JAZZ -at- LAKERS – 1-10-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Sleepy Sunday… No Kobe. No Russell. No Bass. The Lakers managed just 30 points in the first half. Their lowest scoring half of the season.

That gave the Jazz a 10- to 15-point lead that they were able to hold on all game long. The Lakers cut it to single digits but never really threatened and at the end of the night, they finished with a season-low scoring output in the 86-74 loss to the Jazz.

In the second half, they got a little more playmaking from Lou Williams, but aside from that there was a lot of one on one or poorly executed offensive sequences.

“We just missed a ton of shots,” Scott said.


Clarkson -- -- He was the only Laker scoring in the first half with 10 points on 10 shots, but had just 1 assist. The rest of the starters were a combined 2-17 in the first half. This is where you’d like to see Clarkson playmaking a little better and creating for teammates, so they have a few more easy ones than what they were getting in that first half. He was blocked several times in this game, twice by Hayward on the break. He faded in the second half (just a couple makes and no assists) to the point that Lou ended up running the show. Poor game offensively when the dust settled. He did have some active hands and had 4 steals. “We got up more shots than them, we just didn’t make them,” Clarkson said. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-19 shooting (1-4 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 block and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He had a +/- of 0. The Action: He attacked and missed a short one, then we got it back to him in the corner and he missed. He missed another drive. He missed a baseline jumper off the inbounds pass. He sank a step-back wing jumper finally up against the shotclock. He swished a sideline three off the swing pass. He attacked and kicked to Sacre for the open baseline jumper. He attacked with speed off the high screen, took contact and threw in the And-1 layup over the big, he made the FT. He missed a runner across the middle of the paint. He attacked, hung and banked. He attacked and couldn’t finish. He had 10 points on 4-10 shooting. Second Half: He got tapped on a sideline three off the kickout. He was rejected out of bounds trying to create in transition against Hayward. He attacked, put on the brakes, up-faked and hit the short leaner. He was blocked by Hayward on the break again. He swiped the ball in the backcourt and was blocked attacking again. He missed an open wing three. He poked the ball loose to get a stop and ignite a break. He hit a high floater over Gobert. He missed a baseline jumper on a pull-back dribble. He got his man on his hip, but missed the floater from 9 feet out.

Williams -- -- He sank his first shot of the game, then missed his next several, going cold. The Lakers badly missed his scoring punch early on. He did create a couple dunks for Hibbert and Nance, which we needed more of in this game from our guards. Then he started working more two-man game and found Nance for another lob and an elbow jumper. Also good find in early offense to get Randle a dunk. A lot of turnovers, but his assists were leading to a lot of dunks and easy finishes. Better second half with 15 points, but he missed a lot of threes. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 5-17 shooting (1-8 from three, 7-9 from the line) to go with 8 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 6 turnovers and no fouls in 32 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He sank a baseline jumper for the Lakers first points. He took contact on a drive, no whistle and he missed badly. He missed a step-back three. He missed a step-back elbow jumper. He missed a baseline fade. He threw a pass away. He drew FTs coming off the early offense sideline screen, he made one. He missed a corner three fading out of bounds. He had 3 points on 1-5 shooting, 5 boards and 3 turnovers in the half. Second Half: He spotted up off the screen and drained the three. He attacked from the wing and scored the And-1 runner, he made the FT. He lobbed to Nance in early offense for the dunk. He dribbled past his man and was fouled on the layup attempt, he made one. He split defenders on the wing, attacked, drew the D and hit Hibbert for the dunk. He missed a wing three. He scooped up a loose ball and missed the corner three on the same offensive set. He attacked and missed, but Hibbert tipped it in. He missed a deep three straight away. He traveled after picking up the dribble on the sideline. He missed a floater getting contact and no whistle. He missed another three out of a timeout. He put back in a missed layup by Randle. He attacked and scooped in a layup high off the glass. He drew a double on the sideline and hit Nance rolling for the elbow jumper. He missed a long chuck from the sideline. He lobbed to Nance on the pick and roll for the score out of the timeout. Next time down, he probed in transition and found Randle who attacked down the lane for the slam. He attacked and drew FTs on the right wing, he made both. He tried to step around his man on the wing, but missed the tough leaner. His bounce pass off the two-man game was picked off. He attacked the chest of his defender and drew FTs, he made both.

Hibbert -- -- He fouled out with 8 minutes left in the fourth. Some activity from Roy on the offensive glass, which was nice to see. We need more of that. He had his hands full with the Jazz attacking the rim quite a bit. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 6 fouls in 25 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a turnaround on our first possession. He was blocked after coming weak to strong to take a pass from Nance. Lost on D and he gave up a dunk. He tipped in a missed FT getting to the front of the rim. He had 7 boards in the first half. Second Half: He tried to create across the lane and couldn’t finish. He dunked off the drive and dish from Lou. He crashed the glass and tipped in the missed layup.

