NUGGETS -at- LAKERS - 11-3-15 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

0-4… You can’t easily outscore opponents when you are giving up 120 points. The Lakers D this season has been ridiculously bad.

Teams must love playing us. The baskets are going to come easy, stats will be padded, and there will be plenty of highlights at the rim. Six Nuggets got into double digits as the Lakers fell 120-109.

“We got to keep working,” Scott said (that’s for sure). “We’ve got to keep trusting each other. All the players got to do better. All us coaches, myself, we’ve got to better. Simple as that.”

At least, he is now agreeing that the coaching staff needs to man up.

“This team’s got to get pissed off,” Worthy said afterward. Kobe said, sure, but they also have to execute tactically much better. Intelligent effort, which is not always easy when your lineup is young, you’ve got a lot of new pieces and Scott isn’t exactly a tactical coach.

“When I first came in the league, the NBA game was completely different,” Kobe said of making the adjustment as a player. “You’ve got to figure out the nuances and the little intricacies of how to play actions, how to recognize actions and that just comes with time.”

It will be painful to watch, but find your enjoyment in Clarkson dropping 30 and looking unstoppable; Randle showing that explosiveness and imposing his will on the floor; and Russell picking things up game by game.


Kobe -- -- A couple of the fouls he committed in the first half made you groan out loud. Don’t let the 2 steals fool you about his D, those were passes from Mudiay. “This stuff just comes from experience,” Kobe said, saying the team just has to go through it to improve. Emplay peppered him with questions and whether he was frustrated. “What is frustrating going to do? It’s not going to do anything,” Kobe said. “You’ve got to try to fix things. Communicate and teach and be better next game.” He said you can’t get emotional about it, you have to get tactical. While Kobe looked more in control offensively by keeping the shots down and moving the ball more (5 assists), he still shot his usual 20% from three, going 1-5. Some of these misses were just awful. Not a good look from him, especially on the wide open ones. He was still very frustrated. The ball movement was better, however, and that helped make the Laker spacing look better. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting (1-5 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 2 steals, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He hit Randle for the easy And-1 layup off the two-man game at the elbow (more please). He swished a wing three. He drew three FTs on a reach from three on the left sideline, he made two of the three FTs. Weak foul on a fading turnaround on his man, uggh. Not close at all on a wing three. He nearly airballed a wide open three in transition, not good. He looked a little spry slicing through defenders, stretching back and reversing. He sank an elbow jumper coming off the screen and taking the pass (that’s where he needs to be). He bricked a pumping shot in the paint, then fouled to send a man to the line, uggh. He had 9 points on 3-6 shooting. Second Half: He swished the wing jumper off the Randle screen. Great timing on the break to bounce it to Russell for the layup. He missed a three short. He missed badly on a fade in the lane. Short on another chuck from three. Good job not forcing it, he spotted Williams weakside and he took it for the layup. He airballed a wing three, wow. Another foul on a falling down jumper by his man to give up a big And-1 after we cut it to 3.

Clarkson -- -- Very efficient game from Clarkson, scoring 30 points on 19 shots (he missed a FT late in the game that could have got him the career high). He had 14 points on 6-7 shooting in the first quarter, just looking automatic. The combination of perimeter shooting (sinking 4 threes and his usual midrange jumpers) and his explosiveness around the game are tough to defend. Good bounce back game from Clarkson, but you expect that from him with how consistent he’s been. “Everybody’s pretty pissed. We’ve got to go out there swinging and just get one,” Clarkson said. Our young guys need to do a better job putting bodies on people and helping team rebound. You could see the vets, Williams and Young, doing a better job of that when they were in the game. Clarkson had the Mudiay assignment for most of the time he was in there, until Russell asked to cover him coming out of the second half. The Stats: He scored 30 points on 12-19 shooting (4-6 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Bad angle on Mudiay and he gave up a straight-line attack. He drained a wide open wing three when Russell attacked and kicked out to him. He attacked in early offense and hit the floater in the lane. He sank the corner three on the Randle kickout. Nice challenge on Mudiay in transition to get the stop. He missed a long pull-up jumper. He swished a wing jumper on iso. He reversed directions on a probe, elevated and banked the leaner. He sank the elbow pull-up, working off the screen. He sank a wide open sideline three when Russell found him off the pick and roll. He swished a long three off the Russell kickout. Heat check and he missed the long three. Sensational first half with 20 points on 8-10 shooting (4-5 from three). Second Half: Herky jerky probe off a screen and he scored a layup. He probed off the high screen and hit the elbow jumper. He missed a pull-up but followed his miss and got the board. He pushed out the board, drew the D and whipped it to Hibbert for the dunk. He probed off the high screen and hit the short floater in the lane. He missed a baseline floater in transition. He was blocked on a drive (looked like a goaltend). Quick cut from the corner out of a timeout and he drew FTs, he made both. He way over-shot a corner three. He missed a jumper but Black slammed it down. He attacked in transition, drew contact and scored the And-1, he missed the FT.

