TWOLVES -at- LAKERS – 2-2-16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Losing Streak Snapped… It was a team effort, but it took a vintage Kobe appearance to snap the Lakers losing streak at 10.

Kobe scored 14 of the last 18 points down the stretch to win 119-115 over the visiting Timberwolves. The Lakers needed a closer and Kobe answered the call with 38 points on 10-21 shooting (7-11 from three). Just an amazing game.

They didn’t get buried early despite falling behind in the first before finally getting a first quarter lead. The Lakers played with speed, youth and defensive mobility in their front court and scored 66 points in the first half – their highest scoring half of the season – to lead by 14. Tarik Black and D’Angelo Russell led the team in that half with a +15 and +14 respectively. Kobe was playing strong in the first half, but the tone of the game seemed to change around those two early on.

The second half hung in the balance on Kobe’s game. The TWolves reeled the Lakers in during a fourth quarter run. The pressure was on, but Kobe restored order with the throwback game, including two huge threes during crunch time and another long, clutch jumper in the final minute.

“We needed to get a win desperately tonight,” Kobe said.

The Lakers D left a bit to be desired in the second half. Offensively, there was a lot less iso ball pounding and more giving it up, ball reversing and attacking. Much better pace to the game. Playing with speed is their only chance.


Kobe -- -- Vintage Kobe tonight. The three ball was looking like he was shooting freethrows from start to finish, nothing but net. A super-efficient first half from Kobe, scoring 15 points on 4-7 shooting (he hit three threes and was fouled for three FTs on another). He picked up where he left off in the second half, sinking four more threes. He must be feeling better because he’s looked very good in the last couple. Twenty years in the league and he drops 38 points, 5 boards and 5 assists. Damn. Good battle with him and Wiggins. Wiggins hit a turnaround jumper on a post-up at one point late in the game that had Kobe smiling. He said something to Wiggins, who told him he stole that from Kobe. “It’s a pleasure for me to see that,” Kobe said. Sam Mitchell of 81-point infamy coaching for the TWolves. The most three’s Kobe has hit since 2008. Amazing game. The Stats: He scored 38 points on 10-21 shooting (7-11 from three, 11-12 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 33 minutes. He was a +5. The Action: He missed a pumping three from the wing. He scooped up a loose ball and quickly hit the elbow jumper. He fumbled a ball away, dunk the other way. He swished a wing three off the high screen. Chuck from three and he missed, not a good look. He made a tech FT. He sank a wing three in transition to force a timeout. He was fouled on a three out of a timeout, he made all three. He pumped and swished the sideline three over his man. He missed a sideline three over a defender. He had 15 points on 4-7 shooting. Second Half: He missed the lefty jumphook in the paint. He sank a wing three shortly later. He held the ball on the perimeter and was tied up for a jumpball, but won that. He grabbed a board and missed the short one. He pushed it up court and swished another three. He was ticked on a missed three no call that the refs said was blocked. He missed the lefty one-hander off the offensive board. He sank a pull-up wing jumper. He missed a step-back wing jumper. He drained a three out of a timeout working off the high screen. Huge three with a man on after the Russell kickout. He ball stopped and then airballed the corner three next time down, shotclock violation. He missed a drive getting close to the rim but not close on the finish. He missed a long jumper straight away. He brought the ball up court, ran clock down, worked to his right off the re-screen and hit the long wing jumper (nice screen the screener on that before it happened). He was fouled with 16 seconds left up 3, he made both clutch ones. Intentionally fouled again with 7.5 left and he made both. Another foul with 4.5, he made both again.

Clarkson -- -- A lot more intensity on D by Clarkson out of the gates. His motor was going. That’s what he needs to use to his advantage on that end of the floor – nonstop energy, never taking a moment or possession off. Offensively, he did an excellent job getting into the paint and finishing. He hit floaters, finished with the off-hand and got into the heart of the D with consistency for scores. Got to keep working on that three ball. “It’s almost like a movie,” Clarkson said of watching Kobe go off. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 8-13 shooting (0-2 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 35 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He hit a floater on the baseline off the inbounds. He curled into the lane off the dribble and scored off the glass over a couple of defenders. He airballed a floater after a poor decision in transition to give the ball up from the middle of the floor to Randle on the wing around midcourt. He attacked down the lane, Euro stepped and he hit the floater. He missed a layup in transition. He probed off the high screen and lobbed it up to Black for a dunk. He missed Russell who popped wide open under the hoop, he attacked and drew FTs (then apologized for missing D’Angelo), he then missed both FTs. He spun away from his man at the elbow and hit the running jumphook. He missed a sideline three on a kickout. He had 8 points on 4-7 shooting. Second Half: He probed the paint and hit the pull-up in the middle of the lane. He turned the corner on Rubio in early offense and scored the layup. He attacked, spun and missed the twisting layup attempt. He missed a three on a kickout. He crossed over, attacked to his left, switched hands and scored the lefty layup around the defender. He up-faked at the three line, attacked and hit the floater in the middle of the paint.