Nance -- -- A double-double from Nance as he got a lot of minutes tonight with the Nance/Randle duo out there. Lou found him for a couple of lobs in this game, glad we’re starting to recognize that a little more. Randle found him for a short jumphook on a drive and dish. I think Stu brought up a good point that Nance gets up high with that jumphook and it’s a tough shot to defend. We had the ball in Nance’s hands with the shotclock winding down on the perimeter more than once in this game hoping he would bail us out. Not a good situation. I’m not sure if he got credit with as many second chances as he helped the team get, but he was keeping offensive boards alive with some good energy. He ended up with 5 offensive boards, but probably kept several more alive. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-11 shooting (0-1 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 11 boards (5 offensive), 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block and 2 fouls in 37 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He up-faked, attacked and missed the short one, then got it back shortly later and couldn’t finish the putback. He missed a short one in the paint, but got it back and it led to a Laker three. He missed an open baseline jumper on a kickout. He hesitated and was blocked on a jumper up against the shotclock. He rejected a drive out of bounds after a series of loose balls he nearly recovered then had knocked away on one sequence. He rejected a shot on help D, then we threw it away in transition trying to outlet to him at midcourt. Second Half: He missed a long wing jumper trying to create against the shotclock. He dunked off the early offense lob from Lou. He kept a missed three alive. He took the drive and kick from Julius and hit the jumphook. He hit an elbow jumper working the two-man sequence with Lou. He finished the lob from Lou out of a timeout (love to see more of that two-man game setting that up). He was fouled on the offensive glass and drew FTs, he made both. He pulled down an offensive board, backed it out and missed the corner three.

Brown -- -- Hayward got most of his 10 points in the first half against other defenders. In the second half, Hayward tagged Brown for a few. Aside from a bad ballwatch, he defended him pretty well. Hayward made a couple of tough ones against the Lakers in crunch time to ice the game. Brown’s shot was MIA, so we didn’t punch back on the other end or make his man work much. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 2-2 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He missed a great look at an elbow jumper, pulling up off a screen. He missed a sideline three off the kickout. Nice switch to force and airball on the challenge at the three line. He attacked off the three line and drew FTs, he made both. Second Half: He sank a pull-up jumper at the elbow with a man on. He fell asleep on the other end, ballwatching to give up an And-1 dunk to Hayward. He let a man fly by and missed the one-dribble, pull-up from the left side. He missed a good look at a three on a kickout.

Randle -- -- I thought he had a little more space to work with when it was Nance/Randle on the floor. “For the first time for those guys to be out there, I thought it was okay,” Scott said. They had some good energy and held their own defensively. A couple of rookies, but I’d like to see this a lot more to try to get them some experience together. Randle fouled out in the final minute of the game. He didn’t quite struggle as much as in the past few games, but still didn’t impose his will on the game like had been doing earlier in the season (when teams didn’t scout him as much). Still, he at least showed a pulse offensively along with his usual good rebounding effort. He went into the locker room right after his first stint. He had a bone bruise in his right foot, so they put a pad on it and brought him back for the second half. Hope they are being cautious with his foot. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-12 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 6 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He missed a sideline jumper on his first iso. He attacked on iso and missed the short runner. He sank a wing jumper on the kickout from Metta. He iso’d up against the shotclock and swished the runner in the middle of the paint. Second Half: He just missed a wing three, looked good when it left his hands. Quick first step to his left and he reversed in an And-1, he made the FT. He missed a short one in the paint. He attacked again to his right on the same set and was blocked by Gobert. He jumped around Gobert to swipe the post entry and push it out for a dunk. He attacked to his right, crossed back over to his left and ran into the help big which made the shot difficult and he missed. He backed it out, attacked and fed Nance who hit the jumphook. He attacked on the screen-roll and missed the layup (dunk that), Lou cleaned it up. He disrupted a lob. Lou probed and found Randle in the lane who attacked and threw down with both hands.

Young -- -- Some minutes for Nick with Brown sliding to the starting lineup. Metta still stole some time from him. A lot of tough perimeter shots from Nick from the midrange. No threes. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-7 shooting to go with 1 board and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: He swished a pull-up wing jumper off the handoff. He missed a pull-up from the other wing. He sank a tough, step-back fade from 18 feet out. He stripped his man on iso. He iso’d on the other end and missed the turnaround. Second Half: He sank the wing fade on the catch and shoot to start the fourth. He missed a long baseline pull-up. He missed a pull-up jumper on the baseline over a couple of defenders.