Randle -- -- First off, how about that reverse dunk on the baseline spin move? He gives some flashes on offense (and D on occasion) that show you what’s to come. If you enjoy watching young guys develop (I’m not sure too many Laker fans do), this kind of stuff along with Clarkson’s 30 is what should make you optimistic about the future. Randle sported the goggles in the second half after getting jabbed in the eye trying to score. The new school (looked like Oakleys) definitely a little more attractive than the old Worthy, Kareem ones. “It’s a little blurry, but I’m all right,” Randle said, mentioning it was a little bit of an adjustment using them. Defensively, we got killed by Faried, who had 28 points and 15 boards. “We’re not doing what we’re working on,” a gloomy Randle said afterward. He had to deal with Faried most of his minutes and didn’t quite seem to understand what that means. Find him, put a body on him, keep moving your feet. “Sometimes our guys just relax. That’s what young people do,” Scott said. You can see that in Randle at times defensively and even with our young guards on some of the lazy angles they take. Randle’s got to bring that intensity over to the defensive end. I’d like to see more trapping and aggressiveness from him to see if that helps him get into the right mindset. When he’s aggressive, this is where he shows those flashes on the D end of things. When he’s not, it’s trouble. “Weakside we’re just not reacting like we need to,” Scott said. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-14 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He missed an elbow jumper out of the triangle on the first play. He scored an easy And-1 layup off the two-man game with Kobe at the elbow, he made the FT. He iso’d on Mudiay, turned his back, then blew past him to the middle and scored the layup. Great block from behind under the rim to eventually get a shotclock violation. Lazy perimeter pass and it was picked off. He pushed out the board, drew the D and hit Clarkson for the open three. He lost the handle on the drive and wanted the foul. No challenge at all on the dribble penetration that went full court, got to stop the ball. He posted up Faried, who reached and Randle went the other way and scored the layup. He stripped a man. He attacked, spun, Faried fell, and Randle dunked. Weak recognition on the defensive glass that Faried needed a body on him and he gave up an offensive board and eventually two FTs. He attacked down the lane (Kobe crowding the paint with the poor recognition trying to post up) and he couldn’t finish. He slammed on the secondary break when Lou hit him. He got popped in the eye trying to power in a layup and missed (kind of amazing he got a shot up after that, usually players hold the ball and get the whistle). He had 11 points on 5-8 shooting and just 1 board (Faried had 9). Second Half: He pushed it up, stepped on the gas, spun and banked in the jumphook. He forced up a miss trying to post up Faried, then fouled in transition. He was hit on a layup with no call and missed. They went to Randle in the post out of a timeout, he spun on Faried and threw down a reverse jam with both hands. He worked the post, got stripped, got it back but couldn’t get the layup to fall. He was blocked on the layup attempt. He drew FTs on the defensive glass, he made one.

Russell -- -- I can’t fault Scott for not giving his rookie some good run in the fourth of this one. It wasn't like the blowout loss where he had no excuse. In this one it was close and Williams was on a roll. “If Lou wasn’t playing the way he was playing I would have brought him back in,” Scott said, “but I’ve got to balance that. Just knowing that he’s young and is going to have to experience some of this stuff as far as the fourth quarter with the game on the line because that’s the only way he’s going to learn.” Lou was keeping the Lakers in the game with his ability to sucker the Nuggets into fouls on jumpers. He was in the zone in that regard and helped cut the lead down to 3 at one point. Russell struggled with his shot, missing a lot of wide open jumpers. He did do an excellent job finding teammates with the 6 assists (1 turnover) in just 20 minutes as we ran some better offensive sequences. But you can see the difference between a team like the Nuggets going all in and letting their rookie make mistakes and clock minutes. This is probably a double-double game from Russell if he gets the 34-36 minutes or so instead of 20. You can almost start to see how the young trio will mesh together. Russell needs to hit those wide open shots, though. He’ll get there. Russell did get to spend time with Metta in his ear talking D in that fourth. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-11 shooting (1-5 from three) to go with 2 boards, 6 assists, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He attacked in early offense, drew the D and whipped it to Clarkson for the open three. He missed a wing jumper off the screen. He missed a wide open sideline three. He missed the pull-up elbow jumper, jabbing it. He hit Kobe for the elbow jumper. He missed a wide open wing three. He swished a wing jumper off the high screen. He worked the pick and roll and hit Clarkson on the sideline for a three. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He gave up an And-1 on a baseline drive. He threw a pass away when we needed him to create at the end of the shotclock. He spotted Clarkson again for the open three. He had 5 assists, but just 2 points on 1-7 shooting. Second Half: He sank an open sideline three off the high split play sequence. He scored a layup on the break when Kobe hit him with a perfectly timed bounce pass. Sweet pass after Randle outlet to him, Russell didn’t put the ball down and semi no-looked to Hibbert from halfcourt for the dunk. He attacked, looked fouled with no call and missed. He missed a wing three. He gave up an And-1 three to Mudiay (he had to sit with 4 fouls).

