NETS -at- LAKERS – 3-1-16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Dear Haters… D’Angelo Russell’s dad texted him before the game. “Are you hungry?” Russell replied, “Hungry?”

Dad said, “Eat.”

Fast-forward to the final minute of the game. Russell just lit the nets on fire, draining back-to-back dagger threes in the final minute to keep Brooklyn in check, his seventh and eighth threes of the night. He held out his left arm and pointed to it. “I’ve got ice in my veins. I’ve got ice in my veins.”

Russell torched the Nets for 39 points. He did it with threes, dropping eight of them, including the daggers. He did it with hoop IQ, off-ball cuts when his man’s attention was on ballhandlers. He dropped a Dirk fade in the post. He hit lefty floaters like a taller Van Exel. He found opportunities in transition.

This is the potential he showed at Ohio State. Why he was picked No. 2. Why those who understood his potential were frustrated with those who were impatient and insufferable after we drafted him.

It took nearly all of Russell’s career high to get the Lakers the 107-101 win. The team certainly looked more fluid in their new motion-weak set. Although the vets still had some clunky moments, you saw the team run it with more speed at times and go deeper into their options.

“The three days off gave us a chance to hone in on it,” Scott said.

“Forces you to think,” Russell said, “and I try to separate myself by thinking ahead.”

He’s forcing the league and his critics to think ahead a little more about his potential.


Russell -- -- The most points by a Laker rookie since Elgin in the ‘50s. Suck it, haters. Seriously. So many doubters in the media and among his own fan base. The second pick in the draft just dropped 39 points in a game, and I’m sure a few weeks from now someone will lament the Lakers not taking Oakfor. You got a good one, Laker fans, enjoy it. There will be plenty of ups and downs as he gains experience…that’s the way things are for rookies. Tonight, a new career high in points for DLO and three’s (8…yep). Eight threes. I know Curry is making threes like freethrows, but eight threes from the kid who just turned 20. That’s beyond outstanding. If he hit his FTs in this one, he would have cracked 40. I loved the chemistry from Russell and Clarkson tonight. Scott irked me with the robo sub in the second half. Russell-Clarkson were killing the Nets and DLO had 8 points in 6 minutes. It was one of those stretches where you could see the future, where the chemistry was growing and Scott slammed on the brakes to bring in Huertas. The Lakers were right on the verge of going for the kill and we slammed on the brakes. Thankfully, Russell didn’t cool off, however. He came back in the fourth and restored order after the lead was trimmed down. Great to also see him actually get shots to close a game. These are the minutes we’ve been begging for all season. Scott let him close a tight game and put him in position to actually be the closer and good things happened. The new offense fits Russell well as long as we run it right. He said he was trying to strike a balance in the offense, picking his spots. “It forces you to read and react,” he said, which is exactly where you want him. He reads the game so fast and reacts just as fast. Why have him in something that doesn’t allow him to think the game? Glad we’re doing this finally and hopefully, they go deep into the counters and options of the motion-weak. Otherwise, it will just be another shallow play, rather than a system. I love seeing Russell in the media room. “I didn’t even know this existed,” Russell said, sitting at the media table after the game. There have been a lot of rumors about Russell’s work ethic. This could be lingering from earlier in the season or offseason, but Scott praised his work ethic before this game. “He’s a guy that’s a worker,” Scott said. “Is he a Kobe Bryant type worker? I don’t think we have a guy that’s a Kobe Bryant type worker, but he is a guy that works.” Regardless of those rumors, what you’ve seen is continual improvement. Both Worthy and Jamison said before the game that Russell essentially has to show game on the court before vets will listen to him. Well, maybe they will start. The Stats: He scored 39 points on 14-21 shooting (8-12 from three, 3-5 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers and 1 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a +13. The Action: He hit Hibbert in the paint for the short jumphook. He missed the elbow step-back jumper. He probed off the high screen and quickly exploded to hit the floater over a defender. He iso’d against the shotclock and swished the step-back wing three. He tried backing his man down and hit the Dirk fade on him on the baseline, very nice. He pushed the ball up in transition, cut across the lane and hit the floater across his body. He attacked the paint off the motion-weak, drew the D and fed Bass for the open jumper. He got backdoored for a layup on the other end. He attacked, kicked it out, cut to the corner, got it back and swished the three next time down the court. He took a kickout next time down and sank the three from the same spot. Heat-check three and he missed, might have been fouled. He set up Bass off the high-screen for FTs. He iso’d and drew an illegal D call, he went to the line and missed. He missed a layup, but Hibbert cleaned up the dribble penetration. He then drew a push-off foul on his man on the subsequent inbounds to get the ball back. He missed a three off the high screen. He had 15 points on 6-10 shooting (3-5 from three) and 2 assists in the first half. Second Half: He sank a wing three on his first attempt of the half. He missed the early offense three on the pull-back dribble. He cut off Clarkson who took a kickout off the motion-weak (Russell’s man was ballwatching Clarkson), and Clarkson hit Russel with a sweet bounce pass for the layup. He swished the sideline three next time down off the Clarkson kickout in transition. Wide open in transition and he sank the sideline three off the kickout (huge grin by Kobe on the bench on that one). Great cut behind his man as Huertas came off the double screen, Huertas no-looked to him and Russell reversed. He took an inbounds along the baseline and drew FTs on the floater, he made one. He missed the pull-up off the high screen. He got into the lane off the high screen and rattled in the 10-foot fade. He just missed a pull-up three, creating with the shotclock winding down. Dagger three with 53 seconds left and the game on the line to push it back to 6 points. After the Nets hit a three, Russell swished another dagger three from Curry territory. He was intentionally fouled with 0.9 left, he made both FTs.

