ROCKETS -at- LAKERS – 10-26-16 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

[DancingBarry]

Rise of the Young Guns… In the final minute, Jordan Clarkson tipped the ball way from a rushing James Harden and both D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young pounced on the floor to recover the loose ball. It was that kind of defensive intensity in the second half that carried the Lakers to the 120-114 win over the Rockets on opening night at Staples.

After giving up 71 points in the first half, the Lakers locked down on D in the second half holding the Rockets to just 43 points. It was a change in effort and also strategy as they started to switch more and lean on their mobile bigmen to hold the line. They bottled up the Rockets fastbreak in the second half, as well.

“I think they had 22 transition points in the first half. We held them to 2 in the second half,” Luke said. “That was one of our keys that we obviously didn’t pay attention to in the first half that we locked in on in the second half.”

The second unit was huge to win the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter and turn the game around. That turned the game around, Jordan Clarkson led the charge with a team-high 25 points and 3 steals off the bench.

Great opening night. Give me the kind of effort we saw in the second half of this game and I’ll be happy all season.


Russell -- -- Deng was in his ear after Russell tried attacking in early offense in the final minute and coughed it up when we needed to run time. “We did some things that could have cost us the win at the end of the game tonight. Obviously, we can learn from that,” Luke said. Other than that mistake, it was a strong game from Russell. He sank a series of threes in the first quarter, including a 4-point play, but quieted down in the second quarter and finished with 12 points at the half. He ended up with the 20 points, sinking four threes in the game. They battled through some lineups that we certainly hadn’t seen in the preseason. That made it a little clunky down the stretch. Prior to that, Russell did a good job organizing the offense. Love that our two young guards finished with a combined 45 points. The team will lean on those guys a lot for scoring. Can they do it consistently this season? Defensively, they combined for the biggest defensive stop of the game with that Clarkson poke away and Russell hitting the floor to recover. Good job, guys. “We racked up a few stops at the end and that’s when it really mattered,” Russell said. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 7-16 shooting (4-10 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 1 board, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, 1 steal and 2 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: Quick down court feed to Mozgov on the break for the layup. He missed a wing three. He kicked to Nick for the open three. Quick-fire three off the dribble handoff by Randle and that forced a timeout. He posted up and hit the turnaround. He drained a quick-release wing three (Russell feeling it). He drained an And-1 wing three next time down, he made the FT to complete the 4-point play. He missed an early offense three. He had 12 points in the first quarter. He lost the handle trying to split the double, turnover. He blindsided Harden on help D to knock it loose and ignite a break. He missed a three after hesitating to shoot off the loop. Second Half: He drained a baseline jumper off the Randle kickout. He got clipped from behind and missed the pull-up jumper. He posted up and hit the turnaround in early offense a few seconds later. Hockey assist for a Randle dunk off the two-man game. He missed a wing pull-up jumper. He missed a three, we got it back to him and he knocked it down the next time. He missed a drive but Nance cleaned it up. He missed a corner three. Sloppy behind-the-back perimeter pass that was picked off. He missed a three with the shotclock low. He drew FTs getting tripped on a drive, he made one. He went to the floor for a loose ball and recovered it on D.

