NUGGETS -at- LAKERS – 3-25-16 - Thoughts and :-(( Ratings

[DancingBarry]

The Randle Triple-Double… I say it all the time, but it’s worth repeating. If Julius Randle didn’t play a few minutes of a game last year and was given rookie status, there would be a lot more national buzz about the young kid. The stat line tonight: 13 points, 18 boards and 10 assists.

Sure, there’s plenty to improve on his game, but what’s there is always elite rebounding and the ability to score on garbage plays or in transition. Lately, he’s looked to move the ball more. How about the pretty assist to Clarkson on the shallow lob pass through some traffic?

We’ve got to have some positives. With Russell spraining an ankle tonight and the Lakers D looking its usual self, Randle’s triple-double and some vintage Mamba offensively (28 points) was at least entertaining.

The Lakers pulled out to an early 10-point lead, but by halftime, they fell back by 12. The defense was awful. Bass looked very undersized against the Denver bigs. Kobe, Clarkson and Lou were extremely soft on the perimeter. After giving up 72 points in the second half of the last game, the Lakers gave up 58 in the first half tonight. That’s 130 over the last four quarters.

To start the second half, they gave up an uncontested layup on a lob. And so it goes again, you almost thought.

But the dog showed a little bark and bite, fighting back in that third quarter to trim the 18-point lead to just 6. The defensive intensity picked up with the second unit.

It was short lived, however. Fools gold. The lead ballooned once again and the game was essentially over midway through the fourth quarter. The 116-105 loss just about all but sews up that second position in the draft lottery.


Kobe -- -- Pretty impressive game offensively with the mix of perimeter scores and drives around his men for layups. He looked spry. He seemed a little more into this game, before the final death blow by the Nuggets. Loved the spin moves baseline to attack the rim, or the drives off the three line. We don’t see him get to the rim like he used to, but tonight it was certainly there. Defensively, well, there was some ball watching and not a lot of positive impact on that end. It wouldn’t be so bad if we had any kind of D around him. The Stats: He scored 28 points on 10-22 shooting (4-9 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He posted up and missed a turnaround to start the game. He attacked off the three line and scored a layup. He missed a three next time down. He missed a fade across the lane and wanted the call. He missed a pull-up 16-footer. He drew a foul on a perimeter chuck, bad foul, he made both FTs. He spun baseline and reversed. He missed a turnaround in the post. He moved in off the three line and knocked down the 12-footer. He missed a short turnaround and wanted the foul. He sank a wide open corner three. He gave up a lob dunk on the weakside D. He missed a baseline pull-up. He scored 11 points on 4-11 shooting. Second Half: He had the ball poked loose from behind. His man got a couple offensive boards. He sank a quick-fire corner three. He sank a deeper wing three on his next touch. Not close on the third three in a row. He came off a screen and Randle found him for a three. He missed another three out of a timeout. He sank a pull-up jumper with a man all over him. He missed a three trailing the break and wanted the foul, seemed like an obvious one. He drew FTs and made one. He airballed a forced three up against the shotclock. He attacked from the wing, spun to lose a defender and scored the layup. He spun to lose his man in the post, attacked baseline and powered in the And-1 over the big, he made the FT. He iso’d, spun and missed the elbow jumper.

Clarkson -- -- Good start to the game sinking three straight threes and forcing an early timeout. He got the 20 points but some of the flaws in his game really hurt the team. His defense just has so little impact. Offensively, despite the efficient shooting, some bad chucks at times in this game when he didn’t need to. If he’s not committed to a tough shot, he really needs to move the ball. The coaches should be all over him on that. His ball movement in this game was simply awful. It was helpful that Randle was moving the ball because the offense can’t survive with too many guys just looking for their shots. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 8-16 shooting (4-7 from three) to go with 4 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 fouls in 35 minutes. He was a -17. The Action: He swished a three off a handoff for the Lakers first score. He deflected a pass on the two-man d on the other end. He drained another three when Randle kicked it behind him in early offense. He stepped back and swished a wing three in early offense. Lost on D and he gave up a layup out of a timeout. He missed a forced jumper (move the ball, please). Sweet one-handed catch and lay in off the lob pass from Randle. He missed a three on a kickout. Bad post D and he gave up a layup. He forced a shot over a man all over him on D and bricked badly (move the ball when you’re not committed to a tough shot). He probed baseline, kept the dribble alive and was all alone on the other side of the hoop for an easy score. Way short on a step-back three. He scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting and had 1 assist. Second Half: He probed off the high screen and swished the floater over a big. He pounded the dribble badly, ran clock and bricked the iso chuck, not a good possession out of the timeout. More iso and he missed a challenged drive. He attacked from the wing with the shotclock low and scored the layup. No ball movement and he was rejected badly on a drive. He missed a three off the handoff from Randle. He hit a three for Randle’s trip-double.