Clarkson -- -- With Russell in scoring mode, Clarkson switched to passing mode. Some great looks for guys. He and Russell showed the growth in their chemistry. The potential is all there, growing more and more with minutes together. I like the focus lately on hitting the boards more and making the pass. He was on his way to a triple-double pace in the third quarter, but couldn’t keep that up. I don’t know that he’s as comfortable in the offense as Russell, but he’s finding his way. “Guys are getting a little bit more comfortable with the sets,” Clarkson said. The floater is pretty deadly with his ability to get into the lane. That’s come a long way from early last season when coaches wanted him to pull-up for jumpers more instead of take that. He’s put in the work. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 6-15 shooting (1-5 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 7 assists, 1 turnover and no fouls in 34 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: His pass was picked off in the paint (had his man open, too). He missed a pull-up jumper in early offense. He took a baseline handoff and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a wing three. He hit Randle trailing on the break for the slam. He hit a floater over a double team. He attacked the paint and drew FTs on the floater, he made one. He scored a layup cutting off Hibbert out of the motion-weak set. He missed the long wing jumper. He battled for an offensive board, reset the offense, attacked and hit the floater. He probed the lane and missed the longer floater but Hibbert tipped it in. He missed a half-court heave. He had 9 points on 3-8 shooting, 5 boards and 5 assists in the first half. Second Half: He attacked off the high screen but couldn’t finish over the help D. He missed the open three when his man fell off the screen. He bounced a one-hander to Russell cutting down the lane in a motion-weak set and Russell scored the layup. He pushed it out in transition and kicked to Russell for the three next time down. He pushed up the board and hit the floater in the lane. He attacked, spun and missed a wild one. He sank a step-back three at the third-quarter buzzer. He missed a three up against the shotclock. He iso’d next time down and somehow got to the rim for a short one.

Randle -- -- “We’ve been able to work on stuff,” Randle said of the last three days. “It’s good for us all. It keeps the ball moving.” It’s still kind of garbage ball for Randle out of those sets as he looks for opportunities and has to iso some against the shotclock. He’s only going to improve. These games where he goes for 14 points and 13 boards are routine. As essentially a rookie, that’s impressive. With his work ethic and some good coaching on the screen setting and reconstructing his shot, he’s going to build on this double-double floor. I’m looking forward to it. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 6-13 shooting (2-3 from the line) to go with 13 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He missed a 20-footer up against the shotclock. He charged on iso on the wing. He scooped up the loose ball, attacked in full court, stepped on the gas and scored the layup. He missed a jumphook on iso. He dunked on the break with Clarkson. He spun and jerked in a jumphook in the middle of the lane. He lost his man on a great spin, but choked the layup. He posted up and hit the baseline turnaround like Worthy. Second Half: He was called for a travel on a spin move. He bowled his man over, then finished an And-1 (with the right!) over Lopez, he made the FT. He up-faked and missed the pumping layup attempt between two defenders. He missed the short jumphook (Brown missed him for a lob a couple second earlier). He tapped out an offensive board. He attacked the paint and hit the short one. He missed a wild attempt on iso. He was intentionally fouled with 13 seconds left, he made one FT.

