SPURS -at- LAKERS – 2-19-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Home Stretch… After a long stretch off for the All Star break, we’re back. And nothing’s changed.

The Laker offense didn’t look too rusty despite that time off. They poured on 38 points in the fourth quarter against the Spurs. Unfortunately, their D couldn’t keep the Spurs contained, giving up 34.

Despite the strong offensive game against the Spurs, the Lakers fell 119-113.

Assume the position. That’s how it’s going to go.

In the process of explaining a jammed finger, Kobe inadvertently summed up Laker fans feelings about being the league’s punching bag all season.

“This is probably the only time I can sit here like this at a press conference and not get fined,” Kobe said, holding up his bandaged middle finger.


Kobe -- --Late in the fourth, the crowd got quiet as Kobe pulled up short on chasing down a ball, holding his hand. He handed his fingers to Vitti, who yanked, Kobe winced, dropping a little before bouncing up and ready to go back on the floor. “He’s a tough hombre,” Scott said. The home stretch with just 27 games left. Enjoy them while they last. Hopefully, Kobe can play all 27. He led the team in scoring tonight. Good job inside the arc, where he was 9-17. But he shot poorly from three (and we even went to him for a three out of a timeout late in the game after his finger was injured). Last time he and Tim Duncan shared the floor together. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 10-25 shooting (1-8 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and no fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He sank a pull up at the FT line for the Lakers first score. He was picked for a dunk the other way trying to cross over. He missed a quick-fire wing three next time down. Horrible inbounds pass on the other end, throwing it out of bounds just being sloppy. He blew past Duncan on a switch but missed the layup. He hit another pull-up at the FT line, wheeling around a tight screen. He backed down a smaller man with ease but missed the turnaround. He missed a corner three. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He worked the two-man game with Randle to set him up for a dunk. Excellent close out and rotations to force a brick out of a timeout. He sank a turnaround after working the post. He posted up, pumpaked and drew FTs, he made one. He missed a wide open sideline three. Second Half: He missed a wing three. He got a kind bounce on a pull-up from 13 feet out that bounced high and then in. He backed his man down, drop stepped and hit the left baseline one-hander. He stripped a man and tracked it down in the corner. He spun baseline and got tapped on the layup. He hit the baseline pull-up on iso. He took the kickout, looked down as he got behind the three line and rattled down the three. He missed a bit of a forced three off the high screen. He worked past his man on a semi post into the lane and hit the floater over the help D. He iso’d and missed the turnaround. He backed his man down and hit the baseline turnaround. He missed a baseline jumper. He missed a pumping jumper. He got it back late in the lane and missed the layup (he wanted the foul on that one…Spurs got a dunk in transition on the other end). He was fouled on a corner three, he made all three FTs. He attacked to his right, pulled up and hit the one-hander from 12 feet out. He got backscreened, no one switched and they gave up three. He missed a wing three out of a timeout.

Clarkson -- -- He was hot early from three like during All Star weekend, sinking all four of the threes he took in the first quarter. Then he sat for a long time and cooled off a little with a sleepy second quarter. We didn’t really look to set up anything for him from three, either. Good numbers, overall. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 6-11 shooting (4-5 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -7. The Action: He sank a three working off the split sequence and left alone on the wing. He swished a three off the high screen. He got a switch and swished the sideline three on iso. He probed, pulled up his dribble against a double team and found Bass open for the dunk. He rattled down another three off the high screen. He threw a pass away on one end, then got lost on D on the other. He had 12 points on 4-4 shooting from three and 4 assists. Second Half: He attacked baseline and missed the floater. He was blocked on a floater in transition. He probed off the screen and eventually hit the floater. He was blocked on a floater. Quick attack to the rim and he drew FTs, he made both. He missed a wing three. He scored a layup off the Russell drive and dish. He attacked to his right, missed, got it back and drew FTs up against the shotclock, he made both.

Randle -- -- The man child’s motor warmed up after half time. He had 10 boards in the second half, just some great hustle on the glass and a nose for the ball (5 offensive boards in this one). Offensively, the Spurs sagged off him, plugged the lane and bogged down the offense of others. Randle couldn’t hit the outside jumper early (he did nail a deep three at the buzzer). Another double-double as he flies under the radar as not quite a rookie. “He continues to grow,” Scott said, mentioning you can almost write him down for a double-double before the game starts. The Stats: He scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting (1-1 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 15 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a wing jumper on an inbounds. He missed an open wing jumper from the left side. He took a pass at the FT line, attacked, left, spun to his right and scored the And-1 layup, he missed the FT. He passed off to Kobe, set the screen, Kobe attacked and fed it back to Randle for the two-handed slam. He attacked from the corner and hit the step-back jumper in the lane. He threw a bounce pass away, layup the other way. He had 6 points and 5 boards.Second Half: He was blocked on a putback attempt. He missed a pull-up at the FT line. He attacked baseline and missed the reverse (should have just gone for the slam). He tipped in a Kobe miss. He tracked down another Kobe miss and reset the offense. He sank a 35-foot three at the buzzer.