Huertas -- -- Not much impact in this game. He didn’t score and had a couple assists. He did hold ground decently enough on D. But our offense was generally slow and ineffective. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 13 minutes. He was a -13. The Action: He telegraphed a kickout (literally pointing to where he was going to pass) for an And-1 the other way. He missed a pull-up 15-footer from the wing. He attacked and kicked to Metta for the three. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He attacked the paint, spun on the pivot and missed the scoop.

Sacre -- -- We went with more Nance/Randle in this game, which limited the backup C minutes. The offense looked pretty dead in the water with Sacre out there, so Scott only ran him one stint. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting, had no rebounds, 2 assists and 1 turnover in 7 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He sank a baseline jumper off the kickout. He missed a tough, challenged wing jumper trying to create against the shotclock. His pass was slapped away for points the other way. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

World Peace -- -- A Metta sighting tonight. I wouldn’t have mind seeing a little more opportunity for Metta to drive and kick. The team was seriously lacking that from anyone and a few possession by him might have helped fire things up when he was out there. He got up most of his shots from beyond the three line, making one. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 1 assist, 1 block and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a-12. The Action: He missed a step-back sideline three from the right side. He drew a double team in the post and kicked to Randle for the open jumper. He missed a wing three. We got it back to him next time down and he hit the three from the same spot. He missed a deep three up against the shotclock. Second Half: He was blocked on a post-up.

Scott -- -- Lakers struggling offensively with just 2 points in the first 5 minutes… It was 9-4 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… Nance, Williams and Hibbert out for Sacre, Randle and Young, Lakers down 9-7… The Lakers trailed 15-14 after the first quarter… He started the Sacre, Randle, Metta, Young, Huertas lineup… Lifeless unit offensively. Scott called a timeout with the Lakers down 28-18. He brought in Nance to run alongside Randle… Slow pace by the Lakers. Lots of shots up against the shotclock… Down 12, he brought in Williams and Clarkson midway through the quarter for Huertas and Young… He sat Randle for Hibbert, Lakers down 13… Brown in for Metta with 3:50 left, same hole to dig out of… The Lakers trailed 43-30 at the half. The Lakers shot just 28.6% in the half. Jazz had only 4 turnovers which the Lakers didn’t turn into any points… The Lakers trailed by 10 when Huertas came in for Clarkson with under 5 in the quarter, mixing things up a little in the rotations vs. the first half… He brought in Randle and Young for Hibbert and Brown, going with the Nance/Randle lineup again… The Lakers trailed 61-50 heading into the fourth quarter. They’d need to score 20 points to avoid a new Laker record for fewest points in a game… He started the Hibbert, Randle, Young, Clarkson, Huertas lineup… He sat Huertas for Metta, so Clarkson sliding down to PG, Lakers down 12 after 3 minutes… Props to Staples, very loud trying to rally their last place team on a sleepy Sunday game… Hibbert fouled out with 8 minutes left and Scott brought in Nance… The Lakers trailed by 11 when the timeout came midway through the quarter… He brought in Lou for Young out of that… Brown in for Metta… They couldn’t close the gap…

[OregonLakerGuy]

Not much to see tonight.
Oh and FIRST!

Thanks DB

[mhan00]

I'm just killing time until Russell is healthy enough to play again.

[tox]

I know 3 of our best players were out, but Jesus Christ we (bleep) suck.

[pio2u]

THANKS DB

[SweetP]

Thanks DB.
Not much of a game to watch.
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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

[Laker's Fan]

Utah is a very good defensive team and the Lakers were missing their two best playmakers. Add Byron's difficulties and this outcome was predictable.
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Austin Reaves keeps his game tight, like Kobe Bryant on game night.

[LaxT]

Why are Kelly and Black playing for the DFenders while the Lakers have three players injured? This makes no sense. They probably would not change the result, but extra energy was much needed.

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[Wilkes52]

Thanks DB. Must have been a tough one to ensure, that first quarter alone.
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“These GOAT discussions are fun distractions while sitting around waiting for the pizza to be served.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Excellent recap as always DB.

Thanks for your tireless efforts even in tiresome games like this one.

[TDRock]

Thanks DB. That game was panic-wack.

[GoldenThroat]

Damn, Sacre doesn't even get an emoticon. Cold-blooded, DB.

There are very few Laker games that can't hold my attention...maybe 1-2 per year...and this was one of them.

[Chronicle]

I am utterly perplexed at sacre getting minutes instead of black.

Utterly perplexed
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Kobe

[TDRock]

[Shaber]

[nshid]