Hibbert -- -- One of his better games lately. Had he put in these kinds of efforts all season, his future with the team might look more optimistic. He had double digits in scoring by the first half (first time in over a month he’s cracked double digits). Great job getting to the front of the rim to clean up some missed drives. We haven’t see a lot of that effort since early in the preseason. Some overpassing early. He got Lopez to foul out with back-to-back fouls away from the ball late in the game. That could have been key to securing this one. The Stats: He scored 14 points on 7-9 shooting to go with 5 baords, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He let a man fly by, moved in closer and hit the baseline jumper for the Lakers first score. Low position and Russell fired it to him for the short jumphook. He overpassed and threw it away (had a good look at a jumphook). He flashed to the ball and hit the 18-footer. He slapped a ball loose to ignite a Laker fastbreak score. He flashed to the ball, then hit Clarkson cutting down the middle of the lane for the open layup. He turned his back when Russell was making a pass to him, turnover. He posted up, shimmied and hit the jumphook. He follow tipped in a Russell missed drive. He crashed the glass and tipped in the Clarkson missed floater. He had 12 points on 6-6 shooting to go with 5 boards. Second Half: He missed a jumphook on iso. He missed the jumphook off low position. He drew a foul on the offensive glass to regain the possession. Wild hook across the lane and he missed. He hit the short one on the dive off Huertas’s drive. Somehow he picked up back-to-back fouls on Lopez away from the ball to foul him out.

Brown -- -- We set up shots for him to start both halves, trying to jumpstart some offense from him. That didn’t really help, but good to see them trying to make sure he doesn’t go into Invisible Man mode. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a 21-footer on the Lakers first attempt. He missed an open 16-footer. Second Half: He swished a 19-footer off the dribble handoff from Hibbert to start the half. He missed a wing three on a kickout, got it back, attacked a crowd and was easily blocked out of bounds. He missed a 22-footer.

Williams -- -- He had a moderate left hamstring strain in the first half of this one and didn’t return. He won’t play in the next game. And I’m sure Vitti is going to be super conservative with him considering the team doesn’t need W’s. I assume that means Kobe probably returns and Brown then gets the backup SG minutes. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 1-2 shooting from three, 3-4 from the line to go with 1 turnover in 10 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: He swished a wide open three. He airballed a drifting three going to his left. He drew the perimeter reach, fired and earned FTs, he made one. He drew FTs on a drive and made both. He lost control of the ball up against the shotclock and double team, then recovered and ate the shotclock turnover. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Nance -- -- He had a soaring dunk off the a no-look feed from Huertas that had the crowd buzzing. He also should have had another dunk, but blew a lob. “That’s my turnover,” Nance said after the game. A little more activity from him, including a block and a goaltend that looked like a legit block. That’s what I want to see more from him. We need him flying around the court defensively. It sounds like he’ll rest tomorrow to avoid the back-to-back games on his knee. The Stats: He scored 6 points on 3-4 shooting (0-1 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He swatted a drive on help D, then tipped in a missed jumper on the other end. He was called for a weak goaltend call (that was a legit block near the top of the square). Great feed to Bass, but he was blocked on the layup. He slammed off the drive and dump off from Young in transition. Second Half: He got tapped on a wing three up against the shotclock. He blew a lob attempt. Huertas hit him trailing the break for a soaring dunk, just a sweet no-look feed that had the defense frozen.

Young -- -- Loved seeing him pick his man with a reach on the perimeter, taking it the distance and then feeding Nance for the jam. Imagine if this team had a defender who could consistently cause trouble like that? Maybe Brown can develop into that. Nick made one three for his only points. He had a chance to make that a 4-point play but missed the FT. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-5 shooting (1-4 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +9. The Action: He missed a corner three in early offense. He missed a step-back corner three. Great reach to steal the ball from his man on the perimeter, he pushed it out, drew the D and fed Nance for the slam. Second Half: He was hit on a three from the top of the arc for the And-1, he missed the FT to blow the 4-point play. He was called for the kickout foul to erase a three. He missed a pull-up 17-footer. He missed a three straight away.

Bass -- -- Quiet game from Bass. After Hibbert got Lopez to foul out, we brought Bass back in to close the game against the smaller Nets lineup. They held the line, but had Russell not hit those threes? Who knows? The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 blocks and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He missed a dunk, expecting a foul call. He was blocked on a finish in the paint. He sank the open jumper off the Russell kickout. He blocked Lopez in the paint. Russell set him up for FTs on the two-man game, he made both. Second Half: Lopez blew past him for a dunk. He missed an open FT jumper from the other end. He was intentionally fouled with 23 seconds left up 4, he made one FT. He then rejected a layup on the other end.

Black -- -- Spot duty from Black in the second half tonight. He was in on a crazy sequence where he swiped a pass, then threw it away a few seconds later, then blocked and controlled a Nets layup attempt and spark the fastbreak we would score on. Seems like about 3 minutes worth of action in a few seconds. The Stats: He didn’t score or shoot and had 2 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 4 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He was picked trying to iso against the shotclock. He swiped a pass, threw it right back to the Nets on the outlet, then blocked the layup and controlled it to ignite the break.