Randle -- -- Loving him on the defensive glass. When the Lakers do force a miss, he’s gobbling them up for one-and-out possessions. Very comfortable looking game from him. He didn’t have the outside jumper going. But he also didn’t ball stop consistently. Some strong finishes around the rim, as well. He hit a big jumphook with a minute left when the shotclock was winding down and we needed someone to create something. He had 19 double-doubles this season. “We didn’t give our fans a great show last game,” Randle said. The fans were behind them tonight. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 7-14 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 12 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 32 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: He missed an open wing jumper. He was blocked in a crowd under the hoop. He was called for an illegal screen, drilling Prince with a shoulder. He yanked down a board on one end, pushed it out, gave it up and got it back to muscle up a layup in traffic. Quick post spin like Worthy, he gathered himself and dunked. He scored a layup off the Bass/Russell two-man game. He attacked the middle of the paint on iso and missed the short one. He attacked to his right, up-faked and spun back to his left, missed, bounced back up and tipped it in. Huge two-handed throwdown off the drive and dish from Lou. He had 10 points on 6 boards in the half. Second Half: He barely hit rim on a 16-footer on our first possession. He kept a possession alive chasing after an offensive board (Kobe would hit a three on that). He missed a shot in traffic he probably should have tried to finish with his right, but after another battle on the glass, he drew FTs and made one. He attacked, the defender went down and he kicked to Hibbert for the jumper. He slipped the screen and Russell threaded it to him, Randle bullied his way past the help D and dunked with both hands. He iso’d with the shotclock low, worked the pivot on the left block and hit the jumphook, getting a nice bounce with a 1 minute left. Nice challenge on Wiggins’ drive with 17 seconds left and Wiggins lost it out of bounds.
-
Williams -- -- I liked this game from Lou. He had some excellent baseline drives to set up his bigs. He scored 20 on 10 shots (great job again getting to the line 10 times). He also sank three threes. Excellent job on that end. He had some good and bad on D. I can’t blame him for the Wiggins matchup. That’s not a great one for him as we’re just asking for trouble. He had some good team D moments and even a horrible one. There’s a lot of talk about the youth being a problem. A lot of talk about the lack of communication on D. The youth is a convenient excuse because the vets have serious communication issues on D, as well sometimes. There was a play early in the game where Lou let Kobe get backscreened, didn’t say anything, didn’t switch and they gave up an uncontested layup. The entire team needs to work on that. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 4-10 shooting (3-6 from three, 9-10 from the line) to go with 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 foul in 34 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Rubio went right by him for an easy layup. Lou was blocked on the layup on the other end. He drew the reach, chucked the long jumper for FTs and made both. No communication with Kobe who got backscreened, no switch and we gave up an uncontested layup. He drew the reach, chucked and went to the FT line, he made both. Nice D rotation to force a pass off under the hoop. Another good play on D poking an offensive rebound away to get a stop. He missed a corner three. He suckered Wiggins into the reach foul on the perimeter for FTs, he made both. He swished a deep wing three. He crossed over Prince badly on the baseline, attacked, drew the D and zipped it to Julius for the massive throwdown. Probe from the other side and he hit Bass for the And-1 jumphook. He crossed over Prince up against the shotclock and swished the long three. He had 12 points on 2-4 shooting and 3 assists. Second Half: He missed the pull-up jumper in the paint. He drew contact from behind, looked like he was about to pass, then threw it up to draw FTs, he made one FT. He crossed over on a drive and was slapped for more FTs, he made both. He measured and drained a wing three on the weakside. He airballed a wing three. He drew FTs on a perimeter reach, he made one. He missed a wing jumper looking for the reach foul. He kicked to Russell for the three. He attacked from the wing and scored the layup. He missed a three out of a timeout. XXX

Hibbert -- -- He was a -7 in the first half and we still led by 14 at the half. The defensive mobility and energy of Black, Bass and Randle carried the team. I thought Scott did a good job with his bigman rotations in this game. A couple early stints for Roy, but keeping him off the floor. We need to play at a faster pace on both ends of the floor, and the team needs to develop that as a habit. He just doesn’t fit that. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 1 board, 1 assist and 4 fouls in 16 minutes. He was a -9. The Action: Nothing to report and we sat him for the rest of the half after his first stint. Second Half: He sank a wing jumper on the Randle kickout.

