PISTONS -at- LAKERS - 11-15-15 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

A Much Needed Win… The Laker defense was warming up on their road trip. It kept them in games and was just a matter of time before they started to turn the corner. The 97-85 win over the Pistons really needs to be that corner.

This is a critical stretch for the Lakers. The next 6 or 7 games can pretty much determine whether or not they make the playoffs this year. If they start to play .500 ball during this stretch maybe that dim playoff hope is still alive. If they keep playing at the same losing pace, however, it’s over before they get to December.

It took a different type of game from Kobe offensively with near triple-double ball, dropping 17 points, 9 assists and 8 boards. His ball movement and playmaking kept the offense flowing. While the perimeter shot wasn’t there, he was getting to the rim on occasion with craftiness. Something we haven’t seen a lot of.

“Right now, I’m barely standing up,” Kobe said, looking forward to going home and taking an ice bath. His 36 minutes tonight means he won’t be playing tomorrow. They went all in going for the W.

I don’t know how often Kobe can repeat these kinds of games. He certainly doesn’t need to repeat these kinds of minutes. But given how he has started the season, I hope this is a step toward how he approaches the offensive end for the rest of the year. It’s a lot more fun to watch.


Kobe -- -- Near triple-double ball for Kobe. Good game passing wise from start to finish as he led the Lakers with 6 assists in the first half and kept that up in the second half. Very poised game. While he didn’t have the shot going, he only had a couple of shots he really forced. Good flow tonight. Some good chemistry with Nance on a couple of team-ups for scores with that second unit. A lot of triangle action in this game, particularly in the early part of the fourth. We’ll see if that’s a trend. Defensively, great job on the boards. We need to rebound as a team, badly. The last couple of games they’ve really made an effort in that regard and it makes a world of difference. This is the kind of game from Kobe that you want to see night in, night out. We can’t have guys trying to play iso ball. We really need to trim his minutes, and Kobe mentioned he felt it. “It was on me to really push through the fourth quarter,” Kobe said on getting the W. He said his back is stiff and his legs are tired. Scott said he told Kobe in the fourth, he would probably sit him tomorrow. “He was a calming influence out there with a lot of our young guys,” Scott said. We put a lot more in his lap in this game with the playmaking. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 6-19 shooting (1-4 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a +14. The Action: He missed a baseline jumper on the Lakers first attempt. He hit a better look at a baseline jumper off the two-man sequence with Clarkson. Way short on a turnaround form the same baseline area. He missed a wing jumper on iso out of a timeout. He missed a chuck from three on iso. He spotted Nance in early offense for a layup. He lobbed to Nance out of the timeout for the score. He backed his man down, spun and swished the turnaround. He forced up a pumping elbow jumper with defenders all over him and missed. Hesitation move at the elbow off the handoff and he scored an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He found Randle in the paint for an And-1. He kicked out to Russell for the corner three. His jump pass was picked off for a dunk. He missed a long wing jumper on iso. Second Half: He missed a jumper on the three line out of the split play. He missed an easy runner in the lane. He missed a wide open three in transition. He curled into the lane and scooped in a layup. He hit Hibbert on the two-man game for the open elbow jumper. He attacked a crowd and was swatted or his pass eaten up by defenders. He stepped on a sideline. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He scooped up a loose ball and outlet like a QB to Nick for a breakaway layup. He missed a wing jumper. He attacked from the wing and hit the runner. He missed a wide open three straight away. He was called for a travel. Turnover will probably go to Clarkson, but it didn’t look like Kobe sealed his man on the post entry and the pass was stolen. He hit Hibbert with an interior feed for FTs. He hit Hibbert rolling for the dunk. He sank a big wing three, holding the pose to will it in like MJ against the Jazz, timeout Pistons. He made a tech. He tried to attack a crowd, turnover. He was fouled intentionally and made both.