Hibbert -- -- Scott sat him in the first half after his first stint. It didn’t make a difference as the Lakers weren’t getting stops with him or without him. They are just lost on D. Roy was in on one of the offensive highlights of the game, getting out on the break for a dunk from Russell’s pass. And later, dunking off a pass from Clarkson on the break. Good job getting up and down the floor, but we’ve got to find some kind of cohesion defensively. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He grabbed the Russell missed three and drew FTs, he made both. Just 6 minutes in the half and only 1 foul. He was a team-high +8. Second Half: Great job running the floor and Russell rewarded him with a sweet semi no-looker for the dunk. He swatted a shot. He missed a jumper from the top of the key. He dunked filling the lane with Clarkson on the break.

Williams -- -- Career night at the line for Lou with the 19 attempts. He did a great job baiting the Nuggets into a number of fouls on three-pointers. He was in the foul-drawing zone. The Nuggets would reach, he’d draw contact and the whistle would blow. That helped the Lakers stay in the game and cut down the lead to 3 in the fourth quarter. I said before the season that he’s sneaky efficient. If you look at his stats, he shot poorly with the 4-11, but he ended up with 24 points on 11 FGs. On occasion, he’ll get caught throwing up a bad shot he thought he’d get a whistle on, but you’ll take that when he’s able to get that whistle on all the other ones. Defensively, I appreciate his effort on the glass. More of our guards need to do that. “At some point you can’t use youth and inexperience as an excuse, just got to go out there and compete and try to win games,” Lou said. The Stats: He scored 24 points on 4-11 shooting (0-5 from three, 16-19 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: He got his man to bite on an up-fake, waited and drew the FTs, he made one. Sloppy lob pass, and one bad pass created another for a backcourt violation. He attacked and was blocked. He missed a three on iso. He got into the passing lane, swiped it and took it the distance. He missed a hanging wing jumper expecting a whistle that didn’t come. He hit Randle on the secondary break for the dunk. He turned the corner with speed and scored a layup. He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting to go with 5 boards. Second Half: Horrible transition D letting Faried go by him instead of staying with him and we gave up a dunk. He probed baseline, heard the whistle and threw it up to the hoop to earn FTs, he made both. He got his man to bite and drew more FTs from the perimeter next time down, he made one. He attacked from the wing and manufactured more FTs, he made both. He missed a wing three. Good job swiping the ball from Faried, but he threw a tough lob to Black on the break and we couldn’t convert. He drew three FTs suckering his man into a reach and launching, he made two with an F-word in between. Good hustle to double when there was a loose ball and we recovered it. He got another reach and hoisted up a three for FTs, he made all three this time. He missed a long chuck from three next time down. He sank a wing jumper working off the screen from the left side. His pass was deflected, he recovered it and drew more FTs, he made both. He attacked baseline off the Kobe kickout and scored a layup. He suckered Mudiay into a reach on a three for more FTs, he made all three. He missed a corner three, short. He hit Black rolling down the lane for a layup. Not close on a wing three.

Bass -- -- He was pretty tenacious on the offensive glass in this game. Very good effort in that area, pulling down 6 offensive boards. One of his better efforts in that regard all regular and preseason. He didn’t do much else, however. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 0-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards (6 offensive), 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He bullied his way baseline for a couple FTs, he made both. Great job tapping out an offensive board. Good job again getting a foul call to regain a possession on the offensive glass. He choked a layup at the front of the rim. He couldn’t finish another at the front of the rim. Second Half: He fumbled the ball away in the paint.