Williams -- -- Lou had a big 4-point play in the middle of the fourth. That got the Lakers within striking distance. He would hit another big three later to cut it to 4, but they could never get over the hump. He was good from the perimeter in this game. He choked a couple of gimmie layups, however. I’m sure he’d like both of those back. Not sure when the change will come but for whatever reason, Scott is still going with Lou as a starter. I think I’m with the majority of fans who want to see Russell starting and Lou back into his Sixth Man of the Year role. The more minutes we can run Russell alongside Clarkson and Randle, the better right now. The young guys need to develop the chemistry together and they need all the time they can get together closing games. Lou played the most minutes in the first half with 18. Scott repeated that in the second hand and Lou led the team in minutes. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 7-12 shooting (3-4 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 36 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He airballed an elbow fade up against the shotclock on our first possession. He sank the fading baseline pull-up jumper on the left side. He gave up a putback on the other end. He attacked next time down and drew FTs, he made both. He buried another one of his fading pull-ups from the left side. He threw a lob pass away. He attacked baseline and hit the floater. He was called for a travel at the three line. He missed a three coming off the pindown. He sank the fading baseline jumper from the left side. He threw a pass away trying to thread it to Kobe. He had 10 points on 4-6 shooting. Second Half: He missed the fading sideline three. He attacked down the middle of the lane and choked the layup. Early offense attack and he drew FTs, he made one. He got his man to reach on the perimeter and rattled in the And-1 three, he made the FT. He measured and sank a sideline three to cut to 4. He choked a concession layup, uggh. He sank a fading wing three.

Hibbert -- -- With Nance back, Hibbert and Bass should not be playing a lot of minutes. This should be about Randle, Nance and Black getting minutes and working on the chemistry for next year. If we haven’t seen enough of what Hibbert brings, then I don’t know what to say. His on-court value has really plummeted. He was a little more active on the boards tonight, but his mobility is a hitch in everything we do. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He roofed Duncan to block the layup. Looked like he was blocked on a jumphook (it might have slipped from his hands). He hit the floor for a loose ball on the offensive end next time down. Second Half: Kobe got the turnover, but Roy’s lack of mobility caused it as he wasn’t able to get to the open pocket on the roll. He sank an open baseline jumper off the kickout. Not close on a 17-footer.

Russell -- -- After lighting it up in limited minutes during the All Star weekend, Russell resumed his bench role. Scott said he’ll start and finish games soon. Not sure what the holdup is. “You got to let him play,” Worthy said. We’re not winning with these starters and minutes with the other rookies are important. I’m sure it will make for some more awkward moments with Russell and the press until it happens. He’s handled that well of late. Both he and Randle have improved their press skills this season. Quiet game from Russell, offensively. On the D end, he had to deal with Parker and had some moments. “Their offense, they run it to perfection,” Russell said of the Spurs ball movement. He had some moments on D, but you really need to be on the same page with your rotations to handle them. He twisted an ankle in the second half, but it looked minor. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 2-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 4-4 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He was called for a hook to get around Aldridge at the three line (didn’t need to do that). He posted up Mills and hit the turnaround in the lane. He attacked a wide open lane off the high screen and drew FTs, he made both. Excellent advance pass to Nick up court and it led to a Bass lob dunk. Early offense two-man game with Bass and he bounced it to him for the dunk. Second Half: He missed a leaning pull-up jumper attacking off the three line. He got his man crossed up on a move at the top of the key and scored the layup with the crowd buzzing. He attacked baseline and bounced to Clarkson for the uncontested layup. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He attacked off the screen and was fouled on the pull-up, he made both FTs. He was called for an offensive foul initiating enough contact for his man to go down.

