickout from Jabari. He sank a wing three on a kickout from Russell. He swished a wing three when we recovered a loose ball.

Williams -- -- He quietly led the Lakers in scoring tonight, which was nice to see considering how much Huertas handles the ball and sets the table. It wasn’t like there was any particular chemistry between the two. It’s just that Williams picks his spots pretty well. Defensively, I felt sorry for him having to deal with Klay at times. That’s just not a good matchup. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 6-12 shooting (2-5 from three, 5-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He probed baseline and found Kelly for the short jumper. He took a pass, floored it down the middle of the lane and scored the And-1 layup, he made the FT. He probed in early offense, drew contact and FTs, he made both. He got caught flat-footed on D and had to foul. He swished a deep three on a two-for-one. He filled a lane and scored the layup on the break. He missed a wing three. He hit Huertas for the short runner in transition. Easy score in the post by Klay over him, then Lou fouled him on a three next time down. He swished a corner three when the D stopped defending. He airballed a three trying to beat the shotclock buzzer. Sloppy perimeter pass, turnover. He ran the clock down, attacked and hit the runner at the front of the rim. He had 15 points on 5-7 shooting. Second Half: He pushed it up, drew some attention in the corner, then spotted Russell cutting and bounced it to him for the layup. He was blocked in transition. He attacked, drew contact and missed. He drew FTs on the perimeter and made one. He missed a wing three. He missed a layup in transition. He jumped a pass lane, swiped the flat-angle pass and took it for the And-1, he made the FT.

Bass -- -- We went to Bass as the backup C again and nothing good came of it. In the second half, we hit our low-point of the game giving up multiple offensive boards and putback scores in a couple of sequences. Out came the boo’s. Well done, Scott. Honestly, Kelly is outplaying him and Black looks like a better option at backup C right now. Scott shouldn’t be afraid of having Bass fall out of the rotation at the moment. We need to get our young guys minutes. I do appreciate some of those little things Bass provides (3 steals tonight), but he had just 1 defensive board as our backup C in 24 minutes. Not good. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 1-4 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 24 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed an elbow jumper. He carried the ball out of a timeout, turnover. He posted up, which pretty much denied any play calling, so we threw it to him and he fumbled it away on his iso attack, nicely done. He drew FTs when Huertas attacked and dumped a pass to him, he made both. He gave up a score in transition (if you are the only man back, why are you not covering the only Warrior down court?...that’s YMCA bad.) Second Half: He drew FTs on the defensive glass, he made both. He follow slammed back a Huertas miss. He missed an 18-footer. He iso’d and drew FTs, he made both. He blocked a shot a little late, it seemed like a goaltend.

Young -- -- He couldn’t connect on his shot. There was no Huertas-Young chemistry going on. Really, little chemistry with anyone on the floor tonight. Credit the Warriors, for sure, on their D, but we also have a long way to go on both ends. Overall, decent preseason for Nick. He’s had some moments of chucking, but the shot selection had been mostly decent and he’s put in some good effort defensively. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-7 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 1 assist, 2 steals and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He drained a long three trailing the break and hustled back to man up in transition. Bad miss from the wing on iso, should have reset the offense. Nice reach on D as his man attached and that led to a turnover. He missed an open three straight away on the other end. He missed a wide open three. He missed an elbow jumper. He missed a chuck from three on the wing. Good hustle for an offensive board off a missed FT. Second Half: He missed a wing three.

World Peace -- -- The crowd certainly seemed to voice their opinion on who should make the team with the “We Want Metta!” chants in the second half. He finally got in the game and didn’t show much. He played with some intensity. If you want that intensity to rub off, then you need to find him some minutes early on, especially in a game where we give up near 40 points in the first quarter. Jabari played better than Metta in this one, but that probably doesn’t mean much in the roster spot decision. Do you keep Metta to mentor young guys? Or do you keep an extra young guy? We will see. The Stats: He scored 1 point on 0-1 shooting from three (1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He posted up and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a wide open wing three.