Russell -- -- He went down in the second quarter on the defensive end after stepping on Hibbert’s foot and grabbed his right ankle on a bad roll. Negative x-rays, a moderate sprain. He’s been getting banged up lately. Not a good game from him in the first half before the injury. Some sloppy turnovers and little impact. Hopefully, he can bounce back quickly, but it looked like a pretty good roll. “I probably had one or two in my whole life,” Russell said of ankle sprains. He said he’ll see how it feels tomorrow and make a decision. Worthy and Antawn were in cringe mode after the game talking about the ankle. It didn’t look great as far as it rolled over. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-4 shooting to go with 1 board, 3 turnovers and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -10. The Action: He missed a pull-up 18-footer. He lost a ball in a crowd for a dunk the other way. He cut behind his man on the baseline for a reverse when Huertas found him free. He was stripped out of a timeout. He missed a step-back fade in the post. He was blocked on a layup from behind. Illegal screen out of a timeout.

Randle -- -- Droppin’ dimes, droppin’ dimes. Triple-double for Julius. He had a career high in assists in the first quarter alone. I love when he’s moving the ball and looking for teammates. He has excellent court vision and can put some zip on his passes. It helps the offense keep its flow, as well, since the D is thinking about loading up on him for an iso, but not really expecting the pass. “I’m an attacker. A lot of times defenses like to load up on me so I was just making the right play,” he said. Yep. Glad he’s aware. Plus, when guys like Clarkson aren’t passing it reduced the iso ball. “We have a lot of guys who their whole career has been scorers,” he said, meaning also the young guys in their pre-NBA careers. So, he’s also aware of the scorer’s mentality that we have too much of. I’m impressed by the awareness. He was very much in control tonight, whether in transition or when they spread the floor for him to work. If he’s dropping dimes at a high rate like this, they should open up the floor a little more often for him. Some good chemistry with Clarkson on some of those early assists, including that lob. Clarkson had a few of his threes on short passes or handoff from Randle at the three line. Every game they can find something that works, the better off they will be next season. As far as the glass goes, it’s amazing how easy Randle can make that look. His motor keeps him in the right spot, he does a great job banging bodies, even moving them while the shot is up. He’s a natural. The Stats: He scored 13 points on 6-10 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 18 boards (all defensive), 10 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 34 minutes. He was a +2. The Action: He pushed it up and dumped it between his legs to Clarkson behind him for the three. He attacked the paint and was easily blocked out of bounds. He lobbed to Clarkson through a crowd for a score. He iso’d at the elbow, attacked, changed directions and scored the layup. Not close on an elbow jumper. He had 2 points, 8 boards and 5 assists in the half. Second Half: He missed a jumper from the baseline. He hustled back in transition D and swatted a shot, then attacked on the other end for a layup. He was called for a travel trying to create. He swished an elbow jumper. He hit Kobe for a couple of threes. He missed a wing jumper badly. He ballwatched and gave up a score. He pushed out a board and scored a layup. He attacked with the floor spread and scored going to his left. He grabbed a board and drew FTs on the push out. He hit Bass in transition for the dunk. He dumped off another pass to Clarkson for the three and he got his triple-double. He scored a layup at the buzzer.

Hibbert -- -- Man, he moves like an old man out there. He was able to get to a couple offensive boards. Almost all of his action took place in the first half. He was invisible after that. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting (3-4 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist and 4 fouls in 21 minutes. He was a -11. The Action: Not close on a hook over a smaller man. He drew FTs battling on the offensive glass, he made both. He sank an elbow jumper. He missed an elbow jumper. He drew FTs and made one. He was blocked on a layup from behind. Second Half: Nothing to report.