Clarkson -- -- Steady, strong game from Jordan. I liked seeing him aggressive when we were going for the close. Our spacing is hit and miss at times, but when he’s got room to get into the paint with speed, it’s trouble for the opponents. At some point, Scott may realize he should have one of Clarkson or Russell on the floor at all times. There should be some fewer minutes for Kobe to keep him fresher as the game (and season) goes along. Clarkson should have played a few more in this one. I thought he got pulled a little early in his first stint when he seemed to have things going. Defensively, still a lot of poor decisions out there that are really easy to clean up. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 5-10 shooting (2-4 from three, 5-8 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He setup Kobe for a jumper, then Hibbert for a score in the paint on two straight sequences. He drained a three trailing the break. He tried to create on iso and lost the handle, turnover. He swished a wing three popping out behind a screen to take a pass. Change of speed on the drive and he drew FTs, he made one. Back in after a long rest and he missed a three. He attacked off the kickout and scored a layup down the lane. He traveled on a drive. Second Half: He couldn’t finish a layup on the break. He changed directions, got some separation with a bump and hit the floater. He missed a layup on a drive right. Poor bounce pass in transition and it was picked off. Way short on an open three. He missed a pull-up wing jumper. He charged in transition on the Kobe outlet. He attacked the paint, slammed on the brakes, pivoted and scored. He went under the screen and gave up a wide open three. He attacked off the high screen, crossed over Drummond and was fouled, he made one FT. He was fouled intentionally and made just one FT. More FTs, he made both.

Randle -- -- Decent two-way game. Even if he’s not making a big impact, he’s at least not making major mistakes. He can get 8 points and 8 boards just about every night, so average game in that regard. But his individual D was strong, but his team D had fewer breakdowns. “They’re just starting to get it,” Scott said of the team D. If Randle wants a blueprint of that team D, he just needs to look at Nance’s play and learn from that. “It’s all mental focus,” Randle said. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-8 shooting (2-3 from three) to go with 8 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He traveled on the perimeter, unforced error. He missed a wing jumper on iso. He drew FTs attacking across the paint, he made one. He missed an open 19-footer off the double high screen. Wow, not close on the layup with his right out of the triangle. He scored a layup off the head and shoulder fake to get his man on his heels and then attack. Lost on D and he gave up a wide open three. He missed a tough elbow fade up against the shotclock. Kobe threaded a pass to him in the paint and he scored an And-1 layup, he made the FT. Second Half: He knocked a pass loose that Clarkson scooped up. Nice rejection in transition at the rim. Great job pulling a defensive board out of a crowd, he stepped on the gas, pushed it out and fed Russell for the layup. He sank an 18-footer when his man sagged off him. Great D on his man on iso forcing a miss. He lowered his shoulder on a drive and charged. He attacked left and missed, but got it back and reset the offense, nice awareness.

Russell -- -- He only played one stint in the second half as Scott went with Kobe, Lou, Young and Clarkson. This was purely Scott just staying with a unit that was maintaining the lead to secure the W. We may pay the price with Kobe’s back and legs, but we’ll see. I’d like to see Russell take over some of Kobe’s minutes to start the fourth quarters. Russell played just 21 minutes and Kobe played 36. Need to balance that out a little more if we want Kobe to play the whole season. Decent numbers from Russell in the short minutes. He struggled a bit from three (the whole team was just missing wide open looks tonight). Russell had a nice drive to draw FTs with a burst of speed. Everyone wants to see a little more of that. Stanley Johnson, the other lottery pick on the floor from this year, had 4 points on 2-6 shooting. Presumably, he’ll get more minutes tomorrow with Kobe out. “Everybody has to step up as a group,” Russell said. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 3-9 shooting (1-6 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 2 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He was stripped while probing off the high screen (rare we see that happen to him). He hit Clarkson popping out behind a screen for the three. He missed a three in early offense. He curled off the Kobe screen and hit the wing pull-up jumper (good sequence as it also drew Clarkson’s man into the paint). He kicked out to Clarkson who attacked for the layup. He got a kind bounce on the corner three off the Kobe kickout. He missed a wing three. He missed a pull-up wing jumper on a two-for-one. Second Half: Nice change of gears, attacking the lane with speed and drawing FTs at the rim, he made both. Short on a wing three when Kobe spotted him. Way short on a wide open three. He scored a layup filling the lane for Randle on the break. He missed an open wing three.