Randle -- -- He did a great job using both his size and his speed offensively. He had 12 points on 5-6 shooting and 5 assists in the first half (but was a team-high -15 as our starters got beat up again). With the Anderson/Randle matchup, we needed to milk the post and work the ball to Randle probably a little more. He was able to get some easier looks around the rim on the occasions we did. On D, Randle had to be aware of the three shooting. He struggled with that a little in the first half, even outright losing Anderson in transition D on one sequence. He tightened it up in the second half and was more instrumental on the switches with Harden. He said they switched higher and forced Harden to try to finish over them on drives. We have to use our mobility on D when we go small and they did that. He said the speed of the game was a challenge at times, but “We were able to push through it and get some stops,” Randle said. Great numbers in this one. He was able to get in good scoring position around the rim and finish. His biggest score was the iso with 45 seconds left, scoring a runner over Nene. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 9-11 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-1 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 6 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 block and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He dribbled to the post and scored on a step-through for the Lakers first bucket. He missed a drive, taking contact with no call. He hit Russell for the three. He iso’d on Nene and blew past him to his right for a layup. Easy post score over Anderson on iso (more please). He powered in a layup on the break after taking contact, he missed the FT. He faked the handoff, spun on his man back to his left and scored over his man. He airballed a turnaround in the post. He attacked in early offense and scored a runner at the rim. He was called for undercutting Harden on a three. Second Half: He probed and kicked out to Russell for the open baseline jumper. He dunked off the Russell/Mozgov screen-roll. He crossed over in early offense and hit the runner with his left. He missed an open wing three when the D sagged off to plug the lane strong side. He got a piece of Harden’s drive on one end, but was blocked trying to finish at the rim on the other. He ran the clock down, iso’d on Nene and powered in the runner over him with 45 seconds left.

Deng -- -- We ran him quite a bit at PF late in the game. Those units should look a little better offensively than they were given more time. Luol had a key tip in of a Russell miss in the fourth (he and Mozgov combined for 6 offensive boards). Loved seeing him right there in Russell’s ear after the miscue in the final minute. “We got so many young guys, so many talented players, but it’s really about learning how to win each game even though sometimes it’s not going to go your way,” Deng said. The Stats: He scored 7 points on 3-9 shooting (1-4 from three) to go with 5 boards (2 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal and no fouls in 28 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He kept an offensive board alive and it led to a Laker three. He rattled down a sideline three off the swing pass. He missed a runner on iso out of a timeout. He missed a wing three. He got a switch on a guard and hit the jumphook over him. Then, he hustled back in transition and stole the outlet. He hit the rim on a half-court runner at the buzzer. Second Half: He missed a rushed, long jumper on a kickout. He missed an open three in transition. He crashed the glass and tipped in a missed three.

Mozgov -- -- He had all 12 points in the first half as he and Huertas teamed up for a few easy buckets at the rim early in the second quarter. Black had a poor stint so Luke brought Moz back earlier in the quarter and the Huertas/Mozgov duo got to run together. Some good chemistry there. In the second half, our bigs locked in more so we went small after Mozgov’s only stint of the half. He’s pretty deadly when we get him the ball around the rim. If he’s posting up farther out, not so much. He also did a great job running the floor. Very nice debut. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 6-10 shooting to go with 8 boards (4 offensive), 2 assists, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 22 minutes. He was a +3. The Action: Good job getting down court and Russell hit him for a layup. He crashed the glass and tipped in a miss by Young. He hit a short one off the drive and dish from Nick. Easy layup off the inbounds pass from Huertas. He missed a baseline jumper. He dunked off the two-man game with Huertas. Another layup in transition when Huertas found him (good job getting down court). He missed a tough turnaround out of the motion weak post sequence. Bad kickout to Randle, turnover. Second Half: Great job avoiding the foul on the roll to the hoop and he hit Randle for a slam. He missed a face-up jumper in early offense. He missed a lefty jumphook. He battled for an offensive board and it led to a Russell three.

Young -- -- He got the start, but was thrown at Harden defensively – a tough matchup for anyone in this league. In the second half, he stepped it up big on that end of the floor. He didn’t have a great game offensively, but heck, he was our 3 and D guy and played that role well. He had some foul issues in the process. For some reason, both he and Metta were committing fouls on Harden near midcourt to give up FTs. But a lot of extra effort from Nick on the defensive end that just makes a huge difference. Asked about the locker room vibe this year, he said, “It’s a great feeling. You can breathe in here again. It’s fun.” The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-12 shooting (2-9 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 1 block and 5 fouls in 26:34. He was a -6. The Action: He missed a long jumper behind a screen. He missed a deep three on a kickout. He missed a tough corner jumper. Better look at a kickout from Russell to the same spot and he buried the three. He missed a three in transition. He attacked the paint and hit Mozgov for the score. He picked up his second foul midway through the first as Harden pulled a Lou Williams on him. No boxout and Harden scored a putback. He missed a three, short. He drew an offensive foul on Harden. Second Half: He rattled in a three coming off the down screen to start the half. Nice switching on D to help force a shotclock violation. Good job avoiding a foul and then challenging Harden’s three. Bogus double foul on the other end to get Nick’s third. He missed the corner three. He got a stop against Anderson on a switch. He picked up an offensive foul on Nene on a defensive switch. He stripped a man under the hoop and took it the distance for a layup. He missed a wing three in transition, then took a bad foul at midcourt to give up FTs. He airballed a wing three but Clarkson cleaned it up.