Huertas -- -- I’m giving Huertas the Pass of the Game off a play in the fourth quarter. He faked a handoff to Russell on the sideline in transition and instead whipped the no-looker to Nance who was coming down the middle of the lane and Larry hammered. That froze the D and had Staples roaring. Some good minutes from him with Lou sidelined. Huertas said the offense is making a difference with guys getting more involved (instead of the iso-heavy ball we’ve been watching all season). The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting (0-1 from three to go with 5 assists, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: Not close on a wing three on a kickout. He missed a runner. He lost his man on a screen and banked in the runner. Sweet no-look pass to Nance trailing the break and Larry threw down on a soaring dunk down the middle of the lane. Next time down, he attacked left off the double high screen, Russell cut behind the ballwatching defender and Huertas no-looked a bounce pass to him for the reverse.

Scott -- -- A 9-0 run and they took a 13-10 lead when the timeout came. Motion-weak offense and the weak Nets coming to play early on… You can tell the vets aren’t as comfortable in the set as some of the young guys. Lou and Hibbert both missed cuts early on, feet nailed to the floor with the young guys pointing where they need to go… Russell out for Lou… Randle, Hibbert and Brown out for Nance, Bass and Young, score tied… The Lakers led 24-19 after the first… He started the Bass, Nance, Young, Williams, Clarkson lineup… After a minute, Russell in for Clarkson up 3… Brown in for Lou, Lakers up 6… Russell lighting it up with 15 points and the Lakers led by 10… Starters in with Bass in for Hibbert… Hibbert in for Bass shortly later… Check out how quickly they get into motion weak with 4 minutes left in the half, they cycled through 6 passes before getting a layup with 7 seconds still left on the clock... The Lakers led 58-50 at the half… Clarkson-Russell chemistry forced a Nets timeout as the Lakers pushed out to a 12-point lead. Then Scott goes with the Are-You-Kidding-Me? Robo Sub to bring in Huertas for Russell. Wow, ride the hot hand and get some separation. Got to go for the kill right here… And 3 minutes later the lead was cut in half when he brought in Young, Nance and Black for Hibbert, Randle and Brown… Lead trimmed to 4 when the timeout came… Cut to 1 with 1:40 left. Sigh… After a buzzer-beating three by Clarkson the Lakers led 79-74 heading into the fourth… He started the Black, Nance, Young, Russell, Huertas lineup… Another Russell three forced a timeout… Bass in for Black… Randle in for Nance, Lakers up 7 with 7:34 left. Huertas with a couple nice feeds… Hibbert in for Bass, Lakers up 7… He called a timeout with 4 minutes left, Lakers up 6. Finally going to sub Clarkson in for Huertas… Lopez fouled out, so Scott went back to Bass to match up with Thadeus… Russell closing the game big time to save their bacon from a possible choke…

[Vancouver Fan]

Thanks dB. Was waiting for this!!!
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Music is my medicine

[Megaton]

DLO!!!
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Darvin Scam: https://media.tenor.com/images/3c15249955860a4b16b59e8ae035fb75/tenor.gif

[Vancouver Fan]

[Megaton]

[Omar Little]

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[Megaton]

[mhan00]

D'Angelo Russell. That is all.

[tox]

What a game to watch! I was also really impressed with JC, shot was still off but the man knows how to score. He's fun to watch around the basket.

Thanks DB!

[LakerEric]

Wonderful to see! Only hope Byron doesn't get credit for all of this! I have a crappy feeling he'll get another chance. That just sucks!
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Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Thanks DB!! What a fun game to watch!! Great to see how quickly DLO and Clarkson are picking up Motion Weak. So this is what happens when you let a guy like DLO try to take over a game. WOW.

Could have been happening all season.

As fun as the 'Ice' theatrics were I got an even bigger kick out of the reactions from the rest of the team. These guys were on cloud 9. Even Scott couldn't wipe the smiles off a few of those faces.

I hope a few near-future free agents took notice.

[A Mad Chinaman]

[Vin]

Amazing game from Russell. (bleep) amazing.

[Chronicle]

Obviously impressed by Russell, and also very impressed by Huertas this game, but even more so by Young, who I believe has been our best defensive player this year.

If you had read five years ago that Nick Young is a good defensive player you'd have laughed. But he's really become one.

There were two possessions where the nets were on the verge of grabbing the lead from us, and on both of those it was Nick Young disrupting their offense and keeping us in the lead
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Kobe

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB!

[PrplReign]

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[Shaber]

Russell now may get a DNP-CD for the next game for spoiling Scott's tank job...
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Lakers depth chart

PG Johnson / Goodrich
SG Bryant / West / Scott
SF Baylor / Worthy / Cooper
PF Mikkelsen / Hairston / McAdoo / Gasol
C Chamberlain / Abdul-Jabbar / O'Neal / Mikan

[LakerEric]

[Gimme_the_rock]

[Cutheon]

[jdm43390]

[TooMuchMajicBuss]