Hibbert -- -- He broke his nose in the game, but powered through it. “I broked it. Kobe broked it a couple years ago,” said Roy in a joking mood after getting the W. He said he was sure if it would need to be reset. When the Lakers rebound as a team, Hibbert’s defensive anchoring helps them put the clamps on. He still probably sags off a little too much on some of the screen-roll D, but he’s plugging the paint well for the most part, and the Lakers held the Pistons to 36.5% shooting and just 85 points. They’ve got to stay focused on this end of the floor and good things will happen no matter how messed up the other end can be at times. Hibbert’s post game is just about non-existent this year. I’d still like to see them trust him a little more on the two-man game. He had a couple of hoops off that tonight and can help pull bigs out of the paint a little more than we do. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 3-6 shooting (6-8 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He took a pass in the lane, spun and scored. He missed an open 12-footer on the great feed from Russell. He missed a jumphook. He blocked a jumper. He was fouled on the offensive glass for FTs, he made one. Second Half: He missed a hook in the post. He tied up a guard with a blocked shot and won the jumpball. He swished an elbow jumper off the two-man game with Kobe. He dunked when Kobe found him rolling to the hoop. He was held in the paint for FTs, he made one. He was fouled intentionally and he made both FTs.

Williams -- -- He missed some FTs and a point-blank layup tonight, so his point total should have been better. Not a great game, but he didn’t chuck a lot, so that’s an improvement. Kobe orchestrated quite a bit of the offense in some of those second-unit minutes. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-4 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +11. The Action: He missed a baseline fade. He set up Nance on the two-man game for a dunk just beating the shotclock. Poor angle pass, stolen for a dunk the other way. He probed from the wing and drew FTs, he made one. Second Half: He choked an easy layup out of a timeout. Nice challenge in transition to force a layup miss. He then missed a three. He swished a wing pull-up jumper spreading the floor for iso. He drew FTs attacking out of the triangle, he made one. He served the ball up to Bass in transition on the perimeter, charge, just a bad decision. He probed baseline, drew the D and dumped it to Bass for the score.

Bass -- -- There’s a just enough of a difference with Bass playing with Nance vs. playing with Kelly. Nance is playing superb defensively. At times, it’s hard to tell who is at the C spot. Some games it looks like Nance. Tonight, Bass took Drummond defensively. Offensively, he didn’t force anything and we didn’t go to him to create on iso in the post, thankfully. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He sank an elbow jumper off the pass from Metta. He rejected a putback attempt. He missed a baseline jumper. Nice rotation and he blocked the layup. He missed a turnaround. He missed a long sideline jumper. Second Half: He dunked when Metta kept an offensive board alive. Lou dumped him the ball, he up-faked two defenders under the hoop and scored the layup.

Young -- -- “We just pretty much became like a boy band,” he said, wearing the NSync T-shirt. The defense was certainly in sync, like he said. They’ve been keeping themselves in games because of this turnaround. When Nick is focused, he can be a good defender. He led the team with the +20. We’ve given Scott a lot of criticism about not getting the most out of players, but he seems to at least broken through with Nick. He rewarded him with the opportunity to close the game tonight. “He just did all the little things. That’s why he stayed on the court,” Scott said. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 4-6 shooting (2-2 form three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 26 minutes. He was a +20. The Action: He missed a 17-footer working off a screen. He pushed the ball up, measured and drained the three straight away. He was fouled on a deep three, he made all three. Second Half: He tried to create off the dribble and lost the handle. He probed and missed the tough FT jumper with a man on his shoulder. He swished a wing pull-up jumper going left off the screen. He came off the down screen and nailed the three out of the timeout.