Russell -- -- Whether it was going up against No. 1 pick Towns or just having enough of the losing, he was going to be aggressive at scoring tonight (kind of like Kobe mentioned he was when he was young). Russell was in attack-mode early on. He didn’t settle for the swing passing, slow paced junk (give it up, make your cut in the system and watch others iso, never get it back). He attacked in early offense quite a bit. That’s the pace I mentioned he needs to be used to playing at. Get him making decisions in early offense with the D not loading up on both him and the team and good things should happen. We did a better job moving the ball in the halfcourt and attacking from the wings as a team. So, it wasn’t just Russell helping to make the flow better. Great game. Hopefully, he ditches the slow pace, swing pass offensive schemes and sticks to this. He’s learning some tricks from the vets to get the line. He drew FTs on a Lou-like reach play and he also drew FTs twice on head jerk drives. Now, if we could just clean up the FT shooting form and knock them down. Still, I want to see some more of that craftiness to get to the line. Towns finished with a solid 14 and 9, but I think D’Angelo got the better of him this time. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 6-12 shooting (2-5 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: His pass was picked off on his first touch. He attacked in transition, took contact, absorbed it and hit the floater. He missed a wing three up against the shotclock. Early offense screen-roll (yes, please) and he fed Bass who drew FTs. Looked like he pulled the Lou Williams move on the perimeter to get to the line, he made one. He swiped a bad pass, pushed it out between defenders, took contact, jerked the head, missed the layup and drew FTs, he made one. He attacked, his man fell and Russell hit the 12-footer. He missed a wing three off some good ball movement. He pushed the ball up court with speed, attacked the paint and hit the short floater in transition. He worked off the high screen, saw a lane and scored the layup. He couldn’t connect with Black on a lob in transition. He swished the wing three off the high screen handoff. He missed a half-court heave at the buzzer. He had 13 points on 5-9 shooting. Second Half: Sweet pocket bounce pass to Randle on the slip screen for the dunk. He missed the long wing jumper after searching off screens for something to open up. He attacked in early offense, got into the paint, jerked the head and he earned FTs, he made both. Turnover on a perimeter double team, score the other way. He missed a baseline jumper off the inbounds (looked fouled). He sank a big three on the kickout from Lou. Looked like Wiggins got away with a clear-out foul on Russell. XXX

Young -- -- Quiet game from Nick, but the second unit played well for the most part when he was out there. We might have wanted to go with Brown defensively, maybe throw him on Wiggins, but Nick kept his game simple and didn’t try to do too much. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting (0-2 from three) to go with 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He missed the corner three on iso. He swished a 16-footer coming off the pindown to get to the FT line area. He missed an open corner three. He stepped on the sideline on a push off, turnover. Second Half: Bad angle on D and he gave up a straight-line drive. He missed a wing jumper.

Bass -- -- We need that defensive/offensive mobility on the floor, and they need to turn those Bass/Randle or Bass/Black lineups into a team that gets up and down with speed. That’s the only way this team has a chance. I’d like to see more games where we limit Roy’s minutes like we did tonight and they work on this. Whether Bass his here next year (or even the remainder of this season), the team should play uptempo. It’s in their DNA waiting to come out. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 2-3 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +4. The Action: Nice interior feed to Randle off the two-man game for a layup. He drew FTs on the early offense screen-roll with Russell, he made both. He hit the floor hard after challenging a drive and forcing a travel. He hit the And-1 jumphook off the drive and dish from Lou, he missed the FT. Second Half: He missed a 16-footer. Quick first step baseline and he dunked with both hands up against the shotclock. He stripped a man on help D. He was called or a charge on the two-man game with Kobe.

Black -- -- Finally some Tarik minutes again. Kelly got boo’d out of the rotation in the last game, so Scott took the cue and made a change. Wise decision for both Kelly and Scott. Black helped spark the team in the first half. Instant positive energy when he came in the game. He was a little foul-prone, but he makes things happen. Last year, once he started getting regular minutes he performed better. When he gets a few spot minutes here and there, he’s not as strong. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting to go with 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He poked a post entry pass away from behind to force a turnover. He swatted a drive. He dunked off the screen-roll lob from Clarkson. Great D on a 3-on-1 to elevate with both hands vertically, get the miss and control the board to ignite a break. Second Half: He was stripped as he was about to rise up for a dunk. He missed a layup he probably could have dunked.