Williams -- -- Some efficient scoring by Lou. He had the team-high +8 and started for the team in the second half with Russell out with the injury. He had a couple of bad forces, but still managed to be productive with not a lot of ball domination. He’s got to play like that a lot more when Clarkson and Kobe iso so much, otherwise we’ll OD on iso. Defensively, he had a couple of steals, but we really need a stopper on this team The Stats: He scored 14 points on 4-8 shooting (2-3 from three, 4-6 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and no fouls in 30 minutes. He was a +8. The Action: No box out and he gave up a putback. He stripped a man for a steal. He drew three FTs on the reach and chuck, he made all three. He sank a wing three on his next touch. He missed a floater at the buzzer. No one picked him up in transition so he swished a short floater. He set up Bass for FTs on a behind-the-back feed in traffic. Extra swing pass to Kobe for the three. Wild pass into the backcourt, turnover. He drew a perimeter reach and FTs. He had 9 points on 2-3 shooting. Second Half: He missed a three straight away. Iso chuck on a no-pass offensive sequence and he missed the fade. Bad force in transition and he was blocked. He crossed over a man, took a reach foul, switched hands in air and got the short And-1 to go, he missed the FT. He got a kind bounce on a wing three that forced a timeout.

Nance -- -- Some more minutes for Nance at SF. What irks me about Scott at the SF right now is how he’s gone to Nance and Metta, finally sitting Nick Young. He had Brown available all season long for minutes and could have sat Young at any time then. But now that Brown’s not available, we decide to park Nick on the bench? I’m glad Nance is getting minutes, but it’s tough for him and the team trying to figure out the SF. He had a -16, but did have some moments on D, which is a lot more that other guys. Some shot alterations and pass deflections. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-6 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 steal, 1 block and 3 fouls in 20 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: He drew a charge in transition D. He missed a corner three on a kickout. He deflected a pass to get a stop. He missed a reverse (looked like he didn’t know whether he wanted to bank or put it straight in). Bad angle on D and he gave up a reverse. He grabbed an offensive board but choked the putback. He missed a 16-footer on the two-man game. Second Half: He dunked off the interior feed. He gave up a putback score. He dunked on the quick-strike from Huertas on an inbounds. Nice challenge to force a brick under the rim.

Bass -- -- It seemed like he had more than the 3 turnovers he was credited with. He struggled to handle the ball. He also had to handle some bigger players defensively in this game and that didn’t bode well for the D in the first half. Better job in the second half, but the Nuggets eventually just broke our back with threes and easy scores from bigs. The Stats: He had 10 points on 2-5 shooting (6-6 from the line) to go with 4 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a +0. The Action: He lost a pass in transition. He pumped under the hoop and lost the handle again. He rejected a layup on help D out of bounds, surprising a guard. He iso’d and missed in a crowd. He drew FTs on the behind-the-back pass from Williams, he made both. He drew more FTs on the two-man game with Huertas, he made both. He gave up a freethrow rebound and putback (that got him benched). He missed an elbow jumper before the sub could come in. Second Half: He was stripped out of bounds, turnover. He didn’t match up in transition and gave up a dunk. He swished the short jumper off the two-man game with Huertas. He couldn’t hold onto another pass off the two-man game, a three the other way. He missed a baseline jumper. He drew more FTs on the offensive boards and made both. He dunked off the feed from Randle in transition.

Huertas -- -- While Randle led the starters with the game-high 10 assists, Huertas did his thing with the bench. If Russell is out, maybe Randle will be our default starting PG in the offense in the next game. It’s not going to be Lou or Kobe. Clarkson is playing like a scorer. Huertas does it more of the traditional way with two-man sequences and scrambling the D. I wouldn’t mind seeing Julius run a little two-man action with the ball in his hands just for kicks. 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 19 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He bricked a high-arching baseline jumper. He set up Bass for FTs on the two-man game at the elbow. He spotted Russell cutting backdoor on the baseline for the layup. Second Half: He worked the two-man sequence and banked in the short one. He took an inbounds near the low post, attacked and quickly fed Nance for the dunk. He found Bass for the jumper off the two-man game. He missed a wing three.