Nance -- -- His rotations defensively are sensational. Forget that he’s a rookie, they’re good for any vet, too. I’m loving watching him. Laker fans are going to try to figure out how to get him more minutes. He just disrupts plays with consistency (whether it’s a rotation, a show and recovery or just stepping into a passing lane) and that leads to bad shots, bad passes and stops. Offensively, some chemistry with Kobe out there early on this one. They teamed up for a layup for Nance and a lob finish off a backdoor pass out of a timeout. They should run at least one lob to Nance per game. It needs to be a set part of the playbook. The Stats:He scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting to go with 4 boards (2 offensive), 1 steal and 1 foul in 17 minutes. He was a +15. The Action: He swiped a kickout pass, dropping to the level of the ball on the baseline. Kobe spotted him in transition, he gathered himself and powered in a layup. Great poise, kicking out to Lou with 6 seconds on the shotclock, setting the screen, rolling and dunking to beat the shotclock. Out of a timeout, he spun backdoor, elevated and finished the lob from Kobe. Great rotation on D, he eventually recovered to the corner and forced a turnover on a drive. Second Half: Great rotation, he held his hands straight up and was called for the bogus foul, wow. He attacked and couldn’t finish the drive. Great D in transition to force a brick. Nice perimeter D and he forced a man to throw a pass out of bounds. He missed a point-blank putback, but tipped out the miss. He fumbled away a dunk and had to pass it out.

World Peace -- -- He didn’t hit a field goal for the second game in a row, but he did scratch out some points at the line. I think this is probably about the right amount of minutes for Metta. He doesn’t need to be in the game long for the Lakers to catch some of that defensive intensity. His value is staying in the young guys ears and keeping the team focused on D. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 0-3 shooting (0-2 from the line, 5-7 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 3 fouls in 12 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He hit Bass for the elbow jumper. He muscled Johnson in the post and drew FTs, he made one. He tried to set up Bass, hustled for an offensive board off Bass’s miss and was fouled on a corner three, he made two FTs. He missed a sideline three on a kcikout. Second Half: Not close on a wide open three. He attacked and hit the bottom of the rim before falling down. He drew FTs in the post out of the triangle, he made both. Good work on the offensive glass and it led to a Bass dunk.

Scott -- -- Some turnover-prone ball early. The Lakers trailed 11-10 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Iso miss for Kobe out of the timeout… Down 1, he sat Kobe and Russell for Lou and Metta with 4 minutes left… Tied, he sat Hibbert and Clarkson for Young and Bass. Bass at C and we gave up an easy layup on first stand… Nance in for Randle with 2 minutes left, Nance will be the C… The Lakers led 21-18, could have been more but they missed a bunch of FTs… He started the Nance, Bass, Young, Kobe, Lou lineup… Some great two-way ball by Nance and the Lakers extended the lead a little and forced a timeout… Out of that timeout, we set up a backdoor lob for Nance and he scored (finally we called his number for a lob on a set play)… He sat Kobe for Metta, Lakers up 6… He sat Nance, Bass and Lou for Russell, Hibbert and Randle, Lakers up 9…Clarkson finally in with 5 minutes left for Young… A 10-point lead was cut to 3 and Scott called a timeout. The play busted out of the timeout, but we still scored when Kobe found Randle… The Lakers led 48-44. They had 14 assists on their 16 makes. Kobe with 6 assists… Lakers missing a ton of wide open threes… Lakers up 3 and we got to Bass at C against Drummond, Lou and Metta in for Hibbert, Russell and Kobe. He sat Clarkson a play later for Young. Near wholesale changes here… They trailed 62-60 a few seconds later. TImeout… Nance in for Randle out of that timeout. Triangle out of the timeout with Metta in the post, not very creative… The Lakers were tied 66-66 heading to the fourth… He started the Nance, Bass, Young, Kobe, Williams lineup. This is where you could probably rest Kobe some for Russell to see if you could get fresher legs for Kobe in the fourth and cut down the on the minutes in general (although Lou is so bad right now, he could sit this one out. … Of course we put Bass on Drummond defensively, not Nance… Lakers up 3, timeout. Three for Nick off the pindown screen out of the timeout… Clarkson in for Lou with 7 minutes left… Hibbert in for Bass… Randle in for Nance, Lakers up 6… Kobe with a great feed to Hibbert for a dunk and three and the Lakers forced a timeout, up 11 with under 4 minutes left. A 16-2 Laker run… They held on, Scott keeping the same lineup in to close the game…

[dood23]

first?
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"There's only 2 dudes better than me, and I'm BOTH OF THEM."