Nance -- -- “I was pain free. I felt strong out there,” Nance said. Good to see him getting back into the swing of things. It felt like he warmed up as the game went along and had some nice hustle moments. Got to get him some good run with Randle. I want to see those young guys getting after it and ballhawking together on D. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting to go with 4 boards, 1 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -1. The Action: He blocked a shot but no help D after and his man scored the layup. He slammed with both hands off the drive and dish from Nick. He was called for a travel, attacking off an up fake. Second Half: He grabbed an offensive board, lost his man with a pivot but missed the layup. He took an interior feed and finger rolled like the Ice Man from Spurs days of old. Excellent hustle for the offensive board, he put on an extra gear to track it down in the corner, then attacked and spun in a layup around the help D. Disruptive D on the other end and he got his man to cough it up.

Young – -- He had some good moments passing the ball. Early on the he wasn’t settling for the jumpers, but attacking the lane a little more than usual. It would be nice to see more of that from him vs. settling for the contested fading jumpers. Good job getting to the FT line. He had a couple of assists that came within a few seconds of each other and led to dunks for his bigs. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 2-7 shooting (1-3 from three, 5-5 from the line) to go with 2 boards and no fouls in 19 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a sideline three. He hit a baseline pull-up off a jump step. He airballed a turnaround after picking up his dribble and not moving the ball (had an easy pass to Nance for an elbow jumper). He attacked the lane and missed the short fade. He attacked off the three line and fed Nance for the dunk. He lobbed to Bass in transition next time down for a dunk. Second Half: He was undercut on a three for FTs, he made all three. He swished a wing three off the handoff. He missed a three coming off a screen and wanted the foul. He missed a forced wing jumper. He was fouled on the dribble for FTs, he made both.

Bass -- -- Good game from Bass tonight. He was back to dunking and finishing strong. We had one of those stretches where the defensive intensity picked up to close the game. Scott let him finish. With the trade deadline gone and despite his decent play, we need to give the young guys some run. The Stats: He scored 10 points on 4-4 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was -3. The Action: He dunked off the interior feed from Clarkson. Sloppy inbounds pass and it was picked off. He blocked a shot and ignited the break off the dribble. He blindsided a man on help D to knock a ball away on one end, then finished the lob dunk on the other. He dunked off the pocket pass from Russell after running a quick two-man game. Second Half: He iso’d in the post and drew FTs, he made both. He iso’d on Duncan, blew past him to his left and slammed with both hands. He blocked a shot on the other end but couldn’t track it down. He didn’t switch when Kobe got backscreened and they gave up a huge three with a minute left.

Scott -- -- How often are we up against the shotclock on our first possession of the game? Seems like a lot. Lou tonight with an airball having to force something up before a violation… The Lakers trailed 18-16 when the timeout came midway through the quarter. Got to tighten up the D… Out of that timeout, he didn’t make any subs... Russell in for Lou a minute later, Lakers up 1… He brought in Bass and Young for Hibbert and Kobe… Nance in for Randle down 3… The Lakers trailed 33-30 after the first quarter. Clarkson going 4-4 from three… Same unit to start… Lou in for Clarkson shortly later… Down 6 and Scott called a timeout… Lakers down 7 when Kobe, Randle and Hibbert returned to go with Russell and Lou… Clarkson in for Russell with 5 minutes left… The Lakers trailed 60-49 at the half. The Lakers shot 57% but had 12 turnovers… He sat Hibbert and Lou for Bass and Russell, Lakers down 12… He sat Kobe for Nick… Nance in for Randle… The Lakers trailed 85-75 heading into the fourth… Lou in for Clarkson after a couple minutes, Lakers down 12… A big 4-point play by Lou just before the timeout midway through the quarter and they cut it to 6… Randle and Kobe in for Nick and Nance… He sat Russell with 3 minutes left for Clarkson, Lakers down 8… Down 7 with a minute left and we go to injured Kobe for a three (he was 1-7 at the time and missed)…

[anpherknee]

DID I DO IT?

[anpherknee]

yaaaaaaaaaaaay

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[SweetP]

Thanks DB.
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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

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[jjangx27]

Free DLO!

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB.

[LakerEric]

D'Angelo Russell >>> Lou Williams
Larry Nance Jr >>> Brandon Bass
Tarik Black >>> Roy Hibbert

Anthony Brown some run behind KFT

Is that really that difficult??? Scott plays these vets like they are producing victories...am I missing something??? What is wrong with this clown coach??
_________________
Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[999]

Byron Scott blew this game

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB. Missed this game, 17 hours of airplane and airport fun instead... Then again, I'm not sure what's worse, crowded seats and long airport security lines or watching Scott trot out the same rotations with the same ponderous offense he's trotted out all season.

Appreciate these recaps though - thanks again!

[Laker7]

[B_P]

[foshowtime]

[Chronicle]

Black should have played instead of Hibbert, not Bass.
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Kobe