Clarkson -- -- He wasn’t thrilled about playing just 6 minutes in the first half, but he had a couple of fouls and a couple of turnovers. “He didn’t pout. He didn’t complain,” Luke said. “When he got his minutes in the second half he was probably the best player on the floor for us.” Clarkson picked it up in the third quarter, including scoring 9 straight in one stretch. Great job imposing his athleticism on the game. On occasion, he was a little out of control, but he was taking it to the Rockets. He got into the paint for scores, but also drained a huge, deep three in the fourth. Defensively, he had two big plays in the seconds half. One was a great read to help Lou who was being posted up by a big. Clarkson jumped the passing lane to steal the post entry and take it the distance for the score. Then, he had that huge poke away on Harden late in the game. Harden looked like his eyes lit up seeing Clarkson on him and got speed into the offensive zone, Jordan came up big with the reach to knock the ball loose. Great game from JC. “We still got to make strides. We gave up 118 points,” Clarkson said afterward. The Stats: He scored 25 points on 8-12 shooting (2-3 from three, 7-7 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 1 assist, 4 turnover, 3 steals and 3 fouls in 24:35. He was a +6. The Action: He missed an open corner three. He blew past his man but was called for the charge. He lobbed to Black off the weave for the dunk. He sank a tough step-back baseline jumper. He attacked, tripped and threw it away. He attacked and missed a short running hook. Second Half: Bad pass on the wing and it was deflected off Nick for a turnover. He attacked baseline off the three line, hung around the defenders and scored a layup. Quick first step and he attacked the paint to draw FTs, he made both. He missed a scooping layup through the D. He probed into the lane and hit a short jumper under control. He iso’d with the clock low and hit the three. Busted play, he attacked and threw it in the backcourt. He blew past Harden and scored a layup. Wild shot getting caught in the air and he missed. He set up Black off the two-man game for FTs. He was fouled getting out on the break off a Tarik steal, he made both. Great read anticipating a post entry pass on a mismatch the Rockets had with Lou, he pushed out the steal and scored an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He iso’d on Harden and drew FTs, he made both. He iso’d, was stripped and then fouled. He iso’d and buried a deep three. He grabbed a Young airball and scored the layup. Huge play, Harden thought he was going to blow past Clarkson on iso in early offense and Clarkson tipped it away.

Williams -- -- Limited but very effective minutes from Lou. He was a +17 in the 14 minutes he was out there. That second unit buckled down in the second half. He had 3 steals, doing a good job on the switches to find passes. I’ve been really please with his effort on that end of the floor this year. The Stats: He scored 12 points on 2-5 shooting (2-4 from three, 6-7 from the line) to go with 2 assists, 1 turnover, 3 steals and no fouls in 14:26. He was a +17. The Action: He pushed it up court at the end of the quarter and hit the three with less than a second left. He missed a three on a kickout. His kickout was picked off for a dunk. Off-balance, he still suckered a man into the reach foul and drew three FTs, he made two. He switched under the hoop and knocked down a pass, chased it down, pushed it up court and lobbed to Ingram for the slam. He attacked from the wing and drew FTs on the drive, he made both. He swiped another pass. Second Half: He missed a wing three. Quick attack off the kickout and he drew FTs on the runner, he made both. He drained a deep three. He airballed a floater on a probe next time down.