Huertas -- -- He was flying under the radar in his first couple of games, but you started to see defenders going under screens and daring him to shoot. He didn’t have the space to work with (like Randle, as well, tonight) and turnovers followed. Defensively, a lot of pass deflections, which was nice to see. He also uses the transition foul quite a bit. I imagine teams will get more confident that they can just shoot over him, but we’ll see. He had some nice moments offensively even though he had the staggering 7 turnovers. A great pass to Kelly for a dunk at the end of a quarter was probably the best highlight. His scoring range was on those short pull-ups which he seems pretty money on. If Clarkson somehow misses time, I suspect Huertas stays with the second unit and they just go with a Russell, Kobe, A. Brown trio. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals, 7 turnovers and 4 fouls in 23 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: He missed a short runner in the paint. He deflected a pass, got out on the break and set up Kelly for FTs. Looked like he deflected another pass that the Lakers recovered. Another pass deflection out of bounds. He hit Kelly behind the back in the paint for FTs. He missed an 18-footer. He attacked with 5 seconds left, hung in a crowd of players as the D converged, then hit Kelly in the lane for the running dunk with a second left. His over-the-head pass was picked off, points the other way. He grabbed an offensive board, faked a pass, attacked and hit Bass for FTs. Not close on a three when the D sagged off. He hit a short runner in the lane in transition. Second Half: He gave up a straight-line layup to Curry. His pass was picked off by Curry. He missed a pull-up 18-footer. He was called for a travel before an attack from the wing. He deflected another Curry pass and we got the stop. He attacked and was stripped for a score the other way. He was called for a charge at the end of the quarter. He passed up an open shot as they went under the screen, probed and threw it away. He sank an elbow pull-up working off the screen. He scored a layup on a hesitation move in the final seconds.

Kelly -- -- This preseason has been his best stretch of ball. Tonight, he was one of the few bright spots. He had another throwdown over a player as the game clock wound down. Wish he would have launched a couple of threes in this game. It seemed like he had some opportunities but didn’t take them. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-6 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He was called for an illegal screen. He drew FTs trailing the break when Huertas orchestrated the ball to him, he made both. He sank a baseline jumper off the probe by Lou. He drew FTs off the behind-the-back pass from Huertas (Kelly airballed the layup attempt), he made both. Poor close and he gave up a three. Another throwdown as the clock was winding down, Kelly took a pass from Huertas with a couple seconds left in full stride and slammed over a defender. After a poor sequence on D, he deflected a pass (really out of position on that play), but we got a stop. He took the ball coast to coast for a layup. He got an offensive board and missed the And-1 (should have had that), he made one. He had 11 points in the first half. Second Half: He swished a wing jumper. He showed the ball and was blocked on the layup.

J. Brown -- -- As the crowd was chanting “We want Metta,” Jabari’s game went south. He started making mistakes, he bricked trying to draw FTs and threw a horrible pass right to the Warriors. He had some good moments right when he entered the game, showing his range and ability to draw fouls. But he didn’t finish strong. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He sank a wing 20-footer. He hit another from the same spot and was fouled with no call. He pushed the ball up coast to coast and drew the Harden foul, he made one FT. Too hot on the pass on the break, turnover (should have lobbed…he displaced a contact and had to put it back in his eye). Quick push and attack and he hit the other Brown for a corner three. He bricked an inbounds jumper trying to draw FTs. Really poor read and kickout right to the Warriors. He got tapped on a three. He was stripped on a drive.