Black -- -- More minutes for Black in this one as Scott looked to help the D. It seemed like it took Black a little while before he started to get into the flow of the game on that end of the court. He improved some as the game went along. Hopefully, he can get a little more consistent time in the rotation and we’ll see some better outings from him on that end of the floor. The team needs it. Good job battling on the glass. He led the team in boards in his 18 minutes. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-5 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He battled for the Randle missed layup and powered in the putback. Great job drawing FTs on an 18-footer with the shotclock winding down, he made one. Second Half: He was called for a moving screen. He couldn’t finish a tough lob from Williams. He scored a layup on the screen-roll with Williams. He was called for a goaltend taking an And-1 off the glass. He follow-slammed down a Clarkson miss. He missed a 20-footer.

Young -- -- He found his match with Williams on who is better at drawing fouls on threes. There was a point in the third quarter where they tag-teamed the Nuggets for multiple fouls on three-points. It was crazy. What is said, however, is that sort of thing should be devastating to a team. The Lakers couldn’t consistently lock down. “We just got to bring more effort on both sides,” Nick said. Metta and Nance were moved to the active roster. It’s probably time to give them a little run to see if they can’t help spark the effort defensively. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 0-3 shooting from three (3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and no fouls in 15 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a wing three after going behind his back on the dribble, tough shot. He missed a three coming off the down screen. Second Half: He missed a chuck from three in early offense. Great box out on Faried on the defensive glass, he then drew three FTs pushing it out and pulling up from beyond the arc. He stepped on the sideline, turnover.

Huertas -- -- Not much of a game from Huertas. We do run some dumb stuff out there taking the ball out of his hands. Honestly, Russell probably should have taken his minutes in a staggered sub pattern. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 assist, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 9 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed an elbow jumper (after passing on an open three earlier in that possession). He was rejected on a layup on the break. He missed an open sideline three. Second Half: Horrible screen under the hoop and he was called for it, turnover.

Kelly -- -- He got benched in the second half. I mentioned last game that if he gives Scott anything flat, he was likely going to be sitting. He’ll favor the vets when it comes to sitting someone. They may run some Nance or Metta in Kelly’s spot. Right now it’s Black. Ryan’s got to knock down the three, of course, but he also has to bring a lot of activity to the defensive end to keep himself out there. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards and 1 foul in 9 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: Wide open, flat three and he missed. He got it back on that possession, attacked from the three line, changed speeds and powered in the And-1 layup, he made the FT. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Scott -- -- Good start to the game for the Lakers, leading 11-4, hitting two threes and getting the ball to Randle. That forced a timeout… Lakers up 20-14 midway through the quarter when Hibbert sat for Bass... He sat Russell for Lou up by 3 with 5:22 left in the first… Up 26-22, he sat Kobe and Randle for Kelly and Young… They extended to a 34-25 lead and forced a timeout… The Lakers trailed 36-30 after the first quarter. Not enough stops. Got to make a stand defensively… Usual second unit with Huertas to start the second quarter… They quickly coughed up the lead… Down 1 with 9 minutes left, he brought in Randle for Bass… It was a 9-0 scoring run before Scott called a timeout, eventually 11-0… He brought in Kobe and Russell for Huertas and Young… He brought in Tarik for Kelly with 6 minutes left down 3… Tied up, he got Clarkson in for Williams with 5 minutes left… Bass in for Randle who took a finger to the eye… Kobe out with three fouls for Williams… The Lakers trailed 60-57, giving up another 30-point quarter. Just 6 turnovers for the Nuggets. Faried had 20 points and the Nuggets shot 27 FTs… The Lakers took a 68-64 lead and forced a timeout… Crazy up and down action with inconsistent whistles. The Lakers trailed 81-74 and called a timeout… We went to a zone and Mudiay banked in a brick three, ouch… Young in for Kobe… The Lakers gave up a 33-point third quarter and trailed 93-83. Can’t stop the bleeding on D… He benched Kelly for Tarik to go with the second unit… They cut the lead to 5 off Nick and Williams earning FTs on three-pointers (and the Lakers getting rare stops). The two of them are very good at drawing FTs on threes… Down 6, he brought back in Clarkson and Kobe for Young and Huertas… He finally brought back in Randle with 6:25 left down 8…

[Dennis_D]

First
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<-- My avatar is Margaret Nolan from one of the Carry On films. She was the girl who got painted gold in "Goldfinger". Thanks to CaliRyderX for identifying her.