[Andre2K]

Nance finishes plays and doesn't hold the ball too long, that's why the chemistry is better with him on the floor. Thanks DB.
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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

[SweetP]

So much more fun to read these write ups after a win!

Thanks DB. Loved Kobe's all-around 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

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[singlecamVTEC]

Thanks for the write-up. Glad we got the win, but still not liking that Kobe had to play 35 minutes to achieve that win. :T

[A Mad Chinaman]

Hopefully DLO is watching Kobe learning what it takes to win games. He is 19 years old but he is being paid as a NBA player. If the ball is sticking, remembering how Kobe identified the issue and facilitated the necessary action or how Huertas/Kobe told certain players what adjustments need to be made to be successful

Best way to teach rookies how to win

• Watch somebody (like Kobe) do it

• Earn PT to be part of the lineup that wins

• Earn the right to lead the lineup to victories

=

Losing teams have rookies always on the floor hence learning bad habits

How many rookies/young players automatically play for coaches such Pop, Zen Master, Doc, Carlisle and other coaches within a winning pedigree

[Laker's Fan]

Nance is looking great. Nick was tremendous defensively. Bryant playing the part of facilitator a great sight. Randle doing better defensively. Just need to be patient with Russell and get him to get a little more legs in his shot.

[lakersfreak]

Thx DB

[DShotMaker1824]

Nance can actually small ball center better than Bass but I hope Scott doesn't see that to try. Black should still get minutes here.
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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..."

[TooCool]

Thanks DB! I forgot what a Lakers win felt like.
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[cdg]

Couldnt see where the next win was going to come from, but this seemed like a v good team effort.

Hope it will carry through.

Thanks DB.

[Arbitrary]

[Vin]

It was a nice and well deserved W. That first quarter has to be the blueprint offensively going forward. It was nice to see the ball moving and the bodys moving too.

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB! Great to see a win again!

Nance - another draft day steal like Clarkson? It's starting to look like it. This team is so much better with him out there right now. Particularly on defense. And he's a rookie.

Young - catch and shoot game and he's deadly to an opponent. When he puts it on the floor he's deadly but it's random as to which team he kills. Nonetheless, for a while I thought I'd been seeing things the last few games because he struck me as playing defense well. I started seeing lots of comments from others here saying the same. Now even Scott's praising his defense. Wow. I'm gonna flip flop on my previous opinion and say he's worth the money so far this season.

Kobe - tremendous game. When he facilitates and scores down low using that facilitation to set the defense up so he can penetrate - that was great basketball.

[Annihilator]

[wolfpaclaker]

Kobe showing he's still our best player.

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB! Loved the balanced scoring and rebounding. Loved that they had more passing and assists led by Kobe. Yes, hopefully we've turned a corner and these concepts of team basketball are sinking in.

[70sdude]

Thanks DB. Was at the Bruin game and am overjoyed to read some positive game notes about the Lakers. Is that game's flavor indicative of a repeatable recipe or just an exotic accident ? Dunno, but 2-8 feels a lot better than 1-9 for some reason.

[TDRock]

[LakersMDGurl]

Only thing i hate is any win means Scott sticks around. I think he gonna stick around till Kobe retires. Cos next year HAS TO BE rebuild year. Scott is NOT the coach for rebuilding.
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New Beginings

[nshid]

Contrary to popular opinion, Scott did a good job managing this game. The team was working together to set up the offense, Randle even gave up the ball in the backcourt, and everyone played their role to secure a win.

Overall, it was a great team effort and good win to build on.
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Stay cool, stay calm, stay crazy!

[A Mad Chinaman]

[LoyalLakerfan44]

[TDRock]