Scott -- -- No Kobe again, which distorts rotations, minutes and how the Lakers play on both ends. Not that it would have mattered in this one… The Lakers trailed 18-10 as the Warriors bombed threes and the Lakers struggled from the perimeter. Offense just looking awful… He brought in a new five, wholesale changes. He should be figuring out rotations and sub patterns instead of hockey lineup changes for preseason. Feels like we’re definitely behind in this regard. I’m sure he’s thinking of building chemistry, but he’ll need to stagger the substitutions at some point. Bass, Kelly, Young, Williams, Huertas… The Warriors continued to rain threes… The Lakers trailed 39-29 after the first quarter. Too many points… Back with the starters to open the second quarter… The offense looks awful. Not much purpose early in the shotclock… The Lakers fell back further 54-34 when the timeout came… Again with the hockey subs down 58-36 to bring back in the next 5 midway through the quarter… The Lakers trailed 72-50 at the half… He put in Jabari for Clarkson to start the second half… Wholesale changes again… Small ball lineup with Bass at C getting killed on the offensive glass. The boo’s coming out already… The Lakers trailed 112-74 heading into the fourth quarter. Wow. A 40-point quarter to start the second half… He started the fourth with the starters, Hibbert out and Bass still in at C... Metta in with the second unit midway through the fourth. So Hibbert, Kelly, Metta, Williams, Huertas… Ugly game… Warriors hit 16 threes. Too many were wide open…

[fiendishoc]

[SweetP]

Stinker of a game.
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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

[LakerLanny]

Unintentional comedy DB?

The Stats: He scored 14 points on 5-6 shooting (3-3 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a -25.
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Love, Laker Lanny

[BigBoi]

It's unfair to Jabari because he is now starting to find his game then the crowd took it out of him. I'd rather be crappy and young than be crappy and old. Metta's intensity won't rob off on these guys and I don't see what he is teaching Randle, Metta will just be taking up space and keep getting them checks at this point in his career. He and Bass are done, if I were GM I would wave them both, sorry.
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#mamba4ever!

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[EZ-Ryder]

Deangelo Russell man..........smh

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[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..."

[Yumyumcha]

Thanks DB.

[A Mad Chinaman]

[A Mad Chinaman]

[lakersfan32]

Why didn't Nance play?

[foshowtime]

[LakerBeastmode]

He seems more a motivational coach rather than actually drawing up play. Why don't we see more weaves if truly we are going to try to mimic GS small ball. Russell said he will be watching more plays but it's not just about himself. Too much iso what do u guys thunk? Thanks DB. Hope JC the well zoom

[All_Star_Laker]

[cdg]

No direction. I blame Scott. Not liking him already. Gah!

[Tony Anapolis]

Good all fashioned beatdown

That said, atleast they won three games. Also I do not think Byron's rotations will be exactly like this during the regular season?

I can't help but to think he was just trying to speed up continuity between certain units he likes.

[wolfpaclaker]

I'd like to see us start Kelly, move Russ to 2, and start Lou.
Bring Clarkson/Randle off the bench where they can be the 1-2 punch.

With Kelly/Hibbert, you have more spacing, you also probably go a bit more to Hibbert inside which engages him more early on, leading to better more active D/energy. Kelly, Kobe, Lou all capable and willing spot up jumpshooters off Russell's creating ability.

At 2, Russ can have some speed advantage, something he sorely lacks at 1.

With Clarkson/Randle off the pine, you've got 2 guys there that are starters who can really impact a game - changing the momentum.

I doubt Byron sees this though.

[yinoma2001]

[ryan_c]

[botox]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB for the excellent recap and for enduring an ugly game.

Are we done playing Bass at 'small ball' center after this blowout?

[Sina]

Staring basically 4 rookies against defending champion is just like suicide. When they get beaten, they are still too young as a group. They also settle too much on long 2.

[jab]

Russell reminds me of Greg Anthony, thats not good. His upside is Kenny Anderson. Thats a bust for a #2 pick. Didnt see much I liked in this one. Huertas is a turnover machine. Bass has forgot how to shoot. Hibbert is just another slow, lumbering journeyman bigman. Kelly! Please, fools gold. He gets a few plays because no one is paying attention to him. Kobe will not be circa 2006. This team, right now, is worse than last years.