[SweetP]

Losing is not fun.
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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

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[Megaton]

Thanks DB.

Besides Russell only playing 20 minutes , the game was otherwise pretty fun. Clarkson a beast, Randle showed some nice stuff out there, Russell improving.

And Tarik Black played!

What's missing is Russell playing more minutes and Byron being kicked to the curb.
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Darvin Scam: https://media.tenor.com/images/3c15249955860a4b16b59e8ae035fb75/tenor.gif

[DancingBarry]

[Megaton]

[Yong]

[A Mad Chinaman]

Bass, Black, Kobe, Kelly and Randle are not providing little in defending the basket

Given Clarkson and Randle's obvious mad physical skills, let's hope that their focus/priority will be spending energy on defense BEFORE the offense

Soon MWP will be on the floor to demonstrate what it takes to play consistent and hard-nose defense.

Maybe a defensive-minded lineup could be the following
* Hibbert
* Anthony Brown/Nance
* Clarkson
* MWP/Nance
* DLO

[Megaton]

Hell, give Larry Nance a shot! Bass hasn't really been playing well at all since he got here (although that's also because he's the 6'8 center).

Nance played very well in Preseason and is very athletic. Would love to see what he can do with the 2nd unit.

Marcelo
Lou
Young
Nance
Black

I want to see this backup lineup.
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Darvin Scam: https://media.tenor.com/images/3c15249955860a4b16b59e8ae035fb75/tenor.gif

[Chronicle]

Why is Scot still not fired

this loss was on him once again
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Kobe

[cdg]

Thanks DB. The best part after every game is your wrapup.

I wouldnt be surprised if Scott gets fired in the next 2 weeks, unless of course,
the strategy is to tank this year too.

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Andre2K]

Byron doesn't look like he's enjoying his job right now.
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My Dream Starting 5 next Season

Pg Lonzo
Sg Kawhi
Sf Ingram
Pf Lebron
C Dedmon

Bench: Caruso, Hart, Bullock, Kuzma, McGee etc

[Chronicle]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[All_Star_Laker]

We had a chance to blow this game open in the beginning and then Scott happened. Benched Clarkson and Randle for his usual Bass/Kelly lineup so early. Why can't he just let these young guys who are on fire, dominating, stay in the game?
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[lounger]

Thanks DB. I will forever remember the Kelly/Bass duo as the greatest ever in Lakers' history. Sorry Kobe/Shaq...

[lewis]

[lewis]

[Annihilator]

[wolfpaclaker]

The difference in the two teams was pretty obvious.

One's talent is more complimentary and meshes. Mudiay gives them a ballhandling PG who attacks and creates. He's a rookie and learning, but clearly he's their guy. Then you have his partner in crime with the PnR play and the type of guy we really lack talent wise. That active big man who can finish plays inside - Faried. Huge gap in talent there. We had no one who could do that and be paired with Russ or Clarkson for PnR play like that. Then they have Gallli, who is a triple threat guy and someone they can rely on from the wing/perimeter to keep defenses on the back foot, a true 2nd option to Mudiay that is complimentary.

Faried/Gallinari/Mudiay may never win titles or even make the playoffs this year, but they as a trio clearly compliment each others skillset. OTOH, our 3 best players, do not at all.

That's not even look at our woeful D, which is relying on poor perimeter defenders, a 2nd year PF in Randle who really hasn't shown me anything as a man defender or S/R defender.

Basketball a team game, and when Mitch/Jim/Byron put this team together, if they set out to win games, they did a poor job. They certainly added some really good individual talent, but the parts don't fit at all. Changes are needed. To be competitive with young players you need parts that fit. We don't. It'll be a long season. Bright spots will be Clarkson, Russ and Randle showing having good individual games.

[NYLakerFan]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB once again!

Frustrating loss, but I did feel good about seeing Black play center. Even if it cost Hibbert some minutes at center instead of Bass, which is still ridiculous.

I'd really like to see Nance eased into some of these games. Sure he's a rookie and he might not look like much his first few minutes, but my impression is, given some floor time, he's a highlight reel waiting to happen. Lakers could use that energy on defense in addition to a couple offensive rebounds and skywalking putback slams. Bass and Kelly give us neither. Nance could help on the scoreboard, and he's the kind of player that people want to see, or at least tune in and watch. He can also hit a three now and then, which all BScott gets from Kelly now anyhow.

MWP - I wouldn't mind seeing him for a few minutes perhaps, but by my recollection the offense is ugly when he's on the floor.