Ingram -- -- Welcome to the NBA. Into the game and into the fire having to cover Harden for his first couple minutes. The two didn’t stay matched up too long, but long enough for Ingram to have at least one nice defensive play on him in that stretch, challenging a shot well in the corner to get a miss. The kid looked really comfortable out there on both ends. He hit his first official three and also had his first official slam on a lob in transition. We wanted him to run point, but the Rockets ran some ball denial to muck that up at times. That D by the second unit really imposed their will. “I think we were the aggressor in the second half,” Ingram said. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 turnover and no fouls in 24 minutes. He was a +10. The Action: He forced Harden into a tough miss on iso D. He drained a corner three just beating the shotclock on a kickout. He fumbled away an outlet pass. He missed a wing three. He swished a tough 15-foot turnaround with the clock winding down. Out on the break and Lou lobbed to him for the dunk. Second Half: He sank a pull-up wing jumper coming off the screen. He missed a short one over Harden in the paint.

Nance -- -- He was one of the keys defensively to turning the game around. That second unit locked down and got some extended run in the fourth quarter with how they were playing. Winning those first few minutes of the fourth quarter set the tone. The Rockets offense ground to a halt, scoring just 18 in the fourth. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards (3 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 23 minutes. He was a +7. The Action: He missed a teardrop on an iso drive. He was fouled on the throwdown attempt after slipping the screen, he made one FT. Second Half: He crashed the glass and cleaned up the Russell missed drive. He missed a 70-foot heave at the buzzer. He dunked an offensive board that was tapped to him. He didn’t cover for Clarkson on Harden’s drive to give up a layup. Good challenge on Harden’s three on a switch. He missed an open 19-footer on the other end. He recovered to block a shot from behind on a big.

Black -- -- I thought he had a pretty lackluster first half. Luke yanked him early for Mozgov. In the second half, we saw more of the Tarik we’ve been used in preseason. Good energy, kept boards alive, drive a key charge and hit a couple of key FTs in an important stretch. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-2 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 4 baords, 1 turnover, 1 steal and 4 fouls in 11:32. He was a +1. The Action: He slammed off the lob from Clarkson on the weave. Second Half: He drew a charge on Harden. He fouled Harden on a three at the end of the quarter. He kept an offensive board alive to Nance who dunked. Clarkson set him up for FTs at the rim off the two-man game, he made both. He missed a baseline jumper in early offense. He swiped it back on the other end.

Huertas -- -- Some nice chemistry with Mozgov as those two saw some time together in the second quarter. Just a short stint in that first half, but he made the most of it with some good passes and finding his bigman. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-1 shooting to go with 3 assists and 1 block in 4:37. He was a +5. The Action: He missed a wide open three on a kickout. Nice inbounds over the D under the hoop to Mozgov for a layup. He worked the two-man game and found Mozgov for the dunk. He pushed it up court, got the D scrambled in early offense and found Mozgov for another score at the rim (that forced a timeout). Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

World Peace -- -- Luke on Metta’s brief appearance late in the third quarter: “You give up 74 [sic] points in the first half, you need to make a point that we need to start playing defense,” he said. Luke ran with Nance, Black, Ingram and Clarkson. He had to deal with some foul trouble with Nick and Clarkson and didn’t want to throw Ingram on Harden. “I think Metta sometimes forgets that the new NBA is a lot different than the NBA that he grew up in,” Luke said of Metta’s fouling defense. But he was happy with the intensity. “I think that motivates the rest of the guys,” Luke said. The Stats: He didn’t shoot or score and had 3 fouls in 2:27. He was a -1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He chased Harden into a charge on Black in the lane. Bad foul on inbounds pass 35 feet from the hoop to give up FTs.