World Peace -- -- Nice game from Metta. He and Kobe turned back the clock a little. Metta was part of the second-half unit that clawed their way back in the game. He had a couple of steals and scratched out a few scores. He missed a big three in transition that the crowd really wanted when we were rallying. That might have brought the biggest cheer of the night had that gone. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 2-6 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 2 steals and 1 foul in 14 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He missed a wide open wing three. Second Half: He attacked off the three line, traveled with no call and bullied his way to an And-1 layup, he made the FT. Sweet D on the perimeter, stripping his man with the lefty reach from behind and controlling it. He missed a short one, got it back, missed, got it back again and drew FTs, he made both. He missed a wide open three in transition. He swiped a pass in the paint on the other end. He sank a 20-footer at the top of the key area.

Scott -- -- Clarkson with three early threes to force a timeout as the Lakers pulled out to an early 13-4 lead… Lou in for Russell, Lakers up 8 (glad he didn’t sit Clarkson, who had it going)… Bass in for Hibbert shortly later… Up 6, they brought in Nance for Kobe… Huertas in for Clarkson… I’d like to think that Scott played Randle all first quarter because of his great passing and boarding. Excellent job by Randle and glad he was able to stay out there… The Lakers led 31-24 after the first quarter… He started the Bass, Nance, Metta, Williams, Huertas lineup… Lakers up 4 when Russell returned for Williams… Hibbert in for Bass… Kobe in for Metta, Lakers down 1… Clarkson in for Huertas… I guess he forgot about Randle on the bench. Sigh… Randle in with 4 minutes left, Lakers down 9… Russell out with the ankle injury, Williams in… The Lakers trailed 58-46 at the half. Nuggets shot 50%, Lakers shot 33%… Early timeout as we fell back by 18 quickly… Huertas and Bass in for Hibbert and Clarkson… Some Kobe threes cut the lead down to 13 and forced a Nugget timeout… He sat Randle and Kobe for Nance and Metta… They cut it to 8 and forced another timeout… They trailed just 83-77 heading into the fourth… He went with Bass, Nance, Metta, Clarkson and Huertas… They had a moment where they trimmed the lead closer, but then faded again for another Nugget double-digit lead… Randle in for Metta… Down 15, he went with the starters with Bass for Hibbert… Three-second violation out of a timeout for the Lakers. Dunk for the Nuggets…

[DrumR]

Randle

[Arbitrary]

Thanks, DB.

[SweetP]

Thanks DB
Nice games by Randle and Kobe.
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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

[DShotMaker1824]

Thanks DB!
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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..."

[KeepItRealOrElse]

Thanks DB
Ya I appreciate Randle's awareness in realizing we have enough scorers - he has a head on his shoulders that people can seemingly get through to, but I guess the advice/coaching just hasn't been persistent enough. He's had a handful of great passing games - it would have been monumental for him to remain consistent with it, but nobody got that through his skull.
Like you said, I'd also like to see him run more of the pseudo-PG role out there, I think his successes with it will outnumber his mistakes.
I mean, most rookie PGs have been playing the position their whole life and still struggle with TOs --- Randle's growing pains while playmaking/handling this year were to be expected - And he's still had more positive flashes than mess-ups.

[Goldenwest]

[PLATNUM]

Clarkson is feeling himself a little too much, imo. He needs to get smacked with a little dose of reality. One play he had, he dribbled for like 20 minutes trying to break his man down and chucked up some garbage step back... I can;t stand that type of ball. Then in postgame he's fiddling around with his earrings talking to the media, like he has something better to be doing. This is like the 3rd straight game I've watched where he's doing this.... it's not a big deal in the grand scheme, but it just irks me.

I wouldn't be sad if they shipped his azz out for a proper 3.
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"Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same."

[OregonLakerGuy]

Thanks DB

[A Mad Chinaman]

[H0B0]

THX DB. GO LAKERS

[Chronicle]

Randle beast mode activate!
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Kobe

[Lakers#1Team]

Thanks DB!

[LakerDYnasty72]

The Randle Triple-Double… I say it all the time, but it’s worth repeating. If Julius Randle didn’t play a few minutes of a game last year and was given rookie status, there would be a lot more national buzz about the young kid. The stat line tonight: 13 points, 18 boards and 10 assists.

It is absolutely astonishing how Randle is perceived after playing only one game before this season. That's called a rookie. But the perception is that he's got some type of significant advantage over the others somehow.

The stat line tonight: 13 points, 18 boards and 10 assists? Can anyone say Draymond Greenesque?

Thanks DB. We always appreciate your work.

[KeepItRealOrElse]