Scott -- -- Losing streak over… The Lakers trailed 20-12 when the timeout came. Back-to-back miscues by Kobe and Williams… He sat Lou for Russell out of that… He sat Roy for Bass shortly later, Lakers down 7… The youth sparked the team, cutting it to 24-21 when the TWolves called a timeout… He sat Kobe for Young out of that. Black in for Randle… They took a 3-point lead on the 10-0 run… The Lakers led 27-26 after the first quarter. Rare first quarter lead…Same unit to start the second… And 9 seconds into the quarter, we sit Clarkson for Lou. Weird sub there, but the rotations were better in this game… The Lakers led by 3 when Kobe and Randle came back for Bass and Young… They took an 8-point lead off threes by Russell and Kobe, forcing a timeout… Clarkson in for Russell out of that timeout… Another 10-0 run before the Wolves scored… A 13-point Laker lead. Haven’t seen that for a while… Black out for Bass with a little over 2 minutes left, Lakers up 12… Russell in for Kobe with under a minute left… The Lakers led 66-42 at the half… Russell in for Lou, Hibbert still in for some reason… Finally Bass in for Hibbert, Lakers up 12 with a little over 3 minutes to go in the quarter… The Lakers led 92-81 heading into the fourth… He started the Black, Bass, Young, Clarkson, Russell unit… The lead quickly slipped to 5 points and Scott called a timeout… He sat Clarkson for Lou at the 9:38 mark, Lakers up 5… Lou vs. Wiggins not looking like a good matchup… We started switching everything on D… Up 4 with 6 minutes left, he brought back in Kobe for Young… The TWolves took a 1-point lead a minute later when the timeout came… Randle in for Tarik… Russell out for Lou… Kobe with some big hoops down the stretch to save the win… The Lakers made 12-26 from three… “We just competed for 48 minutes,” Scott said…

[Omar Little]

First? In a win!

[lakersfreak]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[lakersfreak]

Daily Leaders:

[pio2u]

Good stuff! Thanks DB.

[SweetP]

Damn, Kobe showing the kids how it's done.
Great game, thanks DB!
_________________
“There is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman

[defense]

Gotta admit I feel good after a win

[tox]

I had the pleasure of going into the archive and re-reading some of the old posts from the glory days. These are great to read just in the moment, but even better as an archive. Thanks, DB!

[Vin]

First 10 minutes were bad but they picked it up. Great game from old Kob' and the youngsters.

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB!

[DShotMaker1824]

Missed this one (like most these days). Thanks DB!
_________________

"Through the legs to the left, through the legs to the right, we don't run them Laker plays, we just Kobe fadeaway..."

[AceFresh]

Thank you, DB!

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB -excellent write up as always, but this time a good outcome to write about!


Kobe just gave the rookies and second year players on this team a seminar on how to rise to the occasion and carry a team. From asking to cover a red-hot Wiggins to honing in and sinking dagger after dagger, answering when the Lakers needed an answer because Minnesota couldn't miss, and how to grab momentum away from the Wolves when it looked like we were headed for a loss.

DLO and Tarik turned the game in our favor in the first half, and that really helped us, but Old Snake gets the game ball this time around.

[A Mad Chinaman]

Good that the losing streak is over

Still looking for somebody that will take the challenge to stop the "Hot" player with defensive intensity like what Kobe did in this game

When the young lineup was in from the start of the fourth quarter, hoping that the young players are learning how to close games. Kobe mentioned that losing big leads is a lock of focus and attention. Byron tried to let the kids learn but had to bring back Kobe to salvage the game

Good taught was shown, taught and hopefully learned

Now about the Durant rumors, if the kids show positive signs of learning and growing - maybe, just maybe . . . . .

[mhan00]

About time Black got minutes.

Kobe bailing Scott's ass out of the fire. What a game from the Mamba.

[LakerEric]

Great game by Kobe. Brought back memories. Did Russell handle the ball? He only had 2 turnovers...I thought Scott said he was a 15 turnover machine. I guess he took away ball-handling from D'Lo.
_________________
Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[Chronicle]

KOBE GOAT I LOVE YOU
_________________
Kobe

[Laker7]

Thanks DB!
_________________
Darvin Ham is an idiot!

[governator]

How the Twolves didn't play much interior defense against us... that's us every game.
Good offensive output from all the youngens, talents on full display. Randle's motor, JC's penetrations, DLo's jumpers, Black's hustles. Plus Kobe hitting his 3s.

[Lakersneuron]

Pains me to say this , but MDA would be great for this team.
_________________
"I don’t give a [expletive] what you say. If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, 'Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.' Well, [expletive] you. Because I don’t play for your [expletive] approval."

[yinoma2001]

[SoCaLjAy]

Thanks DB! Good to get a win!

[A Mad Chinaman]