Walton -- -- The Rockets had 15 points in a blur (8:44 remaining in the quarter)… The Lakers tied it up on a 9-0 run after threes by Young, Deng and Russell. That forced a timeout… Young picked up his second foul midway through the quarter and Luke went to Ingram for Young at SG (covering Harden)… Then Clarkson for Mozgov as the Lakers went small… The score was 28-28 with over 4 minutes left. Fast-paced game… Nance in for Deng… Lou and Black in for Russell and Randle, down 4… Russell in for Black with a few seconds left in the quarter… They were tied 38-38 after the first. Ain’t nobody got time for D… Huertas in for Clarkson down 2… Mozgov in for Black at 9:31 left. Lakers not anchoring or getting boards and trailing by 5… Huertas and Mozgov teaming up for several scores and the Lakers led 53-50, forcing a timeout… He brought in Randle, Deng, Young and Russell out of that, wholesale subs to match up with Rockets starters… An 11-2 Rocket run and we called timeout. Probably should have staggered those subs a little more… The Lakers trailed 71-63 at the half. The Rockets shot 64%... Lakers chipped away at the lead as the timeout came midway through the quarter… Nance and Clarkson in for Mozgov and Deng, Lakers down 4… Down 2, Ingram in for Young, who had been playing some great D… Lakers now switching more on Harden on D… Metta in to go with a Black, Nance, Metta, Ingram, Clarkson unit down 5… Clarkson with a 9-0 run to tie it up… The Lakers trailed 96-90 heading into the fourth… Metta out and Lou in to start the fourth… They tied it up after 3 minutes… Deng in at PF for Black tied up… The Lakers led by 4 when Harden returned… Young in for Lou. Lakers with a Nance, Deng, Ingram, Young, Clarkson unit up 4… Randle in for Nance with 4:42 left up by 2… Ingram out for Russell up 2… The Randle, Deng, Young, Clarkson, Russell unit looking confused offensively… Lakers up 6 with 15 seconds left, ball out of bounds. Interesting SLOB play with all four Lakers lined up at midcourt. We turned it over, however, on the inbounds as Nick couldn’t control the pass… We got the stop on the other end… It wasn’t a pretty final minute, but they battled and competed and that’s what Luke wants. It got them the W…

[10scott10]

First win

[SweetP]

Great way to open the season.
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

[TooMuchMajicBuss]

Second that!

[PLATNUM]

Thank U, DB. Great way to start the season. I DVR'd the game and was on the edge of my seat during the final 2 minutes for the fist time in a LONG time. I'm excited for this season and the future.
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"Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same."

[PLATNUM]

Dare I say it? But this team has a ton of talent from 1-15. A lot of punch off the bench. I can see them making a trade mid-season for some utility/glue guys just to balance things out.

Two 8 second violations on some good D that did NOT get called. Some BS.
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"Dread it, run from it... destiny arrives all the same."

[Daphanabe]

Thanks DB! Always look forward to these after the game. NBA is back!

[Megaton]

Win 1, and many more to come.
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Darvin Scam: https://media.tenor.com/images/3c15249955860a4b16b59e8ae035fb75/tenor.gif

[pio2u]

Luke's second half adjustments were impressive.

[DancingBarry]

[Andre2K]

Feels good winning the first game of the season

Excellent run down as always, thanks DB
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My Dream Starting 5 next Season

Pg Lonzo
Sg Kawhi
Sf Ingram
Pf Lebron
C Dedmon

Bench: Caruso, Hart, Bullock, Kuzma, McGee etc

[DancingBarry]

[Mation]

[TDRock]

Woot woot! Thanks DB!

[22]

Thanks DB!

[Arbitrary]

A WIN!

Thanks, DB!

[Inspector Gadget]

Thanks DB!

[cmonkee]

Thanks DB! First win!

[A Mad Chinaman]

Great to have DB in the regular season!!

As the result of the pace, often it appears that it was a pickup game at the local gym with talented players

Good to have a win in the first game, with the next four games on the road will be challenging since it is 4 games in 6 days - but the kids are YOUNG 9first Laker team with three players 21 years old and younger)

[Reflexx]

81 more wins to go!

[Tanlentueux]

[Chronicle]

Looks to me like if we can keep games within striking distance (10 at most points) by the end of the first half, we can trust on luke's adjustments for the second half win!
_________________
Kobe

[ringfinger]

First time I watched the entire postgame in like 2 years.

[LakerEric]

I'm on Cloud Nine right now!!!
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Do you believe it now, Trinity? - Morpheous

[nash]

It's nice to start a season winning again